Everything about Barbastro totally explained
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.
History
Following the Roman empire and Visigoth kingdoms, Barbastro 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.
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
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 Jiménez 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 during the Spanish Civil War, an example of the countless deaths suffered on all sides of the war.
- Saint Raymond of Barbastro, a 12th century bishop and patron saint of the city.
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.
Sisters cities
Saint-Gaudens, France
Source
The Historic Atlas of IberiaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Barbastro'.
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