Monzón

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monzón is a village in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It has a population of approximately 16,000 people. You can find it in the northeast ( Cinca Medio area), next to the rivers Cinca (‘’also Zinca’’) and Sosa.

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[edit] Historical view

Monzón is relevant because of its relationships with the Knights Templar and because it was host many times to the Cortes de la Corona de Aragón (Aragonese Courts), between XIII and XVII centuries. Also of note are La catedral de Santa María del Romeral (Saint Mary of the Rosemary Field), with Romanic basements and the castle, originally from the IX Century (Torre del Homenaje) which hosted kings and nobles. It was here in 1109 that Urraca of Castile married her second husband Alfonso I of Aragon despite church objections. Child-king James I of Aragón, “The Conqueror” (Chaime I Lo Conqueridor or Jaime I el Conquistador) spent part of his youth there, after his father Peter II of Aragón (Pietro II or Pedro II) died in the Battle of Muret (1213); James I was kept under guardianship by the Knights Templar, in Monzon, a strategic spot between Segre and Cinca valleys.

[edit] Famous Sportsmen

Monzón has been the home of great sportsmen and women well known to the Aragonese and the world. Among them are Conchita Martínez, the only Spanish woman to win the most important and ancient tournament in tennis, Wimbledon Tournament, and Eliseo Martín, the bronze medal winner of the 3000 m steeple in the Paris World Championships (2003)-the only non African athlete to get a medal in WC since 1993.

But Monzon was also home to olympic athletes, including Javier Moracho (110 m hurdles)-the Spanish record holder for almost 20 years, the decathlete Álvaro Burrell, and the renowned pole vaulter Javier Gazol.

[edit] Geography

You can find two rivers in Monzón, the Sosa and the Cinca. The latter is the more important; it source is on Pineta, Monte Perdido (Aragonese Pyrenees) and merges with the Ebro River.

[edit] Places of Interest

  • El Castillo Templario (The Castle of the Knights Templar)
  • La Catedral de Santa María del Romeral (The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Rosemary Field, XII and XIII centuries).
  • El Convento de San Francisco (Saint Francis Convent, now dedicated to musical education).
  • La Ermita de la Virgen de la Alegría (The Happiness Virgin Shrine, from the XVII century).
  • Major House (XVI and XVII centuries).
  • La Puerta de Luzán (Luzán Gate).
  • The Romanic Wall
  • Cehimo Museum

[edit] Notable people from Monzón

  • Barón de Eroles (1860-1941): lawyer and philanthropist that brought to Monzón one of the first X-Ray machines in Spain.
  • Reverendo Vicente Pilzano y Ezquerra: prior to the XVIII century, he wrote important cronicles about the city.
  • Ignacio de Luzán (1702 - 1754): her poetry is still studied in universities all around the world.
  • José Mor de Fuentes: naval engineer and writer, author of books including ‘’La Serafina’’, ‘’La fonda de París’’, ‘’El calavera’’, ‘’A la muerte de Lord Byron’’, ‘’Los nuevos desengaños’’.
  • Joaquín Costa y Martínez (1846 - 1911): One of the greatest men of the ‘’Regeneracionismo’’. He developed theories about education, water management and agricultural politics that were followed throughout the 20th century. “Oligarquía y Caciquismo” is one of his best books.
  • Mariano de Pano y Ruata (1847 - 1948): He was president of the ‘’Ateneo’’ and ‘‘Academia de Bellas Artes de San Luis’’. He was the official Chronicler of the monasterio de Sijena and of the Real Academia de la Historia. His best books are: ‘’Las coplas del Peregrino’’, ‘’Puey de Monzón’’, ‘’Viaje a la Meca en el siglo XVI’’ and ‘’La condesa de Bureta doña Consolidación de Azlor’’.
  • Joaquín de Pano y Ruata (1849 - 1919): engineer, ornythologist, filologue, translator of several languages, including Chinese and Japanese. He designed bridges in Monzón, one the them served as the model for bridges in Zaragoza.