Badajoz: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 49 - 206 Husa Zurbaran
 Located in the centre of Badajoz in front of the Castelar Park and beside the Guadiana River, this hotel is perfectly located to visit the nearby shop… MoreEUR 46 - 300 Las Bóvedas
 Las Bóvedas is set on the outskirts of Badajoz, near the University campus and the IFEBA Trade Fair Centre. It offers stylish rooms with free Wi-Fi a… MoreEUR 36 - 378 NH Gran Hotel Casino de Extremadura
 This hotel is situated next to the Guadiana River, 10 minutes’ walk from Badajoz city centre and Alcazaba Fortress. It houses the Gran Casino de Ext… MoreEUR 46 - 154 Sercotel Río Badajoz
 Sercotel Río Badajoz is set on the banks of the Guadiana River, just outside the historic centre of Badajoz. Free private parking and free Wi-Fi are … MoreEUR 49 - 54 Hotel San Marcos
 Located in the historic heart of Badajoz, Hotel San Marcos offers air-conditioned rooms with flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. It is 100 metres from the… MoreEUR 43 - 65 Hotel Lisboa
 Hotel Lisboa is located 500 metres from Badajoz Train Station, a 10-minute walk from the historic city centre. This good-value hotel offers comfortabl… MoreEUR 44 - 200 Apartahotel Ascarza Badajoz
 Located 2 km from Badajoz’s centre and its main sights, these modern apartments have free Wi-Fi and TV. It has an all-day café and easy access to t… MoreEUR 50 - 281 Badajoz Center
 Badajoz Center is situated in the shopping and commercial centre of Badajoz, right next to Badajoz Bus Station and near the Congress Centre. It has a … MoreEUR 26 - 140 Condedu
 This friendly, modern hotel is located in the commercial heart of Badajoz, just a short walk from the city’s most popular sights and shopping street… MoreEUR 47 - 391 Confortel Golf Badajoz
 Confortel Golf Badajoz is located in the Extremaduran countryside, overlooking Guadiana Golf Course, 6 km outside Badajoz. It offers free Wi-Fi, an ou… MoreEUR 50 - 130 AC Badajoz
 This smart and modern hotel is located on the edge of Badajoz, in the Extremadura region. It is only 5 minutes from the city centre by car.
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Badajoz: Guide
Badajoz (IPA , formerly written Badajos in English), the capital of the Spain|Spanish provinces of Spain|province of Badajoz (province)|Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous community of Extremadura, is situated close to the Portugal|Portuguese frontier, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid-Lisbon railway. The population in 1990 was 126,781; in 2002 it was 136,851.
Badajoz is the see of a bishop. It occupies a slight eminence, crowned by the ruins of a Moorish castle, and overlooking the Guadiana. A strong wall and bastions, with a broad moat and outworks, and forts on the surrounding heights, give the city an appearance of great strength. The river, which flows between the castle-hill and the powerfully armed fort of San Cristobal, is crossed by a magnificent granite bridge, originally built in 1460, repaired in 1597 and rebuilt in 1833. The whole aspect of Badajoz recalls its stormy history; even the cathedral, built in 1238, resembles a fortress, with massive embattled walls.
The association football team in the city is CD Badajoz|Club Deportivo Badajoz who plays in Tercera División.
History
Owing to its position the city enjoys a considerable transit trade with Portugal; its other industries include the manufacture of linen, woollen and leather goods, and of pottery.
It is not mentioned by any Roman historian, and first rose to importance under Moorish rule. It was founded by the Galician Muslim Ibn Marwan around 875 and after 1022 it became the capital of a small Moorish kingdom (Emirate of Badajoz), and, though temporarily held by the Portuguese in 1168, it retained its independence until 1229; when it was captured by Alfonso IX of Leon.
As a frontier fortress it underwent many sieges. It was beleaguered by the Portuguese in 1660, and in 1705 by the Allies in the War of the Spanish Succession. During the Peninsular War Badajoz was unsuccessfully attacked by the French in 1808 and 1809; but on March 10, 1811, the Spanish commander, José Imaz, was bribed into surrendering to a French force under Marshal Soult. A British army, commanded by Marshal William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford|Beresford, endeavoured to retake it, and on May 16 1811 defeated a relieving force at Battle of Albuera|Albuera, but the siege was abandoned in June.
The Storming of Badajoz, 1812
''main article Battle of Badajoz (1812)
In 1812, Arthur Wellesley (the future Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington) again attempted to take Badajoz, which had a French garrison of about 5,000 men. Siege operations commenced on March 16, and by early April there were three practicable breaches in the walls. These were assaulted by two British divisions on April 6, 1812.
The attacks were pressed with great gallantry for five hours, but repeatedly beaten back with heavy loss. Meanwhile the castle, and another section of undamaged wall, had been attacked by escalade and successfully taken by the British. At the cost of some 5,000 casualties, Wellington had succeeded in taking Badajoz. He wrote to Lord Liverpool
"The capture of Badajoz affords as strong an instance of the gallantry of our troops as has ever been displayed, but I anxiously hope that I shall never again be the instrument of putting them to such a test as that to which they were put last night"
(However, the storming of San Sebastian in 1813 was much like Badajoz)
In the Siege of Badajoz, a detachment of the 45th Regiment of Foot (later amalgamated with the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot|95th to form Sherwood Foresters Regiment) succeeded in getting into the castle first and the red coatee of Lt. James MacPherson of the 45th was hoisted in place of the French flag to indicate the fall of the castle. This feat is commemorated on the 6th April each year when red jackets are flown on Regimental flag staffs and at Nottingham Castle.
With the town taken, military discipline largely disappeared, and the town was subjected to two days of pillage, murder, rape and drunkenness by the British survivors. The only way to restore order was to erect the gallows and flog many soldiers.
(Harry Smith (army)|Sir Harry Smith undertook to protect two young ladies from any insult during the sack of Badajoz, one of whom he married. In consequence Ladysmith, South Africa|Ladysmith is named after a former inhabitant of Badajoz, Juana Maria de los Delores de Leon Smith|Juana Maria Smith)
Modern History
A military and republican rising took place here in August 1883, but completely failed.
During the Spanish Civil War, Badajoz was Battle of Badajoz (1936)|taken by the Nationalists in the Battle of Badajoz (1936)|Battle of Badajoz. A number of Republican prisoners were executed in the bullring.
Famous Sons
Badajoz is the birthplace of the statesman Manuel de Godoy, the Duke of Alcudia (1767—1851), and of the painter Luis de Morales. Five pictures by Morales are preserved in the cathedral.
Villages
Alburquerque is a small village in the province of Badajoz. Its name became the name (with a typographical error) of the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque of United States by the Spanish conquerors.
References
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Badajoz". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.