Ágreda is the regional services center in the Northeast of theprovince of Soria. Its abundant heritage as well as the local fiestas of the Virgin, and the Archangel Michael attract many tourists.
In the current location of the town there was an ancient Celtiberic settlement. During theMiddle Ages Ágreda became more significant as a strategic border location between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, as well as an important center of the arts and handcrafts where Christians, Jews and Arab-descendants lived in peace. Ágreda is therefore known as the town of the three cultures.
After theexpulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, a royal decree of January 1493 noted that the town acquired the former synagogue to use as its council hall. Because Jewish taxes were no longer available, the Crown required the municipality itself to fund the building's renovation.[2]
The renowned abbessMaría de Jesús was born in Ágreda and resided there throughout her life. She was named a Venerable of the Roman Catholic Church shortly after her death in 1665, but has not yet been beatified or officially canonized as a saint. She was well known as a visionary of her times, and as a counselor to KingPhilip IV through a correspondence that lasted throughout each of their lifetimes and is documented in over six hundred letters between them. Over the years the king gave the abbess a few commemorative gifts[3] which are on display today in the convent, yet there seems to be no undue favoritism to the region because of their friendship.
Juan de Medrano, Moorish shoemaker in Ágreda, known for the extraordinary miracle that occurred on Corpus Christi day on 20 June 1527 involving a statue of Mary, known as the Virgin of Miracles in Ágreda, which led to his conversion
^Beinart, Haim (2001).The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. Vol. 1. Translated by Jeffrey M. Green. Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in association with Liverpool University Press. p. 70.
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