Although the city straddles both banks of theTagus, a few kilometres downstream from the junction of the former with theAlberche, most of the urbanisation concentrates on the right (northern) bank. There are two islands in the centre of the city called Isla Grande and Chamelo Island. Three bridges cross the Tagus in Talavera.
While there are pre-Roman archaeological materials in the surroundings associated to theVettones and the culture ofverracos, the urban settlement is dated afterRoman subjugation, with the development of a city identified withCaesarobriga [es] by the gathering of indigenous peoples removed from their hilltop settlements (castros).[3]
There are remnants of prehistoric cultures in the area. The village was founded by theCelts as a ford of the Tagus. The first mention of the city (with the nameAebura) occurs inLivy's description of a battle between theRomans and the Carpetanoi, aCeltiberian tribe.
After the Roman conquest of Hispania, it was known asCaesarobriga, one of many Celtictoponyms preserved in Roman Hispania, with a name connoting "fortified" that was extended to many non-fortified towns: "Caesarburg".[failed verification][5] Caesarobriga served as an important centre for agriculture and ceramics in the 3rd and 4th centuries BCE. During theVisigothic period, Talavera reverted to a variant of its Celtiberian name:Elbora orEbora.
Its modern name is derived fromTalabayra, theMuslim rendering of this Visigothic name. The city was conquered by Muslim forces in 713 and conquered by Christian forces underAlfonso VI of Castile in 1083.
Talavera de la Reina was founded at the confluence of the riversAlberche andTagus. This area of great ecological wealth was the settlement of Celtic people who built the most ancient ruins of the area.
During the time of theRoman Empire, the name of the city was Caesarobriga. In 182 BCE,Quintus Fulvius Flaccus conquered the city, establishing it as part of the Roman province of Lusitania as a city that would pay a stipend, and as the capital of an extended area included in the legal convent of the city ofEmerita Augusta. The leaderViriato, in his war against the Romans, lived in this province between 145 and 139 BCE.
In this period, Talavera de la Reina was a rich city with cattle markets and commercial exchange. Christianity came early to the city, and with the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, the Visigoths established themselves in the city. Talavera was known then asAküis orAibura.
In the year 602, KingLiuva II made a present to the city: the sculpture of the Virgin Mary, who was from then to the present day the symbol of the Christians in Talavera de la Reina, and the substitute for the goddess Ceres. In honour of the goddess Ceres, Talaverian Romans celebrated the spring festival called Mondas, which is still celebrated for the Virgin Mary.
TheMuslims conquered Talavera in 712. They built new walls and a castle in Talavera. They also brought the use of fountains, water mills and new products brought from Africa and Asia. The fertile soil produced quality vegetables, fruits and grass for animal feed. The markets gained new strength, and the population, a mixture of Christians, Muslims and Jews, lived in harmony for some centuries. Medina Al Talavayra took part in different wars between the kingdoms of Spain, becoming allied withCórdoba andBadajoz.Alfonso VI of León-Castile seized the city in 1083.[6] The city was retaken temporarily by Muslims in 1109.[7]
12th-century geographerAl-Idrisi reflects on Talavera describing it as a "large town by the riverside of the Tagus", "with a great number of watermills" and "surrounded of fertile fields".[8]
The countryside of Talavera endured Almohadalgaras in the early 1170s.[9] Violence resumed after a truce in 1177, as answer to the simultaneous Castilian siege onCuenca.[10] In 1182, an Almohad army set up a camp near Talavera.[10] Following the Almohadvictory at Alarcos byAbu Yusuf Yaqub in 1195, Almohad forces ravaged the countryside of Talavera by 1197, yet apparently the well-fortified city (at least the citadel) stood still.[11] Following thebattle of Las Navas in 1212, the territory north of the Montes de Toledo became secure from Muslim incursions for good.[12] Talaveran militias reportedly launched unsuccessful raids in Southern Iberia for the remaining of the 13th century.[13]
The repopulation of the territory after the Christian conquest was led by Castilians, Franks andMozarabs.[14] Also a number of Moors from the south would increase the preexisting Muslim population of Talavera.[14] Until 1290, Castilians and Mozarabs lived under the aegis of different law regimes.[15] By the mid 13th century, Talavera andPlasencia sealed the creation of a brotherhood seeking to counter the territorial push southwards of the powerfulconcejo ofÁvila.[16]
Formerly arealengo [es] town, sometimes property of queens, such asMaria of Portugal, Talavera was transferred byHenry II of Castile on 25 June 1369 toGómez Manrique (the transfer was confirmed in the 1371 Cortes of Toro), the Archbishop of Toledo, as payment for the latter's support in theCastilian Civil War, and, since then, the town became attached to the Archbishops of Toledo.[17][18]
The change from theconcejo abierto towards aregimiento system of municipal government in Talavera should have happened by the second half of the 14th century.[19] Unlike other locations the chief municipal public offices (regidurías) in Talavera were not subject to transfer from father to son, so the nobiliary elite relied in an alternative strategy to ensure its supremacy, based on a system that allowed them to control the candidates to theregidoría.[20]
KingSancho IV gave the royal privilege to hold two royal markets each year.
By the late third of the 16th century the city reached a population of 10,000.[21]
Upon the death ofKing Charles II in November 1700, two powerful nations fought for the Spanish Crown. Talavera supportedPhilip V's French faction, which was the winner.
In the mid-18th century, by 1748, as part of the economic policies enforced by the Spanish Bourbons, the Royal Factory of Silk, Silver and Gold Fabric, was opened in the city, during the reign ofFerdinand VI.[22]
The number ofhidalgos reduced during the 18th century.[23] Theclergy retained an important socioeconomic importance.[24] Towards the end of the century, a number of religious French emigrees would arrive to Talavera after the triumph of theRevolution.[25] During the second half of the century, the bulk of the working population comprised the non-specialised workers and textile workers, ceramics workers (with a diminishing importance compared to previous centuries)[26] and those dedicated to services, followed by the food industry, leather and the shoemaking sector.[27]
ThePeninsular War had great consequences for Talavera. On 27 and 28 July 1809 theBattle of Talavera took place between the Anglo-Spanish army and the French. TheDuke of Wellington's army expelled the French from the city.
The manufacturing complex of the Royal Silk Factory closed towards 1851.[28]
Talavera was granted the title of city (ciudad) in 1876.[29]
Following theSeptember 1923 coup d'etat [es] and the ensuing installment of thedictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the local branch of thePatriotic Union (UP) formed in the city in March 1924 and the paramilitarySomatén in December 1924, during an event scheduled byDuchess of Talavera.[30] A number of public events and demonstrations took place as part of the legitimization of the regime.[30] The good connections of Mayor Justiniano López Brea with provincial and national officeholders fostered several projects of public works in the later part of the dictatorial period.[30]
The railroad brought new opportunities for improvement. Talavera changed its name to Talavera del Tajo. The city had a population of 16,654 in 1936.[31] The city had a population of 18,631 in 1940.[31]
During the Francoist dictatorship theInstituto Nacional de Colonización promoted a large irrigated zone in the surroundings of Talavera, following which two new settlements were created, calledTalavera la Nueva andAlberche del Caudillo, the latter located in the neighboringCalera y Chozas municipality. During the 1960s ababy boom caused an increase in the population, added to by the immigrants coming from the nearby villages and poor areas of Extremadura.
After Franco died in 1975, Talavera's first democratic mayor tried to create the province of Talavera, but the idea was not successful. The succeeding mayor, Pablo Tello of the Socialist Party, made significant contributions, including the creation of Alameda Park.
In 1989, a sense of marginalization took hold of the city, prompting a group called "Nosotros Talavera" (We Talavera) to advocate for the establishment of a university campus and other initiatives to benefit the city. A Centre for University Studies was opened in the city in 1994. It was fully integrated as a campus of theUniversity of Castile-La Mancha (UCLM) four years later, in 1998.[32]
Rising over 192 metres, thePuente de Castilla-La Mancha [es], built in the outskirts of the city, was the highest bridge in Spain at the time of its completion.[33] Given the enormous cost and limited use, it is considered a wasteful investment.[33] Spanning over 318 m over the main channel of the Tagus, thecable-stayed bridge it is nonetheless one of the city's most distinctive features.[34]
The city is internationally known for itsceramics, whichPhilip II of Spain used as tiled revetments in many of his works, such as the monastery ofEl Escorial. The nickname of Talavera de la Reina is 'The City of Pottery' (La Ciudad de la Cerámica, in Spanish).Mexico's famousTalavera pottery was named after the city.
The city is located at the intersection ofAutovía A-5 (part ofEuropean route E90) and N-502. Located on the route betweenMadrid andBadajoz, it has a railway station. Talavera de la Reina's city bus system is Eborabus.
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