Santa Cruz de Mudela
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz de Mudela is a municipality
of the Spanish
province
Ciudad Real
located in the southeastern corner of the autonomous community Castile-La Mancha
.
B. C. E.
have been found in the northern parts of the Meadow of Medula and the lowlands of Jabalon. Additional archaeological evidence from the Cerro de las Cabezas dig further suggests that the region was an important settlement of the Iberian
Oretan tribe between the 7th and 2nd centuries B. C. E.
In the following centuries, the region came to lie under the sphere of influence of a Roman
, and later Visigothic, town near present-day Valdepeñas
. The Roman legacy and influence in Santa Cruz are most evident in the region's wine
culture and many vineyard
s.
After the sudden Moorish
conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century, Santa Cruz's wine and vineyards became less important in the new Arab
ic culture. The town lost much of its former regional economic clout and came to serve mainly as a grain depository for the region south of Toledo
.
In 1212 C. E., after Alfonso VIII of Castile
and the Order of Calatrava
drove the Moors from Central Iberia, the townspeople relocated and established around the Good Well (situated in front of what was then a convent, but is now the barracks of the Civil Guard
) the town center that exists today.
The name of the town itself, Santa Cruz de Mudela, dates back to the 13th century. Several different explanations of the origin exist, mixing historical fact, tradition, and legend. Oral tradition
takes the "Holy Cross" (Santa Cruz) to be that which accompanied the Christians in their triumphant 1212 battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
. More reliable sources suggest that the "Santa Cruz" in actuality refers to the crossroads located in the Meadow of Mudela (so called for its proximity to the pass of Muradal, one of the entrances to the Central Meseta
through the Andalusian Plain
).
the towns of Santa Cruz de Mudela and Viso del Puerto (Muradal), under his own terms and along with civil and criminal jurisdiction, for 26,208,626 maravedíes
(for comparison, Ferdinand Magellan
's epic voyage around the earth, financed by Carlos I in 1518, cost 8,751,125 maravedis). Later his son, Don Álvaro de Bazán the Younger
, became the first Marquis of Santa Cruz and built the palace and the Franciscanos Capuchinos convent, still constituted, as said above, in authentic benefactors of the town.
The lineage of the Bazán belongs to one of the twelve houses of Navarre
and continues through the towns of Baztán, and in the vernacular language is called soy uno. Don Álvaro of Bazán was one of the most interesting historical figures from Spain of the 17th century. The illustrious Granadian, celebrated admiral of Felipe II, was named 'first marqués of Santa Cruz of Marcenado, leader of the towns Viso and Valdepeñas, major commander of León, his majesty's advisor and general captain of the ocean sea and of the people during the war of the kingdom of Portugal.
invasion of Spain suffered a reversal at the hands of peasants from Santa Cruz de Mudela. Of 700 French troops, 109 were killed and an additional 113 were taken prisoner. Throughout November 1808, Santa Cruz de Mudela served as the headquarters for the La Mancha Spanish army under the command of General Don Francisco de Eguía during preparations for the crucial Battle of Ocaña
.
and Albacete
.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real is a city in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, with a population of c. 74,000. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It has a stop on the AVE high-speed rail line and has begun to grow as a long-distance commuter suburb of Madrid, located 115 miles to the north. A high capacity...
located in the southeastern corner of the autonomous community Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain. Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities...
.
Geography
Santa Cruz de Mudela has a Mediterranean-Continental climate that consists of cold winters, warm summers, and little precipitation.The Founding of Santa Cruz de Mudela
Various artifacts and remains dating back to the first half of the second millenniumMillennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
B. C. E.
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
have been found in the northern parts of the Meadow of Medula and the lowlands of Jabalon. Additional archaeological evidence from the Cerro de las Cabezas dig further suggests that the region was an important settlement of the Iberian
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
Oretan tribe between the 7th and 2nd centuries B. C. E.
In the following centuries, the region came to lie under the sphere of influence of a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, and later Visigothic, town near present-day Valdepeñas
Valdepeñas
Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso del Marqués, Torrenueva, Castellar de Santiago and...
. The Roman legacy and influence in Santa Cruz are most evident in the region's wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
culture and many vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s.
After the sudden Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century, Santa Cruz's wine and vineyards became less important in the new Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ic culture. The town lost much of its former regional economic clout and came to serve mainly as a grain depository for the region south of Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
.
In 1212 C. E., after Alfonso VIII of Castile
Alfonso VIII of Castile
Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...
and the Order of Calatrava
Order of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.-Origins and Foundation:...
drove the Moors from Central Iberia, the townspeople relocated and established around the Good Well (situated in front of what was then a convent, but is now the barracks of the Civil Guard
Civil Guard (Spain)
The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...
) the town center that exists today.
The name of the town itself, Santa Cruz de Mudela, dates back to the 13th century. Several different explanations of the origin exist, mixing historical fact, tradition, and legend. Oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
takes the "Holy Cross" (Santa Cruz) to be that which accompanied the Christians in their triumphant 1212 battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Arab history as the Battle of Al-Uqab , took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain...
. More reliable sources suggest that the "Santa Cruz" in actuality refers to the crossroads located in the Meadow of Mudela (so called for its proximity to the pass of Muradal, one of the entrances to the Central Meseta
Geography of Spain
Spain is a constitutional monarchy located in southwestern Europe. It occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula ind includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Western Atlantic Ocean off northwest Africa, and...
through the Andalusian Plain
Geography of Spain
Spain is a constitutional monarchy located in southwestern Europe. It occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula ind includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Western Atlantic Ocean off northwest Africa, and...
).
El Marquesado de Santa Cruz
On January 30, 1538, Don Álvaro the Elder bought off from Carlos ICharles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
the towns of Santa Cruz de Mudela and Viso del Puerto (Muradal), under his own terms and along with civil and criminal jurisdiction, for 26,208,626 maravedíes
Spanish maravedí
The maravedí was the name of various Iberian coins of gold and then silver between the 11th and 14th centuries and the name of different Iberian accounting units between the 11th and 19th centuries.-Etymology:...
(for comparison, Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
's epic voyage around the earth, financed by Carlos I in 1518, cost 8,751,125 maravedis). Later his son, Don Álvaro de Bazán the Younger
Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz
Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz de Mudela , was a Spanish admiral.-Biography:Álvaro de Bazán was born in Granada....
, became the first Marquis of Santa Cruz and built the palace and the Franciscanos Capuchinos convent, still constituted, as said above, in authentic benefactors of the town.
The lineage of the Bazán belongs to one of the twelve houses of Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
and continues through the towns of Baztán, and in the vernacular language is called soy uno. Don Álvaro of Bazán was one of the most interesting historical figures from Spain of the 17th century. The illustrious Granadian, celebrated admiral of Felipe II, was named 'first marqués of Santa Cruz of Marcenado, leader of the towns Viso and Valdepeñas, major commander of León, his majesty's advisor and general captain of the ocean sea and of the people during the war of the kingdom of Portugal.
The War of Independence and the Battle of Ocaña
On June 5, 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte'sNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
invasion of Spain suffered a reversal at the hands of peasants from Santa Cruz de Mudela. Of 700 French troops, 109 were killed and an additional 113 were taken prisoner. Throughout November 1808, Santa Cruz de Mudela served as the headquarters for the La Mancha Spanish army under the command of General Don Francisco de Eguía during preparations for the crucial Battle of Ocaña
Battle of Ocana
The Battle of Ocana or Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult and King Joseph Bonaparte and the Spanish army under Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War...
.
19th Century to present
The city became known during the 19th century for its sword and cutlery artisans, who forged steel blades of exceptional quality comparable to those of ToledoToledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
and Albacete
Albacete
Albacete is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 258 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of c. 169,700 in 2009....
.
Landmarks and Monuments
- Plaza and Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes
- Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
- Church of San José
- Convent-School of Concepcionistas Misioneras de la Enseñanza
Mayors of Santa Cruz from 1979
- 1979 Juan Bustos (UCD)
- 1979 Juan Valverde (UCD)(by resignacion of Juan Bustos)
- 1983 Antonio Cobos (PSOE)
- 1987 Antonio Cobos (PSOE)
- 1989 José Antonio López Aranda (PSOE)
- 1991 José Antonio López Aranda (PSOE)
- 1995 José Antonio López Aranda (PSOE)
- 1999 José Antonio López Aranda (PSOE)
- 2003 José Antonio López Aranda (PSOE)
- 2007 Manuel Saéz Laguna (PVISCM)
Notable residents
- D. Alfonso López de Molina y Martínez Domingo (born in 1600)
- P. Francisco González.
- D. Máximo Laguna Villanueva (born in 1826)
- Dª. María del Rosario Laguna and Laguna
- D. Antonio Muñoz Patón
- D. Juan de Mata Castro y Cacho
- D. Antonio Senén Castro y Cacho
- D. Leandro Delgado Fernández
- D. Miguel Ramírez Lasala
- D. Miguel Laguna Campos
- D. José Casado Bustos