Alcañiz () is a town and municipality of Teruel province in the autonomous community of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river

Guadalope The Guadalope (Guadalop in Catalan and Aragonese) is a river in Aragon, Spain. It is a tributary of the Ebro (Ebre in Catalan). Course This long river rises in the Sierra de Gúdar, near Villarroya de los Pinares and Miravete de la Sier ...

. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the

Lower Aragon Lower Aragon ( es, Bajo Aragón, an, Baixo Aragón, ca, Baix Aragó), also known as ''Tierra Baja'', is a natural region, natural and historical region in Aragon, Spain. The name "Lower Aragon" refers to the areas of the lowest altitude within ...

historical region. It lies some 113 km from Teruel, the provincial capital, and 92 km from Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon. Alcañiz is the capital of the

Bajo Aragón Bajo Aragón (; an, Baxo Aragón; ca, Baix Aragó), or Lower Aragon, is an administrative comarca in eastern central Aragon, Spain. It was first established in 1999. It has a population of 29,358 (2007) and an area of 1.304,2 km2. The seat ...

comarca and the second city in the province after Teruel.

History

The current settlement of Alcañiz dates to the Islamic era in Spain. It was captured by the Christian troops of Alfonso I of Aragon in 1119, but was later taken back by the Moors. It was conquered again by count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1157, and again lost, until it was finally recaptured by his son

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hi ...

. In 1179 the latter gave the town to the military Order of Calatrava. On 23 May 1809 during the Peninsular War, the Battle of Alcañiz was fought between a Spanish force led by General Blake and French troops commanded by General Suchet. During French occupation Suchet made an administrative territorial division of Aragon by which Alcañiz became the capital of the province of Alcañiz. This short-lived province briefly unified the Lower Aragon historical region. Alcañiz, however was bypassed in the

1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).Tortosa, offering a new gateway to the sea for Aragon through this town. Construction work began in 1891, but it was haphazard and the first trains between Alcañiz and Tortosa began only in 1942. The last stretch between Tortosa and

Sant Carles de la Ràpita Sant may refer to: People * Alfred Sant (born 1948), Maltese politician * Andrew Sant (born 1950), English-born Australian poet * David Sant (born 1968), Catalan director, actor and writer * Indira Sant (1914–2000), Indian poet * James Sant ...

was never completed before the line was terminated by RENFE in 1973.

Jewish history

In 1380, a few Jewish families, scattered in the surroundings of the town, joined to community, which was under the jurisdiction of the Order of Calatrava. During the massacres of 1391, the Jewish community in town was protected. Alcañiz was the hometown of

Joshua Lorki Joshua ben Joseph ibn Vives al-Lorqui (of Lorca) ( fl. 1400) was a Spanish-Jewish physician who lived at Alcañiz. In 1408, at the command of the rich and influential Benveniste ben Solomon ben Labi, he wrote a work in Arabic on the value and eff ...

, a converted Jew who initiated the religious Disputation of Tortosa between

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and Jewish scholars. A law was forced on the town Jewish community, imposing a fine on any Jew who wished to move out of the city. Most of the town Jews eventually converted to Christianity, before or during the Spanish Inquisition in 1492.

Demography

The population in Alcañiz is 15 939 people in 2018

Geography and climate

Alcañiz has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen: BSk) with moderately cool winters with some rain to hot, mostly dry summers with little rain and thunderstorms. Heavy rains happen in spring and autumn, especially during May, October and November. There is approximately 1 snowy day every year. Some years have no snowfall while others have a few days of snow. Heavy snow is unknown.

Main sights

Sights in Alcañiz include: *

Castle of the Calatravos The Castle of the Calatravos is a castle in Alcañiz (Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial ...

( Parador since 1968) *Church of Santa María la Mayor, including a medieval

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

tower. *''Lonja de Alcañiz'' *''Casa Consistorial ''(Town Hall; 1565–70) *''Underground passage''; these goes from Town Hall up to the Church and the calle mayor. A few kilometers from the city are the rock paintings of the

Val del Charco del Agua Amarga Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a S ...

, included in the UNESCO Heritage Site

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula The group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, also known as Levantine art, were collectively declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock ...

References

External links

Official website

— De Re Militari
Alcañiz.tk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcaniz Municipalities in the Province of Teruel Maestrazgo Jewish Spanish history