Albacete - is a city and municipality in southeastern Spain, 278 km southeast of Madrid, the capital of the province of Albacete in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. The municipality had a population of 152,115 in 2002. The settlement was named Al-Basit, "the simple," by the Arabs. The city has been known as a center for the manufacture of fine daggers, scissors, and knives. An assembly plant of Eurocopter, a subsidiary of EADS, began operation in 2007. Although Albacete has never been considered a city with industrial tradition, the industrial area in the city, known as Polígono de Campollano, has recently been expanded as it's one of the biggest industrial concentrations in Spain. The local government is pushing to make Albacete a logistic center in the Southeastern part of Spain. Albacete, together with Ciudad Real, has one of the main campuses of the University of Castilla la Mancha.

It's estimated that between 9,000 and 10,000 students study at any of the schools that the regional university currently has in the city. Albacete is not known as a tourist destination, but its sights include the cathedral and the Museo de Albacete. During the Spanish Civil War, it was the headquarters and training camp of the International Brigades. Albacete is home to the football team Albacete Balompié. Albacete has become the most important town in the Castilla la Mancha region, with great services and industry activity, due to the good train and hightways comunications, in the way from Madrid to the coast. Graphic sourced with thanks from http://www.spanish-living.com

Wikipedia articles for Albacete

• Estadio Carlos Belmonte
• Albacete
• Albacete Airport