Village
Municipality of the comarca of Monte Ibérico-Corredor de Almansa, in the province of Albacete, which the agreement of Almizra of 1244 left on the Castilian side as gateway and customs post towards the kingdom of Valencia, and on whose plains one of the decisive battles of the War of the Spanish Succession was fought on 25 April 1707. On the crag of the Cerro del Águila stands its castle, Almohad in origin and with the appearance given it by the first marquess of Villena, declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1921; in the built-up area are the archpriestly church of la Asunción, raised between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the Mannerist palace of the Counts of Cirat, today the town hall.
Monument
A fortress raised on the limestone crag of the Cerro del Águila overlooking the city. Almohad in origin and built of rammed earth in the 12th century, it was remodelled by Don Juan Manuel in the 14th century and took on its present appearance under Juan Pacheco, 1st Marquis of Villena, in the 15th century. It was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) in 1921.
Monument
Church located on the plaza de Santa María in Almansa, next to the palace of the Counts of Cirat -today the town hall- and facing the castle, whose construction spanned from the 16th to the 19th century: the ground was marked out in 1524, the walls and side chapels were raised between 1530 and 1538, and the final façade was laid out between 1619 and 1624. Between 1680 and 1799 the Communion chapel, from 1763, and one of the two planned towers were added. Notable features include its barrel vault, the side chapels with Gothic rib vaulting and a chancel inspired by the Palace of Versailles; the doorway, at the foot of the church, is Renaissance in style, and the single tower that was built, in exposed brick, is Baroque, from the second half of the 18th century. It was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (a former Spanish heritage-protection category, predecessor of today's Bien de Interés Cultural) in 1983.
Monument
Popularly known as the Casa Grande, it is a 16th-century Mannerist palace built for Alfonso de Pina, with a façade of alternating fluted and rusticated columns. The town council acquired it in 1992 and since 1996 it has housed the town hall.
Monument
A 17th-century convent of Augustinian nuns to which a church with a Baroque doorway of Solomonic columns was added in 1704. It opens onto the Plaza de San Agustín, in the heart of the old town.
Monument
A 17th-century Baroque sanctuary some 14 kilometres from the town centre, where the patron saint of Almansa is venerated. Rectangular in plan, it preserves a raised choir and a Baroque altarpiece of the early 18th century. It was listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1991.
Monument
A small Baroque church in the centre of Almansa, recognisable by its striking dome. It is one of the historic hermitages preserved in the city.
Monument
A building erected in 1800 with an arcaded gallery, evidence of the commercial and market role of the historic centre of Almansa.
Monument
The Museum of the Battle of Almansa is an interpretation centre next to the town's church of the Assumption, dedicated to the battle fought there on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession, between the troops of Philip of Anjou, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, and those of Archduke Charles of Austria, commanded by Henri de Massue and the Marquis das Minas. The clash, won by the former, was not decisive for the end of the war, but it opened the kingdom of Valencia to Bourbon occupation and preceded the abolition of its fueros, together with those of Aragon, by the Decretos de Nueva Planta. The museum displays models, uniforms, original objects recovered from the battlefield, and documentation from the period.
Monument
A group of Levantine rock art discovered in 1984 in the municipal district of Almansa, with depictions of archers and female figures. It forms part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.
Nature
A rock shelter with cave paintings found around 1990 in the municipal district of Almansa, part of the group of Levantine art of the Mediterranean Basin recognised by UNESCO.
Nature
A mountain massif in the north of the municipal district of Almansa rising to 1,209 metres, the highest point in the municipality. It harbours endemic plants such as the rabogato and the Mugrón broom.
Nature
A natural pass between the Meseta and the Levantine coast, one of the historic corridors crossing the Iberian System. Its lowest point is around 650 metres and since antiquity it has shaped the communication routes of the south-east of the Peninsula.
Activity
Celebrations in honour of the Virgen de Belén with Moros i Cristians, the highlight being the night-time Moorish embassy performed at the castle. They were declared Festivities of International Tourist Interest in 2019.
Historical milestone
On 25 April 1707 one of the decisive battles of the War of the Spanish Succession was fought on the plains of Almansa, on the border between the kingdoms of Valencia, Alicante and Murcia. The troops of Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France and proclaimed king as Philip V, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, defeated those of Archduke Charles of Austria, commanded by Henri de Massue and the Marquis das Minas. Although not decisive for the end of the international conflict, the victory opened the doors of the kingdom of Valencia to Bourbon troops, despite Austracist resistance, and its fueros were abolished, along with those of Aragon, following the Decretos de Nueva Planta. Its memory is kept alive through historical re-enactments in the city.
Curiosity
The Calzados Coloma factory made Almansa the second largest shoemaking centre in Spain around 1913. After almost a century in business it closed in 1954, but its workers founded factories of their own and consolidated the sector in the city.
Curiosity
Connected by rail to Madrid, Alicante and Valencia between 1857 and 1859, Almansa station became one of the most important in south-eastern Spain. It opened on 17 November 1857 with the opening of the Albacete-Almansa section, built by the Compañía de los Ferrocarriles de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante. Located at an altitude of 712 metres, at kilometre point 358.2 of the Madrid-Valencia line and between the stations of Albacete and La Encina, it has two platforms and six tracks. Today it provides medium-distance services to Albacete, Ciudad Real, Jaén, Alicante and Valencia; Adif manages the infrastructure and Renfe has operated it since 2004.
Historical milestone
The agreement that the infante Alfonso of Castile and James I of Aragon sealed at Almizra in 1244 divided up the conquests of the southeast and left Almansa on the Castilian side; the town became Castile's gateway and customs post towards the kingdom of Valencia.
Historical milestone
By grace of Charles III the old town of Almansa came to be titled a city in 1778, in recognition of its weight as head of the corridor between La Mancha and the Levante and of its role in the passage of troops, mail and goods.
Food and drink
Eight districts of the corridor have shared this denomination since 1966, with vineyards planted between seven hundred and a thousand meters on calcareous soils; its reds, widely exported, are made above all with garnacha tintorera, monastrell and cencibel.