Alcázar de San Juan

Alcázar de San Juan (often called simply Alcázar or Alcázar de Consuegra) is a town and municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is located in the plain of La Mancha.

Alcázar de San Juan
Municipality
Old windmills.
Flag
Coat of arms
Alcázar de San Juan
Location in Spain.
Alcázar de San Juan
Alcázar de San Juan (Castilla-La Mancha)
Coordinates: 39°24′20″N 3°12′20″W
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityCastile-La Mancha
ProvinceCiudad Real
Government
 • MayorRosa Melchor (PSOE)
Area
 • Total666.78 km2 (257.45 sq mi)
Elevation
644 m (2,113 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total30,686
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Alcazareños
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
13600
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Its name is taken from an old moorish fortress (al-qaSsr in Arabic language), which was afterwards garrisoned by the knights of St John (San Juan in Spanish language).[2]

Much of the action of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote takes place near Alcázar. The village of El Toboso (20 miles) was the home of the Lady Dulcinea del Toboso; Argamasilla de Alba (26 miles) is declared by some to be the birthplace of the original Don Quixote himself.[2]

Railways arrived to Alcázar de San Juan in 1854, as part of the Aranjuez–Almansa line, and, in 1861, another line was opened (Alcázar–Manzanares–Daimiel–Almagro–Ciudad Real).[3]

The town was granted the title of city (ciudad) in April 1877.[4]

The famous Third Mixed Brigade (Tercera Brigada Mixta) of the Spanish Republican Army was established in Alcázar de San Juan in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.[5]

Transport

Alcázar de San Juan has a reputation as railway hub.[6] It is part of the Madrid–Valencia and Alcázar de San Juan–Cádiz lines.

Since 2015,[7] the city has struggled for years to move forward with the project for the construction of the Plataforma Logística Intermodal "Mancha Centro",[8] a dry port.

Main sights
  • Old windmills
  • Tower of the Grand Prior (14th century)
  • Church of St. Mary Major (13th-15th centuries)
  • Church of St. Francis of Assisi (14th-15th centuries)
  • Convent of St. Claire (16th century)
  • Holy Trinity Church.
  • Saint Francis Church.

International relations
Twin towns and sister cities

Alcázar de San Juan is twinned with:

Notable people
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References
  1. Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alcázar de San Juan". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 518.
  3. "El ferrocarril en Ciudad Real: 166 años de historia, 108 accidentes y 181 fallecidos". Lanza. 16 February 2020.
  4. "Alcázar de San Juan conmemora los 140 años de su proclamación como ciudad por Alfonso XII". Lanza Digital. 10 April 2017.
  5. SBHAC - Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular, 3ª Brigada Mixta
  6. Guía: Alcázar de San Juan 'corazón de La Mancha'. 1966.
  7. "Alcázar de San Juan presenta la Plataforma Logística 'Mancha Centro', con influencia en más de 93.000 empresas". Europa Press. 23 October 2015.
  8. Pobes, Ana (24 March 2019). "Alcázar mira al mundo logístico". La Tribunal de Ciudad Real.
  9. "Viaje de hermanamiento a la ciudad francesa de Mâcon". ABC. 10 July 2012.
  10. "Miguel de Cervantes ya es hijo predilecto de Alcázar". La Tribuna de Ciudad Real. 9 November 2014.
  11. Online J. Ruyz, "El 150 aniversario del pintor Ángel Lizcano", Añil: Cuadernos de Castilla - La Mancha ISSN 1133-2263, Nº 11, 1996, pgs. 45-46
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