11.12.2024 | 10:12

Zaragoza celebrates the 6th re-enactment of the 1808 and 1809 sieges

13 March, 2024

On the weekend of 16th and 17th March, the city of Zaragoza, capital of Aragon, will be holding the 6th re-enactment of the sieges it suffered at the hands of the Grande Armée in 1808 and 1809, repelling the French troops in the first and capitulating in the second with heavy casualties.

Now, the Asociación Voluntarios de Aragón, which has the backing of the Asociación Napoleónica Española (ANE), will bring together some 350 reenactors from around thirty associations from Spain and the rest of Europe over the weekend. A museum camp will be built and the popular uprising against the Frenchified authority and the appointment of Palafox as General Captain will be recreated.

This will address a historical proclamation on the defence of the city in its First Site, which led to the Aragonese victory. Finally, the second siege and the capitulation and honourable exit of its defenders will be recreated. All the participants will wear exact replicas of the civilian, ecclesiastical and military costumes, the latter with original uniforms, armaments and equipment, with attention to the smallest detail.