Alcazar of San Juan

Alcázar de San Juan is a Spanish city and municipality located in the northeast of the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. It belongs to the subregion of Campo de San Juan and the region of La Mancha and has a population of 30,516 inhabitants (INE 2022).

Geography

Satellite view centered in Alcázar de San Juan

Integrated in the region of La Mancha in the province of Ciudad Real, it is located 99 kilometers from the provincial capital. The municipality is crossed by the Autovía de los Viñedos (CM-42), by the CM-420 road (formerly N-420 between pK 277 and 292), by the CM-400 road, which connects with Madridejos, by the CM-310 road, which goes to Miguel Esteban, by the CM-3012 road, which connects with Quero, and by the CM-3107 road, which goes to Manzanares.

It presents a fundamentally flat orography, dotted in the north, higher area, by some low-altitude hills, such as those of Martín Juan (706 meters). The altitude oscillates between 706 meters (Martín Juan hills) and 625 meters on the banks of the Cigüela river after joining the Záncara. The urban center stands at 644 meters above sea level.

Northwest: Villafranca de los Caballeros (Toledo)	North: Quero (Toledo)	Northeast: Criptana field
West: Inheritance		This: Criptana field
Southwest: Inheritance	South: Plains of the Caudillo and Manzanares	Sureste: Argamasilla de Alba

Hydrology

The Cigüela, Záncara, Guadiana Alto and Amarguillo rivers cross the municipal area, none of which usually flows throughout the year. All of them contribute their flow to the Guadiana river. Covering a good part of the subsoil of the municipal area, there is an important groundwater reserve, known as Aquifer 23.

Alcázar lagoon complex

The lagoons, the main exponent of La Mancha Húmeda, are also of some importance due to their biological richness, in particular the lagoon complex of Alcázar de San Juan. Close to the town, it is made up of three lagoons, called La Veguilla, Laguna del Road to Villafranca and Laguna de Las Yeguas. It is an area of high natural value, which has led to the adoption of protection and recognition figures such as: wildlife refuge, special protection area for birds (ZEPA), La Mancha Húmeda Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO), Wetlands of international importance (RAMSAR). Their permanent collection of water has made them an important refuge for birds in times of drought, due to the reduction of other spaces such as the Tablas de Daimiel National Park. Birds such as flamingos and herons can be found throughout the year.

There are also the Pajares, Los Carros and Cerro Mesado lagoons, none of which have water during the dry seasons.

Climate

Due to its location in the middle of the South Plateau, the climate of Alcázar de San Juan is continental Mediterranean.

Population

Alcázar de San Juan occupies tenth place in Castilla-La Mancha in population, and fourth in the province of Ciudad Real distributed in three population centers: the city itself, the entity of scope inferior to the municipality (EATIM) of Cinco Casas and the hamlet of Alameda de Cervera.

Population centers

Alcázar de San Juan is made up of three nuclei or population entities.

List of population by entities:

On the other hand, Alcázar de San Juan has 18 neighborhoods:

• Barrio de San Francisco
• Barrio La Pradera
• Barrio Casco Antiguo
• Barrio Ciudad Jardin
• Barrio El Arenal
• Barrio Santa Maria
• Barrio de los Multicines
• Barrio Porvenir
• Barrio Goya
• Barrio Parque Viejo
• Area Centre
• Barrio Castelar
• Red Cross
• Barrio La Paz
• Barrio Los Devis
• Urbanization Av. Paul Churches
• Polígono Industrial Emilio Castro (P1-P6)
• Industrial Polígone Alces

Source: INE

Administration and politics

Composition of the City Council (2019 elections)

Results 2019 Municipal Elections in Alcázar de San Juan

Political party	2019
	%	Councillors
Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE)	46,71	11
Popular Party (PP)	20,46	4
Vox (Vox)	8,98	2
Citizens (Cs)	8.97	2
Equo (Equo)	8,09	1
Izquierda Unida-Ganemos (IU)	5,76	1

Evolution of outstanding debt

The concept of outstanding debt includes only debts with savings banks and banks related to financial credits, fixed-income securities and loans or credits transferred to third parties, excluding, therefore, commercial debt.

Graphic of evolution of the debt of the City of Alcázar of San Juan between 2008 and 2019

Living city council debt in thousands of Euros according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Ad. Public.

The outstanding municipal debt per inhabitant in 2019 amounted to €256.02.

History

Roman period

Polished axes, arrowheads, and ceramics have been found in the municipal area; It is believed that there could have been some Celtiberian settlements and it could even be the ancient Alces, a pre-Roman Celtiberian city conquered by the Roman praetor Sempronio Graco in 179 BC. C. which is named in its Annals by the Roman historian Tito Livio, even though it is in the Antonino Itinerary, from the III d. C., it is designated by the name of Murum; On the other hand, Alces could also be Ocaña from Toledo (from the Latin Alcanea), or Tresjuncos from Cuenca; In any case, located next to the Roman road or road that linked Augusta Emerita (Mérida) with Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza) through Toletum (Toledo), the place was well located for trading and there is no doubt that the Romans settled there, because mosaics have appeared in 1953 that demonstrate it and are now exhibited in the municipal museum; Julián San Valero Aparisi dates them between the end of the II century and the beginning of the III d. C., while Carmen García Bueno postpones them to the IV century, also using numismatic criteria and ceramic typologies. Moreover, the large dimensions of the excavated rooms suggest that the Roman Alcázar was an important center of Romanization.

Middle Ages

Torreón del Gran Prior

There are hardly any remains from the Visigothic period, although there are elements of this origin in the important and beautiful temple of Santa María la Mayor. The Muslim invasion in the year 711 turned La Mancha into a no man's land and the invading people created an important defensive network that they called in their language Al-kasar, which means "fortified palace&#34.;, giving its name to the town (although there is also evidence of another Muslim city in the area of Piédrola).

Church of Santa Maria

After the disastrous Christian defeat in the battle of Alarcos (1195) there was an ephemeral withdrawal of the Castilian troops, but the victory of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) meant the definitive Christianization of the region, although an important population still persisted Moorish and Jewish. Repopulation was revitalized to change this state of affairs: franchises and privileges granted by kings to those who wish to settle in these lands from other kingdoms abound.

At the end of the 13th century, Sancho IV authorized the Commander of Consuegra to establish the municipal boundaries of Alcázar on the lands of the Order of San Juan, although the Grand Commander had already begun to rebuild it; with the privilege of Sancho IV (which is the oldest parchment contained in its Municipal Archive) the population becomes a Villa, acquires its own coat of arms and is delimited by a very extensive municipal area, bordering on lands belonging to the Orders of Santiago and Calatrava. Since then the villa has been known as "Alcázar de Consuegra" or as "Alcázar de San Juan", by the Military Order that protected it. The Military Order of the Hospitallers of San Juan entered Spain after their expulsion from the Holy Land and settled in 1189 in La Mancha, forming the Great Priory of Castilla y León; In the XIII century, he built the most characteristic building of the town, the Torreón del Gran Prior or Torreón de Don Juan de Austria.

Church of San Francisco, rest of the missing convent of San Francisco.

16th century

In the 16th century the town experienced great splendor; In 1530 it had 18,480 inhabitants and many rich men and courtiers lived there. The Cervantes, Valdivielso and Díaz Morante families gave it luster; The two painters Barroso and Sánchez Cotán are also famous; the religious Juan Cobo and Diego de Torres Rubio evangelize the East and West Indies, one learning the Chinese language and the other Quechua. On March 2, 1532, the Convent of San Francisco de Asís, in transitional Gothic style, ordered to be built by Diego de Toledo, Prior of the Order of San Juan and Duke of Alba, was blessed, and the Franciscan University of Alcázar with chairs of Medicine, Theology, Sacred History and Philosophy, expanded in the XVII century with two more subjects, Grammar and Arts.

In the reign of Carlos I, the Order of San Juan was divided into two great priories, that of Castilla with headquarters in Consuegra and that of León with headquarters in Alcázar, being the first prior of the latter Antonio de Zúñiga and the first from Castile Diego de Toledo. The prior of León did not reside in the Alcázar, but in the Court, and for the affairs of the Alcázar he was represented by a Knight of San Juan with the title of Governor and Mayor Justice, to which some also added that of "Lieutenant of the Grand Prior". It is in this century when the famous gunpowder factory was created in Alcázar, the most important in the kingdom and which employed up to 500 men at one time.

In addition, a brief pontifical order in 1537 by Pope Paul III converted the parish of Santa María la Mayor into a collegiate church of Santa María la Mayor and created the Chapter of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.^{[ citation required]} In 1546, the Convent of Santa Clara was built to attend to the Hermitage of the Immaculate Conception; The recipe for the famous Alcázar cakes is attributed to them.^{[citation required]} In 1601, Doña María de Pedroche donated a manor house to found a new convent for these Poor Clares because the old man was small; This new convent is that of San José.

17th century

Church of Santa Quiteria

Church of the Most Holy Trinity

In 1603 a new church was built in the old parish of Santa Quiteria that was more spacious according to the plans of Juan de Herrera, builder of the Monastery of El Escorial, so that the church is in the Herrerian style.

In 1619 two more chairs were opened at the Franciscan university: Grammar and Arts. In 1623, Diego de Toledo y Guzmán gave the order to create a theater theater in the town, thus participating in the great cultural splendor of the Golden Age.

In 1625 the convent of the Holy Trinity is blessed and consecrated, dedicated to Nuestra Señora de Gracia, baroque in style and run by the Trinitarian priests; Between 1665 and 1670 he was exiled in the palace of the Order of San Juan for political reasons, Prince Juan José of Austria, bastard son of Felipe IV and the actress María Calderón & # 34; La Calderona & # 34;.

18th century

The Hospitaller Order loses its religious character and becomes noble; Agriculture was encouraged with the construction of the Gran Prior canal and in 1742 the Camarín de la Virgen del Rosario was completed in the Collegiate Church of Santa María, with a square plan and Baroque style, provided with a Talavera ceramic plinth and floor.

19th century

Estación de Alcázar de San Juan

This century begins with a great decline; the liberals were persecuted in the riot of May 2, 1823 and, after the Ominous Decade, the unequal confiscation concentrated large estates in a few hands and left a large mass of day laborers without the possibility of conquering their economic independence; It also caused great destruction of the artistic heritage, for example in the convent of San Francisco, of which only the church remained.

Scene in the town around 1901

However, in 1854, after the arrival of the railway in Spain, the layout of the English engineer Mister Green placed a station in the town with a railway junction of extraordinary importance and on May 24, 1858 Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the Madrid-Alicante line that passed through the city. Trade was strengthened and new horizons were opened to export wine and Manchego cheese at a lower cost. The gunpowder factory, which had gradually reduced its production, closed permanently in 1868. The 1868 revolution led to the closure of the Santa Clara convent, transformed into a barracks. In 1877 Alfonso XII granted Alcázar the title of city and at the end of the century the convents of Trinitarians reopened, creating a college in 1882, the Franciscans returned to Alcázar and reopened the monumental church of San Francisco de Asís in 1899.

20th century

At the beginning of the XX century, the economy improved due to the influence of the railway junction established in the population. Various infrastructures and societies were created around it, such as the military garrison attached to the Toledo Infantry Academy in 1906. The arrival of this military corps made it necessary to study the supply of drinking water to the population in which Many people from the town got involved, founding that same year the Sociedad de Aguas de Alcázar de San Juan. After a study of the quality of various wells, the Pozo de las Perdigueras well was chosen, at that time belonging to Miguel Henríquez de Luna, who in 1907 agreed to sell the necessary land where a well capable of supplying the municipality could be dug.

House of Oliverio Martínez and Mier

In 1929, the old Town Hall, built in 1622, was demolished, and the old Casino building became the Town Hall. Oliverio Martínez y Mier, the notary and court deputy for Alcázar de San Juan hired the services of the modernist architect Críspulo Moro Cabeza to remodel the casino building and carry out a plan to reform and modernize the squares in the town center, as well as such as the construction of a municipal bullring.

In 1936, the Spanish civil war put an end to the incipient economic and social progress. Alcázar remains in Republican territory and in October 1936 the 3rd Mixed Brigade of the Popular Army of the Republic was created in Alcázar, a corps of carabineros that participated in almost all the main battles that took place during the war. The insurgent side bombarded the city on several occasions and caused serious damage, due to its special importance as a railway junction and an obligatory passage to access the south of the peninsula.

Calle Emilio Castelar

After the war, Alcázar de San Juan suffered post-war misery like the rest of Spain. The abandonment of the autarky and the Stabilization Plan of 1959 and the successive Development Plans give rise to the appearance and growth of an industrial estate. Some companies related to the railway junction and the service sector settle, turning Alcázar into the head of the region of nearby towns, and receiving successive increases in its population. At the end of the XX century, Alcázar de San Juan had 28,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most populous cities in the province from Ciudad Real.

In 1994, the Mancha-Centro Hospital was built, of great importance within the health service of the autonomous community.

21st century

In November 2017, the new Vicente Paniagua multipurpose sports hall was inaugurated.

Economy

Molinos in Alcázar de San Juan

Although located in an eminently agricultural and livestock region, industrial and commercial activity has been and is the main base of the economy of Alcázar, attracting part of the wealth generated in its region, being the 3rd richest municipality in the province.

After the decline and extinction of the gunpowder manufacturing activity, the local economy was supported for almost a century and a half by the railway, which allowed the creation of large wineries producing bulk wine and derivatives, which used this means of transportation. transport for its commercialization, as well as the establishment of railway material factories and the presence of an important staff of personnel linked to the railway industry, first M.Z.A. and then Renfe. All this due to its condition as an important railway junction, which connects Madrid with the Spanish Levante and with Andalusia.

The old Convent of Santa Clara, converted into a hotel

The decline in freight transport by rail, the closure of some of the railway material factories and the centralization of maintenance tasks and control of rail traffic, have considerably diminished the importance of this sector, partly mitigated by the establishment of manufacturing and transformation industries, although railway companies such as Invatra Alcázar or the Renfe Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Center remain in Alcázar de San Juan.

On the other hand, the transformation of passenger rail operations, aimed at minimizing stop times and transfers and the elimination of night traffic, as well as the creation of the new Madrid-Andalusia high-speed lines and Madrid-Levante, which do not pass through Alcázar, have led to a considerable reduction in train traffic and hotel activity in the vicinity of the station.

Multicines Cinemancha

With the definitive extension of these lines, traffic will be limited in the future to medium-distance traffic, which is expected to be improved with the construction of the Madrid-Alcázar de San Juan-Jaén high-speed line, which will continue to use the town station.

Since the last decade of the XX century, Alcázar de San Juan has established itself as a city of services, downtown of commercial attraction of the nearby towns, largely due to the start-up of the Mancha-Centro Hospital Complex, its largest company.

With the first years of the XXI century, new opportunities arose, such as the production of electricity through photovoltaic plants and solar thermal power plants. Four 50 MW power solar thermal power plants are currently in operation and administrative authorization has been granted for the construction of another four, all of them in the southern zone, in the vicinity of the CM-3113 highway, which connects Villarta de San Juan and Five Houses.

As far as the primary sector is concerned, Alcázar de San Juan has an important extension of arable land, dedicated mostly to dry crops: cereal (wheat and barley), olive groves, melons and vineyards. The latter has been transferred in part to irrigated land, where the productivity of the plant is higher. Most of the production, increasingly rich in varietals, is marketed as must and bulk wine, as well as bottled wine under the La Mancha Denomination of Origin, whose regulatory council is located in this city. As in other towns in the area, most of the agricultural production is managed in agricultural cooperatives.

Today, ceramics, leather and wood are part of the local crafts.

Culture

Gastronomy

Its gastronomy corresponds to the typical Manchego: duels and brokenness, roast, lamb stew, cheese, lemon salad, Manchego ratatouille, porridge, shepherd's crumbs, and bizcochá, without forgetting the zurra: a drink made from wine, sugar, water and pieces of fruit. Also noteworthy are the Tortas de Alcázar, round and very spongy sweet cakes, covered with a crispy white shell.

Local festivals

Blessed Virgin of the Coronada Rosary, Patrona de Alcázar de San Juan. Your holidays are held on the first Sunday of October

Local festivals are held from September 2 to 8, just before the grape harvest begins; At local festivities, a multitude of clubs and local cultural groups gather to make typical gastronomy, each day a different meal is made.

The festivity of the patron saint of the town, the Virgen del Rosario Coronada is celebrated on the first Sunday of October.

Alcázar de San Juan celebrates its carnivals coinciding with the Christmas holidays, between December 26 and 28. Some carnivals that, due to the uniqueness of their celebration date, the last of the year, were declared in 2018 a Festival of National Tourist Interest.

The pilgrimage of San Isidro Labrador is also celebrated on May 15.

In June, coinciding with the festival of San Juan Bautista, the Moors and Christians festivities take place, declared of Regional Tourist Interest.

Other festivals of great relevance to the city are San Antón on January 17, in the Santa María square, and San Sebastián on January 20; In these festivals, popular bonfires are made throughout the town where friends and neighbors gather to celebrate the saints, making the typical and artisan pancakes, which according to tradition are eaten these days, dipping them in chocolate or alone.

Cervantism from Alcazar

Cartel of the house of Cervantes

There are some studies that consider Alcázar de San Juan the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616). For example, the works of Ángel Ligero Móstoles, Francisco Saludador Merino, Rafael Mazuecos Pérez-Pastor, Manuel Rubio Herguido or Bruno Redondo stand out. This Cervantes tradition is based on the baptism certificate found in the Parish Church of Santa María of a son of Blas Cervantes Saavedra and Catalina López, named Miguel. In 1748, Blas Nasarre, the kingdom's chief librarian and Cervantes scholar, wrote in the margin of said heading "This was the author of the Historia de don Quixote":

In nine days of the month of November one thousand five hundred and fifty-eight baptised the Rdo. Mr. Alo Díaz Pajares, a son of Blas de Cervantes Sabedra and Catalina López, who named him Miguel, was his first godfather (...) of Ortega, accompanied by Juan de Quirós and Francisco Almendros and the women of the sayings. This was the author of the History of Don Quixote (on the margin attributed to Blas Nasarre).

Statue of Cervantes

This Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, from Alcazar, differs in age from the Miguel de Cervantes born in Alcalá de Henares, since he would be eleven years younger. This has implications in the different episodes of Cervantes' life, since it prevents his service as a waiter for Cardinal Acquaviva, his participation in the battle of Lepanto, or his captivity in Algiers. On the other hand, the appearance of the surname "Saavedra" in the game from Alcazar, totally absent in the one found in Alcalá, and which Cervantes from Alcalá would not use until after 1585. However, it was common at the time, the alteration and change of surnames, as can be seen in various contemporaries of the author, like Vicente Espinel, for example.

Despite the existence of these works that indicate that Cervantes could have been born in Alcázar de San Juan, Cervantine critics consider, with the current knowledge of the sources that are available, that the true Miguel de Cervantes is the one born in Alcalá de Henares, as the author of Quixote himself stated in the Declaration of Algiers of 1580. This does not prevent the Cervantes tradition from continuing in Alcázar, also based on the existence until a few years ago of the so-called "Casa de Cervantes", (which was demolished due to its poor condition and where today a new construction stands).

On the other hand, the studies by Ángel Ligero Móstoles, based on characters not only from Don Quixote, but from all of Cervantes' work, suggest that the famous "place of La Mancha" It was Alcazar de San Juan. However, other theories have emerged that place this place in other towns in Castilla-La Mancha, such as Argamasilla de Alba, Villanueva de los Infantes, Argamasilla de Calatrava, La Puebla de Almoradiel or is it a combination of the characteristics of more than a "place" (a mystification).

This belief is so deeply rooted that, during the Spanish Civil War, the name of the town was changed to "Alcázar de Cervantes".

Sports

The new multipurpose sports hall Vicente Paniagua

Alcázar de San Juan has always had a great love for basketball, thanks to Antonio Díaz-Miguel.

The local team is Grupo 76 Al-kasar, founded in 1976, a team with a great youth system within the Castilian-La Mancha community. It is currently playing in the 1st National Division, after several years in the regional division.

The professional team of the town is ADEPAL (Fundación Amistad y Deporte Alcázar), founded in 2006, it played in the 1st National Division, even playing in the Adecco Oro league, and today it has disappeared due to financial problems.

On May 22, Seguros Soliss Alcázar Basket managed to rise to LEB Plata after finishing first in its group in the promotion phase. It also disappeared in the summer of 2018.

Media

Casa Párraga

• Television:
  • Mancha Centro TV (Campo de San Juan and neighboring municipalities, Alcázar de San Juan headquarters)
• Radio
  • Radio Surco Alcázar de San Juan (La Mancha and border municipalities, Alcázar de San Juan)
• Press
  • The Royal City Tribune
  • Weekly La Mancha
  • Alcázar de San Juan.es
  • Lanza Digital

Notable people