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Barbastro

Barbastro (Latin Barbastrum or Civitas Barbastrensis, Arabic Barbastra) is a Spanish city in the Somontano county of Huesca in Aragon. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers Cinca and Vero.

[edit] History

Following the Roman empire and Visigoth kingdoms,Latin Barbatius,Barbastro,France Barbazan o Italy Barbaccia,Barbazza and the Barbitaniya area were overtaken by Musa bin Nusair (717), as part of the Ummayad push to conquer northern states of the Marca Hispanica and the name Madyar was given to the town.

It was later settled by the Banu Jalaf who made it the capital of the Emirate of Barbineta and Huesca until 862 and was known as the Emirate of Brabstra until 882.

In 1064, Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragón, and his Frankish Christian forces, led by William VIII of Aquitaine and Le Bon Normand, invaded the city which had been ruled by the emir of Zaragoza. This attack which decimated over 50,000 people, was known as the Siege of Barbastro. Their success in overtaking the city, albeit brief, was catalytic to securing ongoing Frankish military involvement for Aragon in the Reconquista, with subsequent waves of Crusades.

[edit] Catholic Tradition

Barbastro continues to have a strong catholic presence and tradition to this day. The city is a suffragan diocese to Zaragoza. See also Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón.

The city's ancient cathedral, episcopal palace, seminary, and Piarist College are among the most noted buildings in the city.

Besides the Piarists, various religious communities and educational schools surfaced in the diocese in the early 20th century - among them the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Poor Clares, the Capuchine sisters, the Benedictines in the town of Pueyo and the Carmelites in Graus and Salas Altas.

The diocese is renowned for its ecclesiastical teachers, missionaries, new world martyrs and modern saints, most notably:

Opus Dei founder, Father Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, canonized saint by Pope John Paul II
Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla, known as the first gypsy saint
Blessed Fray Luis Cancer, a Dominican expeditionary priest killed by Indians in Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1549; and
the 51 Blessed Claretian Martyrs of Barbastro, executed in 1936 by the Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War.
Saint Raymond of Barbastro, a 12th century bishop and patron saint of the city.

[edit] Famous Authors

Bartolomé and Lupercio Argensola, historians and classical Spanish writers, were born in Barbastro. Bartolomé is the author of the "Historia de las Molucas", "Anales de Aragón", and "Regla de Perfección"; Lupercio wrote three tragedies, "Isabel", "Jebe", and "Alejandro", and some poems published with others written by his brother Bartolomé.

In his Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell wrote of his injury sustained while fighting in the Spanish Civil war and of his brief stay at the Hospital in Barbastro.

[edit] Notable residents

Jose Antonio Fortea, Catholic priest and exorcist

[edit] Twin town

Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne

[edit] Source

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
The Historic Atlas of Iberia

Coordinates: 42°02′N 0°08′E / 42.033°N 0.133°E / 42.033; 0.133

[edit] External links

History of Entremuro (in Spanish) Places, people and events about city's old quarter

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