Almansa () is a Spanish town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province of Albacete Albacete () is a province of central Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. As of 2012, Albacete had a population of 402,837 people. Its capital city, also called Albacete, is by road southeast of Madri ...

, part of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Castile-La Mancha. The name "Almansa" stems from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(al-manṣaf), "half way of the road". The municipality borders with

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

. Almansa is famous for its '' Moros y cristianos'' festival celebrated from 1 to 6 May. Almansa is built at the foot of a white limestone crag, which is surmounted by a Moorish castle, and rises abruptly in the midst of a fertile and irrigated plain. About south of the town centre stands an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Almansa fought there on 25 April 1707 during the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, in which a French, Spanish and Irish army under command of the duke of Berwick, a natural son of James II, routed the allied British, Portuguese and ''Spanish'' troops. Annual reenactments of that battle have been formally listed in the Spanish cultural register. The Sierra del Mugrón is located within the Almansa city limits.

Main sights

The main sightseeing attraction is the 14th-century Castle of Almansa. There are other important monuments, such as: * Church of la Asunción (16th-19th century) *Palace of ''Los Condes de Cirat'' (16th century), today the Town Hall *Church of the ''Agustinas'' Convent (18th century) *The Convent of ''San Francisco'' (17th century) *Clock Tower (1780) 8 km from the city is the reservoir of Almansa, built in 1584. This reservoir is the oldest one in Europe. 12 km from the city is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Belen (17th century). Vista nocturna del Castillo de Almansa

Camino de Santiago

Two pilgrim routes on the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

meet in Almansa. From the south comes the ''Camino de la Lana'' and from the east, the ''Camino de Levante''. The ''Camino de la Lana'' joins

with

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, and the ''Camino de Levante'' joins

with Zamora.

Past Residents

Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste (8 June 1895 – 2 June 1978) - The 11th President of Real Madrid - Bernabéu was born in Montealegre del Castillo (named simply Montealegre before 1916), in the province of Albacete, Spain. However, he was registered at his parents' home in the near town Almansa, where his family lived. His family moved to Madrid when he was very young, and Bernabéu himself joined the Real Madrid junior ranks in 1909 at age 14, after being a regular spectator at their matches for years.

References

External links

*
Portal of Almansa
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Province of Albacete Iberian locality names of Arabic origin

Main sights

Camino de Santiago

Past Residents

See also

References

External links