In the Sierra Norte region of the Community of Madrid is the town with the longest name in Spain. It is 80 kilometers from the capital, less than an hour away by road, and has just over 300 inhabitants spread over 24 square kilometers.
Its extensive place name adds up to a total of seven words, 44 characters counting the blank spaces. These are Gargantilla del Lozoya and Pinilla de Buitrago. As its own name suggests, it was born from the merger of two independent towns.
Gargantilla del Lozoya was founded by residents who left a nearby town, Garganta de los Montes. “They were fleeing from a deadly epidemic or because they did not want to pay the taxes and tributes that corresponded to them,” indicates the website of the city council.
For his part, Pinilla de Buitrago has a similar story: “In 1753 he managed to become independent from the Duke of Infantado, lord of the lands of Buitrago.” The two towns merged into one in the mid-19th century. For many years it kept the name of Gargantilla del Lozoya. The place name was officially changed in 2001 to include the two original towns, becoming Gargantilla del Lozoya and Pinilla de Buitrago.
Its website highlights its medieval bridges: “It takes us into a time when three cultures coexisted, the Christian, the Hebrew and the Arab, of which we find numerous vestiges, the most important being the hermitage of Santiago”.
The second town with the longest name in Spain is located in Burgos and is Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja. Like Gargantilla del Lozoya and Pinilla de Buitrago, it has seven words, but one letter less, 43.
They are Cruïlles Monells and Sant Sadurní de l’Heura (Girona), Colinas del Campo de Martín Moro Toledano (León), Vandellòs and l’Hospitalet de l’Infant (Tarragona), Villanueva del Rebollar de la Sierra (Teruel), Santa María de Guía de Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), Montejo de la Vega de la Serrezuela (Segovia), San Martín de la Virgen de Moncayo (Zaragoza) and San Martín de la Vega del Alberche (Ávila).
According to the criteria of The Trust Project