Albacete

Albacete is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llanos. Halfway between Madrid and the Mediterranean coast, it enjoys connections by motorway, railway, and air. With a population of 174,336, it is the largest municipality of Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality of Albacete is also the seventh-largest in Spain by total area, being. Albacete is the seat to the regional High Court of Justice.
The origins of the city are uncertain, with the earliest proof of settlement dating to the time of Al-Andalus, when the settlement was originally named البسيط, meaning "The Flat" in Arabic, referring to the flat land around. Albacete was the main headquarters of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
Part of the historic region of La Mancha, Albacete has a reputation as a producer of clasp knives. Its flat area and the removal of architectural barriers have reportedly made it one of the most accessible cities across the country.
Among the several festivals celebrated in the city, the September Feria de Albacete stands out, declared as a festival of "International Tourist Interest".
Albacete is home to multinational corporations like the Albacete Airport and has five large industrial zones, including Campollano, the largest industrial area of Castilla–La Mancha. Albacete houses one of the campus of the University of Castilla–La Mancha, the Biomedical Campus of Albacete and the Technology Park of Albacete.
The aviation industry is one of the main economic engines of the city. Albacete hosts the School of TLP NATO pilots, Los Llanos Air Base.

Name

The name Albacete is derived from the Andalusian name for the area, the city having been originally called البسيط in Arabic, which translates to "the plain" in reference to the plateau that characterizes the geography of the area.
Pascual Madoz in his famous Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar indicates that two hypotheses about the toponym of Albacete are probable. In the first place he highlights the proposal suggested by Bernardo Espinalt y Garcia, who believes that the city was founded by the Cilicians, who called it Celtide relying on Liutprand of Cremona, "in Hispaniam venientes Celtide vocaverunt hunc locum, quem vocan Albacene corrupte mauri ". The second hypothesis states that its origin may be the Alaba of the Celtiberians, mentioned by Pliny the Elder and by Ptolemy, which could result in Alba civitas, which later became Albacete.
The most common adjective used to refer to the inhabitants of Albacete is albacetense, or albaceteño/a, without prejudice to the demonyms used for the inhabitants of the various population centers that make up the area such as the aguanueveros or colonos for the neighboring Aguas Nuevas.

History

The origins of the city are uncertain, although the first few confirmations of its existence are found during the Moorish domination of the area, when it was a small Moorish village. Its name is derived from the Arabic البسيط, "El Llano" referring to the planiform nature of the geography of the area.
The battle of Albacete, at which the Emir Zafadola was killed, was fought near Albacete in 1146.
In 1240, Albacete capitulated to Ferdinand III, who had support from the Order of Santiago and knights from the land of Alarcón. Soon after, in 1241, in return for help provided, the monarch donated the place to Alarcón. The hamlet of Albacete was transferred from Alarcón to Chinchilla by Alfonso X in 1269.
Albacete was granted the privilege of town in 1375 by Don Juan Manuel, prince of Villena, becoming independent from Chinchilla and granted a fuero in that time. A century later, in 1476, the Catholic Monarchs rewarded Albacete for supporting the Crown by granting it a licence to hold a market once a week.
During the Revolt of the Comuneros, after initial protests, Albacete supported the new emperor Charles V, who in 1526 granted the feudal estate of the town to his wife, the Empress Isabella of Portugal. During this period, construction started on the church of San Juan Bautista, which was later to become a cathedral.
Albacete is located in a strategic position between Madrid and the east coast of Spain and its agricultural wealth led to the growth of the borough during the next few centuries until Philip V granted permission for an annual fair. This fair was later held in an enclosure built by Charles III.
In the early 19th century, in the context of the discussion for the creation of a new province upon territory belonging to New Castile and Murcia, Albacete vied for the capital status of the intended demarcation against nearby Chinchilla. They had a similar population at the time, although Albacete probably had the edge in economic prowess. Chinchilla briefly became head of province during the trienio liberal before the absolutist crackdown of Ferdinand VII, but the definitive 1833 territorial division devised by Javier de Burgos established Albacete as capital of the new province of Albacete.
Soon after, in 1834, an Audiencia Territorial was established in Albacete, exercising jurisdiction over a demarcation comprising the provinces of Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Murcia and Albacete.
Railway reached Albacete on 18 March 1855, as the Alcázar de San Juan–Albacete stretch of the Madrid–Almansa line was opened on that day. Albacete was granted the title of city through a Royal Decree issued in November 1862, during the reign of Isabella II. Following the opening of the Chinchilla–Cartagena railway in 1865, Albacete also became connected to the latter city.
Social inequality in the 19th century was rampant, with overwhelming rates of illiteracy in areas dwelled by day laborers. Meanwhile, the "middle class" consisted chiefly of civil servants and lawyers as well a reduced number of merchants. Street electric lighting was inaugurated in 1888, thus being the first capital of a province in Spain with electric lighting in its streets.
Throughout the 19th century, the population of the town doubled from the 10,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the century to around 21,000 by the beginning of the 20th century. During this period, Albacete defended Queen Isabel II against the Carlists, supported Espartero and, just like other Spanish cities, constituted a revolutionary junta. During the long period of the Restoration, symptoms of caciquismo became pervasive in the political and social life of Albacete.
File:The International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, December 1936 - January 1937 HU71509.jpg|thumb|right|Members of the International Brigades in the British cookhouse at Albacete raising their fists
Between 1900 and the end of the Spanish Civil War, the population tripled. A number of basic public works date back to that time: the water supply and sewer system, the Abelardo Sanchez Park, Tesifonte Gallego Street and the industrial area of the town.
During the Spanish Civil War, after a brief lapse in the power of the troops who had rebelled against the Republican government, the town fell back into the hands of Madrid. For most of the war, the airbase at Los Llanos was the main headquarters of the Republican air force. It was also the headquarters of the International Brigades and a monument has been built recently to commemorate the sixty years' anniversary of those events. The first volume of Peter Weiss' novel The Aesthetics of Resistance is located in Albacete's Civil War days hospital "Cueva La Potita".
In the time of the transition to democracy, the two most significant events were the establishment in Albacete in 1982 of the High Court of Justice of Castilla–La Mancha, according to article 23 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Community. Casa de Quevedo, and the consolidation of the University, which brought new life to the town in 1985.

Geography

Location

Albacete is located in the South-East of the Iberian Peninsula, in the plains of La Mancha, at an elevation of about.
The surrounding region, the so-called Mancha de Albacete stands out for its horizontality. The municipality lies to a large extent on an endorheic area, prone to water-logging after heavy rains. In that sense, the urban nucleus was in fact an endemic focus of malaria until the Royal Canal of Albacete was built.
The local soil is low in organic matter and at risk, although slight, of erosion.

Climate

Albacete has a cold semi-arid climate. Winters are cool while summers are hot. Winters and summers are usually dry. Because of the continental nature of the climate there is a large temperature variation during the year. Precipitation is low and mainly concentrated in spring and autumn usually falling in the form of rain, but there is occasional snow.

Government and administration

Justice administration

The town is home to the High Court of Justice of Castile-La Mancha, the highest court of the autonomous region. The president of the Superior Court is Vicente Manuel Rouco Rodríguez, which is the highest representative of judiciary to Castilla–La Mancha. The High Court, established in 1989, based on the Palace of Justice in Albacete, is divided into three rooms: the Chamber of Civil and Criminal, the Board of Administrative Litigation and the Room social.
The city also hosts the Institute of Legal Medicine of Albacete, Cuenca and Guadalajara, whose scope corresponds to homonymous provinces. Moreover, the Manchego capital is the seat of Bar Council of Castilla–La Mancha and Notary Association of Castilla–La Mancha.
The long legal tradition of Albacete goes back to 1834, when the Territorial Court of Albacete, which extended its jurisdiction over the provinces of Albacete was created Ciudad Real and Cuenca and the Murcia.
The city also has a Provincial Court and head judicial district of Albacete, the judicial No. 1 province, whose demarcation comprises the city and over 15 municipalities, mainly of metropolitan area, which adds a Dean.
The legal infrastructure is completed by two courts Administrative Litigation three trial courts, juvenile court, one for violence against women, three of Criminal Seven of First Instance, three social courts. In this sense we must bear in mind that the Autonomous Community of Castilla–La Mancha does not exercise the powers in justice. All courts of the city unless the Superior Court of Castilla–La Mancha will be based in the new City of Justice in Albacete.
In addition, on the outskirts of the city is the Albacete Prison, known as The Prison Torrecica, established in 1981, and the Center for Children Albaidel, born in 1993.