Alcázar de San Juan

Municipality

Old windmills.

Flag

Coat of arms

Alcázar de San Juan

Location in Spain.

Coordinates: 39°24′20″N 3°12′20″W / 39.40556°N 3.20556°W

Country

Spain

Campo de San Juan

Alcázar de San Juan

Promancha

Government

• Mayor

Diego Ortega (PP)

Area

• Total

666.78 km² (257.45 sq mi)

Elevation

644 m (2,113 ft)

Population (2009)

• Total

30,675

• Density

46/km² (120/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Alcazareños

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

13600

Website

Official website

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.

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).

Much of the action of Cervantes' Don Quixote takes place around Alcázar. The village of El Toboso was the home of the Lady Dulcinea del Toboso; Argamasilla de Alba is declared by tradition to be the birthplace of the original of Don Quixote himself.

Alcázar de San Juan was a main railway hub. 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.^[1]

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.

Notable people

José Antonio Redondo, cyclist

References

↑ SBHAC - Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular, 3ª Brigada Mixta

External links

Municipalities in the province of Ciudad Real

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.