Monzón

Monzón
Municipality
The castle in Monzón.
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Monzón, cuna de deportistas (Monzón, the cradle of athletes)
The comarca of Cinca Medio, of which the capital is in Monzón, in Aragon.
Monzón Location in Spain
Coordinates: 41°54′36″N 0°11′24″E / 41.91000°N 0.19000°E / 41.91000; 0.19000Coordinates: 41°54′36″N 0°11′24″E / 41.91000°N 0.19000°E / 41.91000; 0.19000
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Aragón
Province	Huesca
Comarca	Cinca Medio
Government
• Alcalde	Álvaro Burrell (PSOE)
Area
• Total	155.01 km2 (59.85 sq mi)
Elevation	273 m (896 ft)
Population
• Total	17,176
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Montisonense
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	22400
Website	Official website

Monzón is a small city in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. Its population was 17,176 as of 2014. It is in the northeast (specifically the Cinca Medio district of the province of Huesca) and adjoins the rivers Cinca and Sosa.

The first signs of constant human occupation in the area of Monzón come from Neolithic. There have been found some archaeological remains of that era on the deposits Sosiles Altos and Peña Lucas. Most vestiges of civilization come from the Bronze Age, where it is assumed that people settled in the area between the rivers Cinca, Sosa and clamor. The ilergetes were the people occupying these areas, who were defeated in the 3rd century BC, producing the Romanization of the area from the 2nd century BC. In the hills of the Ermita de la Alegría (the shrine of Joy) and the cells were found remains of Roman dwellings, being this area a key point in the connections from the cities of Caesaraugusta or Osca with Italy .

At the time of Muslim domination Monzón was disputed by the Banu Sabrit from Huesca and Banu Qasi from Zaragoza. It belonged to the Banu Hud in the 11th century and was taken by El Cid in 1083. The Christians were interested to conquer Monzón in order to cut communications between the Taifa kingdoms of Zaragoza and Lleida. The infant Pedro I reconquered Monzón in 1089 during the reign of his father Sancho Ramírez. Sancho Ramírez created the Kingdom of Monzón for the infant, future Pedro I, before he became king of Aragon. This situation lasted until 1126, when it reverted to Muslim hands for four years. Between 1130 and 1136 it was held by Christians, who lost the town in the period 1136-1141 to finally win her back. 1143 happened to belong to the Templars.