| Official Name: | Benavente |
| Subdivision Name: | Spain |
| Subdivision Name1: | Castile and León |
| Subdivision Name2: | Zamora |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Luciano Huerga |
| Area Total Km2: | 45.12 |
| Elevation M: | 800 |
| Population Demonym: | Benaventanos |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | 42.0031°N -5.6742°W |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Climate |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Csb |
Benavente is a town and municipality in the north of the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community Castile and León of Spain. It has about 20,000 inhabitants.
Located north of the capital on an important communications hub, it was repopulated by King Ferdinand II of León, who also awarded it law-codes (a fuero) in 1167. It was originally known as Malgrat or Malgrado.
After the death of Fernando II of León who renamed the town from Malgrat to Benavente and led a campaign in 1164 to repopulate the city, as part of a long process of reconquest from the Moors. Alfonso IX and Alfonso X continued to help the growth of Benavente through privileges and grants. When Alfonso IX of León died, the town was the scene of the definitive union of the Crowns of León and Castile in the Concordia of Benavente, later falling into decline until Sancho IV promoted its aggrandizement in 1285, attracting new settlers with franchises.[1]
In 1352 Fadrique Alfonso, brother of King Pedro I, received the town in exchange for not attacking Pedro. In 1387 Benavente was surrounded by the English and Portuguese troops of the Duchy of Lancaster who tried to besiege it, and the besiegers were defeated in this attempt.[2]
Benavente is located in the North of Province of Zamora, in the North-West of Spain. It is 65 km away from Zamora City and 260 km from Madrid and its coordinates are 42° 0' N 5° 41' W.The adjacent municipalities of Benavente are Villanueva de Azoague, Manganeses de la Polvorosa, Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa, Villabrázaro, San Cristóbal de Entreviñas, Castrogonzalo, Santa Colomba de las Monjas and Arcos de la Polvorosa, all of them belonging to Province of Zamora.
| North-West: Manganeses de la Polvorosa | North: Villabrázaro | North-East: San Cristóbal de Entreviñas | |
| West: Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa | East: San Cristóbal de Entreviñas | ||
| South-West:Santa Cristina de la Polvorosa | South: Villanueva de Azoague, Santa Colomba de las Monjas and Arcos de la Polvorosa | South-East: Castrogonzalo |
Benavente is connected to the national road network through different roads and highways:
| Towns | Distance (km) | |
|---|---|---|
| Toro | 69 | |
| Villalpando | 30 | |
| Puebla de Sanabria | 84 | |
| Salamanca | 134 | |
| Zamora | 65 | |
| Tordesillas | 80 | |
| Medina de Rioseco | 62 | |
| Medina del Campo | 105 | |
| Valladolid | 112 | |
| Valencia de Don Juan | 33 | |
| La Bañeza | 37 | |
| Astorga | 65 | |
| Ponferrada | 124 | |
| León | 70 | |
| Palencia | 90 | |
| Segovia | 235 | |
| Ávila | 190 | |
| Burgos | 210 | |
| Oviedo | 182 | |
| Madrid | 266 | |
| Ourense | 238 | |
| Gijón | 210 | |
| Soria | 318 | |
| Vitoria | 347 | |
| Oporto | 334 | |
| Bilbao | 388 | |
| Lisboa | 600 | |
| Barcelona | 836 |
Bus services are provided in the Bus Station by different companies like Alsa, Auto-Res, Empresa Vivas, Linecar or Autocares Julio Fernández.There is a taxi stand in the Bus Station.
Daily services to: A Coruña, Astorga, Algeciras, Asturias (Oviedo-Gijón), Ávila, Badajoz, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cáceres, Cádiz, Cangas de Narcea, Irún, La Bañeza, León, Lugo, Logroño, Málaga, Madrid, Mérida, Ourense, Monforte, Palencia, Plasencia, Ponferrada, Pontevedra, Salamanca, San Fernando, San Sebastián, Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla, Valladolid, Verín, Vigo, Villablino, Zafra, Zamora and Zaragoza.
Senior citizens have a free urban bus service.
The town has several taxi stands, one of them in the Bus Station.
The main square is plaza mayor where the Town hall building is located.
It is characterized as a Mediterranean climate with continental characteristics due to the altitude of the municipality and its distance to the sea. The amount of winter frosts is increased, taking place even in spring, with consequential damage to some of the local agriculture.
Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, México.See main article: Duke of Benavente.
| Titular | Period | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Primera creación por Enrique II | |||
| I | Fadrique de Castilla y Ponce de León | 1370–1394 | |
| I | 1473- | ||
| II | |||
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| XVII | actual tituar | ||
Regional speech is influenced by the Leonese language.