Badajoz

Capital of Badajoz province in Extremadura, southwest Spain, situated on the River Guadiana at the Portuguese frontier; population (2001) 133,500. Textiles, pottery, leather, and soap are manufactured. Badajoz has a 16th-century bridge and a 13th-century cathedral.

Originally a Celtic settlement, Badajoz was successively in the hands of the Romans and the Visigoths, and in 1031 became the capital of a Moorish kingdom. It became Portuguese in the 12th century, and was taken by Alfonso IX of Castile and León in 1229. During the Peninsular War, Badajoz surrendered to the French in 1811, but was recaptured by the Duke of Wellington's forces the following year.

Luis de Morales (1517-1586), Spain's first native-born painter of note, and Manuel de Godoy (1767-1851), Spanish prime minister (1792-1808), were born here.