Albacete ( es, Provincia de Albacete, ) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of central

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, in the southern part of the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

of Castile–La Mancha. As of 2012, Albacete had a population of 402,837 people. Its capital city, also called

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...

, is by road southeast of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

History

The territory occupied by the province of Albacete has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by cave paintings in the Cueva del Niño and

Cueva de la Vieja Cuevas or Cueva (Spanish for "''cave(s)''") may refer to: Places * Cueva de Ágreda, a municipality located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain * Cuevas Bajas, a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonom ...

. In Roman times, the territory of the present province of Albacete was part of Carpetania and Celtiberia, Contestania, Bastetania and

Oretania The Oretani or Oretanii (Greek: ''Orissioi'') were a pre-Roman ancient Iberian people (in the geographical sense) of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania), that lived in northeastern Andalusia, in the upper Baetis (Guadalquivir) river valley, ...

. In Roman times, the Romans built a significant settlement at Libisosa, and during the age of the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...

, Tolmo de Minateda grew in prominence. During the Muslim era, territories of the province were under different zones of influence, and numerous farmhouses, castles and watchtowers developed to fight off invaders. A number of battles were held here in the Middle Ages, and on April 25, 1707, the Battle of Almansa was held in the vicinity of the town of

, a major Spanish battle which culminated in the triumph of Philip V who ascended to the throne, establishing the monarchy for the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

in Spain. In 1822 the province of ephemeral Province of Chinchilla was created, composed of municipalities in the provinces of La Mancha, Cuenca and the Kingdom of Murcia. Its capital at Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón, very close to the city of Albacete, would be the basis on which the province of Albacete was created in 1833 as dictated by

Javier de Burgos Francisco Javier de Burgos y del Olmo (22 October 1778—22 January 1848) was a Spanish jurist, politician, journalist, and translator. Early life and career Born in Motril, into a noble but poor family, he was destined for a career in th ...

. Following the adoption of the Constitution in 1978, the province of Albacete joined the Castile-La Mancha Region from the

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

Region, and its Statute of Autonomy was approved in 1982.

Geography

Located in the southeast of the Central Plateau with an area of 14,926 km ², the Province of Albacete is bordered by the provinces of

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Cuenca,

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founded ...

and Jaén. The province is divided into 87 municipalities and seven judicial districts. Its seat of government is

. Other important towns (with more than 10,000 inhabitants) are:

Hellín Hellín is a city and municipality of Spain located in the province of Albacete, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 781.66 km2. As of 1 January 2020, it has a population of 30,200, which makes it the second large ...

Villarrobledo Villarrobledo () is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Albacete, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It's better known for having the world's largest area covered by vineyards (more than 30,000 has., approxim ...

, Almansa, La Roda and Caudete. The main river of the province is the Jucar river, which crosses the province in the northeast, renowned for its deep gorges and trees. The Lagunese de Ruidera flows in the west. Other rivers of note include the Cabriel on the far northeastern border, the Salobral, Navalcudi and Tajo-Segura in the central part, the Corcoles in the northwest, and the Guadalmena, Mundo, Tus, Segura. and Taibilla rivers in the south. It is also home to seasonal rivers, including

Abengibre Creek Arroyo de Abengibre is a seasonal river of the Province of Albacete, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: " ...

Population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:28 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:420 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:219 text:219,009 bar:1887 from:0 till:232 text:231,591 bar:1900 from:0 till:241 text:241,244 bar:1910 from:0 till:272 text:271,716 bar:1920 from:0 till:297 text:296,712 bar:1930 from:0 till:334 text:334,371 bar:1940 from:0 till:379 text:379,169 bar:1950 from:0 till:401 text:400,731 bar:1960 from:0 till:375 text:375,175 bar:1970 from:0 till:341 text:340,720 bar:1980 from:0 till:339 text:339,373 bar:1990 from:0 till:343 text:342,677 bar:2000 from:0 till:365 text:364,835 bar:2010 from:0 till:402 text:401,580 bar:2020 from:0 till:388 text:388,270 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Economy

In 2020, the total value of products produced in Albacete was .

References

External links