A Coruña

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A Coruña (Spanish: La Coruña; Galician: A Coruña; also Corunna in English, and archaically The Groyne[3]) is the most important city in Galicia in northwestern Spain. The city is also the capital of A Coruña province.

A Coruña is a busy port on the Atlantic Ocean and provides a distribution point for agricultural goods from the region. Although much of the heavy industry is based on the shipyards and metalworks of the neighbouring city of Ferrol, there is an oil refinery in A Coruña itself.

[edit] History

Main article: History of A Coruña

The Romans came to region in the 2nd century BC, and the colonisers made the most of the strategic position and soon the city became quite important in sea trade. In 62 BC Julius Caesar came to the city (known at the time as Brigantium) in search of the metal trade, establishing commerce with France, England and Portugal.

During the Middle Ages, the city was an important port and center for manufacturing of textiles. In 1520, king Charles I of Spain (future Emperor Charles V of Germany), embarked from its harbor to be elected Emperor. In 1598, the city was sacked by an English fleet under Francis Drake during Anglo-Spanish War. It was the site of the Battle of Corunna during the Peninsular War, on 16 January 1809, to cover embarkation of British troops after their retreat and in which Sir John Moore was killed. During the 19th century, the city was the centre of antimonarchist sentiment.

[edit] World War II

The Following German U-Boat has been reported as sunk somewhere near the port of A Coruña:

• Unterseeboot 514 Sunk 8 July, 1943 north-east of Cape Finisterre, Spain. 54 dead (all hands lost).

[edit] 20th century and early 21st century

Note: The population of the City of A Coruña in 1900 was 43,971 meanwhile the population of the rest of the province including the City and Naval Station of nearby Ferrol was 653,556. It should be noted that A Coruña miraculous growth happened during aftermaths of the Spanish Civil War at the same speed as other major Galician cities, but it was the arrival of democracy in Spain after the death of Francisco Franco the moment when the City of Corunna left all the other Galician cities behind.

The miraculous meteoric increase of population of the City of A Coruña during the years which follow the Spanish Civil War during the mid 20th century, can only be explained when we see the figures of the number of villages and hamlets of the province which disappeared or nearly disappeared during the same period. We are talking here about an economic revolution and not so much to an explosion of births or a substantial increase in living standards which of course has happened too, but looking to the overall picture what has happened is that the fields have been abandon due to the introduction of new machinery and most of the population has moved to find jobs in the main cities increasing the number of people working in the Tertiary and Quaternary sectors.

(Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911). [5]

In 1975, the clothing company Zara, founded by Amancio Ortega Gaona, opened its first store in the city and has since become a national and international clothing chain.

[edit] 21st century

[edit] Main sights

The city is the site of the Roman Tower of Hercules, which is a lighthouse in continuous operation for nearly 2,000 years. The city is also well-known for its characteristic glazed window balconies, called galerías.

[edit] Economy

There have been various changes in the city's structure over the last few decades — it now shares some administrative functions with the nearby city of Ferrol. Companies have grown, especially in sectors such as finance, communication, planning, sales, manufacturing and technical services, making A Coruña the wealthiest metropolitan area of Galicia and the responsible of . The port itself unloads large amounts of fresh fish, and with the increase in other port activities like crude oil and solid bulk, make up 75% of Galician port traffic.

Inditex, the main textile manufacturer of the world, has its headquarters in the nearby town of Arteixo. A Coruña concentrates the 30% of the GDP of Galicia and in the period between 1999 and 2001 it grew 35%, surpassing the traditional economic ruling area of the community, Vigo. Other important companies of the city are Banco Pastor, Caixa Galicia, Martinsa Fadesa, the Repsol-YPF refinery and La Voz de Galicia, the main daily newspaper of Galicia.

Over the last few years, emphasis has been placed upon better access and infrastructure, especially cultural, sporting, leisure and scientific areas. Following a spectacular oil spill when the Aegean Sea wrecked and exploded, considerable resources have been used in the recovery of the shoreline and strengthening the tourist sector. All this has reaffirmed the city's existing character as a centre for administration, sales, port activities, culture and tourism. The city is served by a regional airport which operates services by Iberia, Spanair, easyJet, Clickair and Portugalia to Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville Lisbon, London and Paris. During the winter of 2007-2008, the airline Pyrenair will link A Coruña with the Aragonese city of Huesca, one of the most important winter sports centers of Spain.

[edit] Sport

The city has a football club in Spain's top division, Deportivo de La Coruña.

[edit] Politics

Francisco Vázquez Vázquez was mayor of the city from 1983, however he became the Spanish ambassador to Vatican and was replaced by Javier Losada on February 10, 2006.

[edit] Geography

The climate of A Coruña is temperate maritime and heavily moderated by the Atlantic Ocean, however it does display some characteristics of a Mediterranean climate. Autumn and winter are often unsettled and unpredictable with strong winds and abundant rainfall, coming from Atlantic depressions and it is often overcast. The ocean keeps temperatures mild, and frost and snow are rare. In summer, it is quite dry and sunny with only occasional rainfall, temperatures are warm but rarely uncomfortably hot due to the sea's cooling influence during the day. Spring is usually cool and fairly calm.

[edit] Notable people

• José Andrés Cornide Saavedra (1734-1803)., writer
• Ramón de la Sagra Peris (1798-1871), botany teacher, philosopher and social economist.
• Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851–1921), novelist, journalist, essayist and critic.
• Eduardo Dato Iradier (1856-1921), lawyer and politician.
• Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869-1968), writer.
• José Millán Astray (1879–1954), founder and first commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion.
• Santiago Casares Quiroga (1884–1950), lawyer and politician.
• Wenceslao Fernández Flórez (1885–1964), narrator, journalist and humorist.
• Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (1896–1978), writer and poet.
• Fernando Casado D'Arambillet (1917–1994), better known as Fernando Rey, actor.

• María Casares Pérez (1922–1996), actress.
• Luis Suárez Miramontes (born 1935), football player and manager.
• Amancio Amaro Varela (born 1939), football player.
• Emilio Pérez Touriño (born 1948), current president of the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia.
• Manuel Rivas Barros (born 1957), writer, poet, essayist and journalist.
• Andrés Díaz, athlete.
• Maria Amelia, (born 1911), World's oldest blogger.

[edit] Etymology and linguistic issues

The toponym derives from Crunia, of unknown origin and meaning. At the time of Ferdinand II of Leon (12th century) the name Crunia is documented for the first time. As usual in Galician-Portuguese (as well as in Castilian Spanish), the cluster ni naturally evolved into the sound /ɲ/, written nn (later abbreviated to ñ) in the Spanish orthography, and nh in the Portuguese.

Currently, the only official form of the name is the Galician one.^[1]. Nonetheless, the Spanish form La Coruña is still widespread.

[edit] Sister cities

• Image:Flag of Spain.svg Cadiz, Spain

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Categories: Articles with sections needing expansion | Municipalities in A Coruña | A Coruña province | Port cities and towns in Spain | Coastal cities | A Coruña | Sunken U-boats