ORIHUELA  , a

town and episcopal see of eastern Spain, in the province of Alicante; 13 M . N.E. of Murcia and about 15 M. from the Mediterranean Sea, on the Murcia-Elche railway . Pop . (1900) 28,530 . Orihuela is situated in a beautiful and exceedingly fertile huerta, or tract of highly cultivated land, at the foot of a limestone bridge, and on both sides of the river Segura, which divides the city into two parts, Roig and San Augusto, and is spanned by two bridges . There are remains of a Moorish fort on the hill commanding the town; and the north gateway—the Puerta del Colegio—is a fine lofty arch, surmounted by an emblematic statue and the city arms . The most prominent buildings are the episcopal palace (1733), with a frontage of 600 ft.; the town house (1843), containing important archives; and the cathedral, a small Gothic structure built on the site of a former mosque in the 14th century, and enlarged and tastelessly restored in 1829 . The university of Orihuela, founded in 1568 by the archbishop of Valencia, was closed in 1835, part of the revenue being applied to the support of a college affiliated to the university of Valencia . Besides numerous primary schools there are a theological seminary and a normal school . The trade in fruit, cereals, oil and wine is considerable . There are also tanneries, dye-works and manufactures of silk, linen and woollen fabrics, leather and starch . Orihuela was captured by the Moors in 713, and retaken by James I. of Aragon, for his father-in-law Alphonso of Castile, in 1265 .

It was sacked during the disturbances at the beginning of the reign of

Charles V . (1520), and again in the War of Succession (1706) . Local annals specially mention the plague of 1648, the flood of 1651 and the earthquake of 1829 .