Tudela

Tudela, a town of northern Spain, in the province of Navarre, on the Saragossa-Logrono and Tudela-Tarazona railways, and on the right bank of the river Ebro, which is here joined by its tributary the Queiles. Pop. (1900), 9499. The Ebro is here crossed by a massive and ancient bridge of 19 arches. Most of the public buildings, such as the town-hall, bull-ring, hospitals and schools, are modern; but there is a Romanesque collegiate church, Santa Maria, which was founded in 1135 and consecrated in 1188. This church is one of the most perfect in northern Spain, the sculptured doorways and cloisters being especially fine. There are many sawmills in the town, and an active timber trade; the manufactures of cloth, linen, spirits, preserved fruit, pottery, &c., and the trade in grain, wine and oil are of less importance. Tudela, the Roman Tutela, was occupied by the Moors in the 8th century, and taken from them by Alphonso I. of Aragon in 1114. The town was an episcopal see from 1783 to 1851. In 1808 the Spanish forces under Generals Castanos and Palafox were twice defeated here by the French under Marshal Lannes.