Almansa

Almansa municipality
	Almansa - Castillo
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Albacete
Comarca :	Altiplanicie de Almansa
Coordinates	38 ° 52 ′ N , 1 ° 6 ′ W Coordinates: 38 ° 52 ′ N , 1 ° 6 ′ W
Height :	695 msnm
Area :	531.91 km²
Residents :	24,419 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	45.91 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	02640
Municipality number ( INE ):	02009
administration
Website :	Almansa

Almansa is a city and a municipality ( municipio ) with a total of 24,419 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the north of the province of Albacete in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha . The name Almansa is derived from the Arabic term المنصف ( al-manṣaf = "half way"). The place was on the Ruta de la Lana , a formerly important trade and pilgrimage route.

Location and climate

Almansa is about halfway between the cities of Valencia and Murcia at an altitude of 695 m . The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 435 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2019
Residents	9,357	11,180	15,990	23,775	24,419

Due to the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs in the surrounding regions, the population of the municipality has grown steadily since the middle of the 19th century.

economy

For centuries, the economy was largely based on self-sufficiency, also because of the town's altitude . Agriculture was only possible to a very limited extent in the mountainous and rocky landscape; That is why the main focus was on livestock farming , the long-term products of which (cheese, sausages, wool and animal skins) were bought and traded on by traveling traders. Today the Almansa wine-growing region is classified as a DO (Denominación de Origen) .

history

The first traces of settlement near the city date from the 2nd millennium BC. During the Roman rule , the city was located near the Via Augusta .

From the 8th century until 1243 the city was under Muslim rule ; at last the city belonged to the small kingdom ( taifa ) of Murcia. After the recapture ( Reconquista ) , the Treaty of Almizra (1244) future membership of the territory to Castile (not and Aragón ) set. The Battle of Almansa took place near Almansa on April 25, 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession .

Attractions

The historic center of Almansa was classified as Conjunto histórico-artístico in 1982 .

The imposing Castillo de Almansa is a fortress from the 14th century. The building belonged to the manor (señorio) of Villena and was built at the instigation of the Infante Juan Manuel .
The Iglesia Arciprestal de la Asunción comes from the 16th century
The Palacio de los Condes de Cirat was built in the 16th century.
The Iglesia del Convento de los Franciscanos was built in the 17th century.
The Iglesia del Convento de las Agustinas was built in the early 18th century.

Surroundings

The Santuario de Belén , about 14 km west of the city, probably existed as early as the 11th century. Today's complex comes from the 17th / 18th centuries. Century.