The Infantry Academy (ACINF) is a military training center of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

located in the city of

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

. The center is responsible for providing basic training, specialization and training for officers and non-commissioned officers of the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

branch of the Spanish Army. Lying at the opposite bank of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

than the main urban core, it is connected to the Santa Bárbara residential area through the Cuesta de San Servando.

History

The academy was created with the name of "Infantry College in Toledo" in 1850. On October 17 1875, after having been temporarily transferred to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, the academy was relocated in the

Alcázar of Toledo The Alcázar of Toledo ( es, Alcázar de Toledo, ) is a stone fortification located in the highest part of Toledo, Spain. It is a large quadrangular building measuring 60 meters on a side, framed by four large towers 60 meters high, each crowned ...

. Academy of Infantry
in th
website of the Spanish Army
It was closed in 1882 to be absorbed by the newly created General Military Academy, but was re-established as the Academy of Infantry in 1893 when the General Military Academy was dissolved. As the result of a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

, the Alcázar was reduced to a ruin during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. After the war the Infantry Academy was provisionally installed in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, at the building of the Military General Academy, and in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, San Diego de Alcalá Foundation headquarters. During 1948 - 1949, the academy returned to Toledo, to a new building, which was the work of the military engineers Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Carrasco Cadenas, Lieutenant Colonel Arturo Ureña Escario, and Lieutenant Colonel Julio Hernández García. The building, constructed in

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

and Neo-Herrerian style, harmonizes well with the Alcázar, located on the opposite side of the River

. "Model of the Construction Project of the Infantry Academy" (Digital Library of Castilla La Mancha). http://bidicam.castillalamancha.es/bibdigital/es/consulta/busqueda_referencia.cmd?id=666361&posicion=1&idValor=16252&forma=ficha.

References

External links

Website of the Toledo Infantry Academy
{{coord, 39.8573, N, 4.0147, W, source:wikidata, display=title Spanish Army Military academies of Spain Education in Castilla–La Mancha Educational institutions established in 1850 Francoist Spain Buildings and structures completed in 1948 Buildings and structures in Toledo, Spain Herrerian architecture