Almansa

Almansa
Coat of arms of Almansa
location in Albacete
location in Albacete
Almansa is located in Province of Albacete
Almansa
Almansa
Location in Albacete
Almansa is located in Castilla-La Mancha
Almansa
Almansa
Location in Castilla-La Mancha
Almansa is located in Spain
Almansa
Almansa
Location in Spain
Coordinates: 38°52′06.1″N 1°05′40.4″W / 38.868361°N 1.094556°W / 38.868361; -1.094556
Country Spain
Autonomous communityCastilla–La Mancha
ProvinceAlbacete
ComarcaAltiplanicie de Almansa
Judicial districtAlmansa
CommonwealthMonte Ibérico–Corredor de Almansa
Government
 • MayorJavier Sánchez Roselló (PP)
Area
 • Total531.91 km2 (205.37 sq mi)
Elevation
712 m (2,336 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total24,537
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
DemonymAlmanseños
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
02640
Dialing code967
WebsiteOfficial website

Almansa (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈmansa]) is a Spanish town and municipality in the province of Albacete, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The name "Almansa" stems from the Arabic المنصف (al-manṣaf), "half way of the road".[2][3] The municipality borders with Alicante, Valencia and Murcia. 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 1 mile (1.6 km) 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, 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[dubiousdiscuss] troops.[4] Annual reenactments of that battle have been formally listed in the Spanish cultural register.[5]

The Sierra del Mugrón is located within the Almansa city limits.

  1. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ^ Asín Palacios, Miguel (1940). Contribución a la toponimia árabe de España. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. p. 66.
  3. ^ Celdrán, Pancracio (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (in Spanish). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 54. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9.
  4. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Almansa". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 712.
  5. ^ "La Batalla de Almansa: Bien de Interés Cultural". 29 April 2013.