Puntos de Interés
Hydrography
Canal de María Cristina
At the end of the 18th century the city of Albacete was surrounded by large bodies of stagnant water. This led to unsanitary conditions and the spread of various diseases. After visiting the city, and in order to solve this situation, King Charles IV issued a decree to build the Royal Canal of Albacete in 1804. The aim was to drain these bodies of water into the river. In addition to improving the sanitary conditions of the city, this drainage made some wasteland available for agricultural use.
The project was the responsibility of Antonio Bolaños and a construction board led by the Count of Villaleal. The works included the construction of five sub-channels in the lagoons of Salobral, Albaidel and Acequión, Oya-Vacas, Fuente de Charlo and Ojos de San Jorge, which carried the water to La Reunión, where the main channel begins.
Various infrastructures were also built as part of this project, such as bridges, washing places and basins, and the work was completed with the reforestation of the area.
Queen María Cristina gave new impetus to the canal in the 19th century, together with the minister and director of the canal Antonio Cano Manuel, giving it its current and definitive name.
The Real Canal de María Cristina is the most important canal of all those that cross Albacete. An immense work of hydraulic engineering, it is 32 kilometres long and currently crosses the city underground, after being covered in the 1970s.
In addition to Albacete, this canal crosses other municipalities such as Valdeganga and Casas de Juan Núñez, flowing into the Cañahorro stream, a tributary of the Júcar.
Today it continues to function as an urban collector in the capital of Albacete.