CUENCA  , the

capital of the Spanish province of Cuenca; 125 M. by rail E. by S. of Madrid . Pop . (1900) 10i756 . Cuenca occupies a height of the well-wooded Serrania de Cuenca, at an elevation of 2960 ft., overlooking the confluence of the rivers Jucar and Huecar . A fine bridge, built. in 1523, crosses the Jucar to the convent of San Pablo . Among several interesting churches in the city, the most noteworthy is the 13th-century Gothic cathedral, celebrated for the beautiful carved woodwork of its 16th-century doorway, and containing some admirable examples of Spanish sculpture . The city has a considerable trade in timber, and was long the headquarters of the provincial wool industry; the loss of which, in modern times, has partly been compensated by the development of soap, paper, chocolate, match and leather manufactures . Cuenca was captured from the Moors by Alphonso VIII. of Castile in 1177, and shortly afterwards became an episcopal see . In 1874 it offered a pro-longed and gallant resistance to the Carlist rebels .