Jerez de los Caballeros, city in Badajoz Province, Extremadura, southwestern Spain. Located in a hilly upland area overlooking the Ardella River, Jerez de los Caballeros is 21 km (13 mi) east of the border with Portugal and 130 km (81 mi) north of the Gulf of Cádiz, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a Mediterranean climate and is situated on the site of an old village that was either founded or occupied by the Moors, some of whose architectural remains still stand. The village became Jerez de los Caballeros after King Alfonso IX of León captured it in 1229 and gave it three years later to the Knights Templar, an order of medieval Christian knights. The city is famous as the birthplace of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish explorer best known as the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. Population (1998 estimate) 9,409.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Jerez de los Caballeros Information info
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