[7] An independent royal demesne enclave embedded within the dominion of the Military Order of Calatrava, repopulation struggled initially.

[8] Weary of the influence of Villa Real, the masters of the Order of Calatrava established a rival market in nearby Miguelturra seeking to disrupt the town's economic activity.

[13] The endogenous element of antisemitism was underpinned by the Jews' deals with the Calatravans throughout the 14th century and their local reputation as loan sharks.

[15] After the unification of the Iberian kingdoms under the Catholic Monarchs, Ciudad Real became the capital of the province of La Mancha [es] in 1691.

In 1809, during the Peninsular War, French troops defeated the Spanish army and occupied the town, using the local hospital as their headquarters and barracks.

Ciudad Real is located in the southern half of the Inner Plateau, in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, at about 625 metres above sea level.

[20] The location of Ciudad Real—without any major water stream passing through the city—leaves the Guadiana to the North and the Jabalón [es] (a left-bank tributary of the former) to the South.

[20] The urban nucleus was founded 7.5 km to the North-East of Alarcos (a fortified archeological site located on a hill).

The privately funded airport cost an estimated €1 billion to build, and was for sale for €100 million plus payment of the developer's debt.

[31] The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Ciudad Real, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 33 min.

Today, only two parts of the wall that surrounded the city in medieval times remain standing: The Toledo Gate.

The Iglesia of Santiago is also the most beautiful and oldest church in Ciudad Real, it was built at the end of the 13th century in romanic style.

Its style is Gothic, and it houses the tomb of Chantre de Coca, confessor and chaplain of the Catholic Monarchs.

Ciudad Real Cathedral, built in the 16th century, has the second-largest nave in Spain and a magnificent Baroque altarpiece.