Alicante

This article covers the city of Alicante; for the province of the same name see Province of Alicante .

Alicante / Alacant
Panorama of Alicante
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Valencia
Province :	Alicante
Coordinates	38 ° 21 ′  N , 0 ° 29 ′  W Coordinates: 38 ° 21 ′  N , 0 ° 29 ′  W
Height :	0  msnm
Area :	201.27 km²
Residents :	334,887 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	1,663.87 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	030 ** (partly also 035 **)
Municipality number  ( INE ):	03014
Nearest airport :	Alicante airport
administration
Mayor :	Gabriel Echávarri (PSPV- PSOE )
Website :	www.alicante.es

Alicante's geographical location in the Valencian Community

Alicante ( Spanish ) or Alacant ( Valencian ) is a Spanish port city on the Costa Blanca with 334,887 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019). Alicante is the capital of the province of the same name and, after Valencia, the most important city in the autonomous Valencian Community .

Their economy is mainly based on tourism and wine production . In addition to wine, olive oil and fruit are also exported. There are also light industries such as food processing as well as leather , textile and stoneware industries . In addition, Alicante has been the seat of the European Union Intellectual Property Office since 1994 .

history

The oldest evidence of human settlement in the urban area can be found in the "Cova del Fum" in Fontcalent from the third millennium BC. South of Alicante airport, at the mouth of the Rio Segura, lies the oldest settlement in the area, the Phoenician foundation La Fonteta from the 9th century BC. Alicante was only founded 500 years later, around the year 325 BC. BC, founded by Greek settlers from Marseille as Akra Leuke ( Greek : Ἄκρα Λευκή = "white mountain" or "white point"). Hamilkar Barkas built a fortress 3 km north of today's city center. His son Hannibal is said to have dumped his elephants here. 201 BC It was conquered by the Romans who called it Lucentum . Between 718 and 1249 AD, the city was ruled by the Moors , who renamed it Al Lucant . In 1265 the city was recaptured by James I and incorporated into the Kingdom of Aragon . The city coat of arms shows a fortress, above it a label with the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Valencia. The chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece and the initials are reminiscent of Charles I.

languages

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alicante was a predominantly Catalan-speaking city. The attractiveness of the location also brought Spanish-speaking people to the city at the end of the 19th century . To this day it is controversial whether the Valencian language is to be regarded as an independent language or "only" a regional variant of Catalan (see also the comparable case of Balearic ). During the Franco dictatorship , the use of the regional language was severely suppressed, and so the Spanish language gained an even stronger foothold. The city's Catalan name, Alacant , was also no longer allowed to be used. Today both languages ​​(Spanish and Valencian) are official languages . The Valencian / Catalan is experiencing a renaissance, not least due to the intensive support of the regional government of the Valencia region . So the name Alacant , next to the Spanish name Alicante , is official again.

Catalan language in Alicante	1986	1991	2001
Understand	56.19%	71.57%	79.31%
Speak	21.54%	24.90%	27.26%
Read	11.94%	23.80%	31.90%
Write	3.39%	7.95%	14.84%

For the year 2003, the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística gave a share of Catalan-speaking citizens in the total population of the city of Alicante of 33 percent.

Attractions

Castillo de Santa Bárbara

Map of the hinterland of the city of Alicante

Urban area

Districts of the core city

All official districts

Casa consistorial de Alicante

Among the main attractions of the city include the castle Castillo de Santa Barbara and the port of Alicante. The latter was highly controversial in 2006 and 2007 when the residents successfully prevented its industrialization. Santa Bárbara Castle is located on the Benacantil hill high above the city. The tower at its top is the oldest part of the castle, while parts of its substructure and foundation walls were constructed later in the 18th century.

The Explanada de España promenade , consisting of 6.5 million marble stones, lined with palm trees, is an evening meeting place for the people of Alicante. It is the place for the typical Spanish paseo or for music concerts in the open air. The promenade runs from the port, in which the replica of the " Santissima Trinidad " is located, to Gran Vía. At the end of the promenade is a 19th century monument to Vicente Bañuls.

The Santa Cruz neighborhood (Spanish: Barrio de la Santa Cruz) is a colorful part of the old town that is southwest of Santa Bárbara Castle. The small houses are built along the hill and lead up to the castle and the city walls in narrow streets decorated with flags and flower pots.

The main church in Alicante and the bishopric of the Orihuela-Alicante diocese is the Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari. It dates from the 17th century and is in the Herrera style .

El Palmeral Park is one of the parks of Alicante. It originally emerged from a large palm garden with walking paths, children's playgrounds, lakes and streams, picnic tables, an auditorium for concerts and a view over the bay of Alicante.

Another park, the "Parque de la Ereta", is located on the Benacantil mountain and runs from the castle complex down to the old town of Alicante. The park was designed by the French landscape architects Marc and Frédéric Bonnet Bigarnet. As part of the renovation of the castle complex, the city administration organized a Europe-wide competition in 1994.

The island of Tabarca , a few kilometers away, is administered from Alicante . Once a haven for pirates, the island is now visited by tourists. The city fortifications with gates and entrenchments, the fortified church Iglesia de San Pedro y San Pablo, the governor's house, the Cueva del Llop Marí grotto with access from the sea and the Torre de San José, a 27 m high, stand-alone watchtower, are worth seeing whose construction is based on plans from the 14th century. The island can be reached by boat from the port of Alicante or Santa Pola.

Other attractions are:

• the 15th century Baroque style monastery of Santa Fez, 5 km outside the city.
• the defenses of the Huerta de Alicante (15th to 18th centuries). It was built to keep the barbarian corsairs away. Today around 20 towers are still preserved
• the baroque house Casa de la Asegurada (1685), which is the oldest civil building in the city. Today it houses the Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante, MACA)
• Casa consistorial de Alicante (18th century), also in the baroque style; in this building you will find the "cota cero", the reference point for sea level 0 (all other sea levels refer to this point)
• the Canónigas de San Agustín monastery from the 18th century
• the Gravina Palace (1748–1808), in which the Museo de Bellas Artes Gravina (MUBAG) can be found
• the San Fernando Castle.

Museums

An exhibition of the Archaeological Museum of Alicante Province (Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante) shows local finds from the Stone Age to the early 20th century. The exhibition is divided into three rooms showing three archaeological methods (soil, water and underwater archeology) using dioramas, audio-visual and interactive elements. The museum was named European Museum of the Year in 2004.

The Museo de Bellas Artes Gravina (MUBAG) museum presents a wide variety of paintings and sculptures from the 16th to the early 20th centuries.

The Museum of Contemporary Art ( Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante, MACA ) in the Casa de La Asegurada from 1685 houses a large collection of works from the 20th century. The foundation is made up of 177 works by 114 artists (including Dalí, Picasso, Joan Miró, Kandinsky and Chagall) donated by Eusebio Sempere in 1977 . In addition, there are 134 works from the estate of the Alicante-born artist Juana Francés as well as over 500 works by Sempere, which the city council has bought since 1997.

The Volvo Ocean Race Museum opened in the port in June 2012 and is dedicated to sailing and the history of the regatta.

Other museums of lesser importance are:

• Museum of the University of Alicante (such as the university itself already in the neighboring village of San Vicente del Raspeig situated web )
• Museo del Agua-Pozos de Garrigós
• Nativity Museum
• City archive in the Palacio de Maisonneuve
• Bullfighting museum in the bullring
• Hogueras Museum
• Municipal Ceramic Museum
• Fish market hall (Lonja de Pescado) with changing exhibitions
• Municipal art center
• MUSA (Museum of the City of Alicante) in the Castillo de Santa Bárbara
• Nueva Tabarca Museum

Events

The main festivity in Alicante is the Hogueras de San Juan from June 21st to 24th, which is similar to the Fallas in Valencia. During these midsummer bonfires, artistic sculptures as high as a house are burned throughout the city. A fireworks competition is also held at the Hogueras.

Before Easter, processions for Semana Santa take place in Alicante . The residents of the San Blas district celebrate the Moros y Cristianos . The second Thursday after Easter is the day of the “ Romería de la Santa Faz”, a pilgrimage to a monastery a little outside Alicante, where a sheet with the imprint of Christ on the face is venerated as a relic. The relic has been in the monastery since the 15th century and is said to have miracles.

traffic

There are regular ferry connections to the Balearic Islands and the Algerian Oran as well as an international airport nearby. Local public transport includes numerous bus lines and four light rail lines. In long-distance rail traffic, Alicante can be reached several times a day with direct trains from / to Madrid and Barcelona, ​​and since June 2013 there has also been a high-speed connection with the Spanish capital. Alicante has one of the oldest rail connections in Spain. The Alicante Terminal Station is the largest of the town.

Twin cities

Alicante has a partnership with Wenzhou , China.

Others

A gastronomic specialty of the city is turrón (kat. Torró ). It usually consists mainly of almonds (approx. 60%), egg white and honey , but turrón is now also available with nougat and nuts as well as a few other variations. In the Chronicles of the Underworld book series , the name of the shadowhunter capital is also Alicante.

sons and daughters of the town

• Carlos Arniches (1866–1943), playwright
• Macarena Olona Choclán (* 1979), public prosecutor and politician
• Francisco Simón Conesa Ferrer (* 1961), Roman Catholic Bishop
• Pedro Ferrándiz (* 1928), basketball coach and official
• Santos González (* 1973), racing cyclist
• Sergio Gutiérrez Ferrol (* 1989), tennis player
• Ramón López (* 1961), jazz drummer
• Fele Martínez (born 1975), actor
• Jeanne Mas (* 1958), musician
• Jaime Morey (1942-2015), singer
• Pedro Solbes (* 1942), politician and minister of economics
• José Tomás (* 1934), guitarist and music teacher

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  View of a marina at night

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  Santa Maria church and castle at night

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  View of the city from the castle

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  View from the castle to the harbor and beach

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  View of the harbor

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  Explanada de España

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  Alicante harbor

and display information about the image

Panoramic view of Alicante from San Fernando Castle .

and display information about the image

Panoramic view of Alicante from the Castillo de Santa Bárbara .

Climate table

Alicante
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     20th   17th 6th     27   18th 7th     25th   20th 8th     34   21st 10     32   24 13     22nd   28 17th     4th   31 19th     8th   31 20th     41   29 17th     66   25th 14th     42   20th 10     34   17th 7th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: wetterkontor.de

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Alicante Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 16.9 17.8 19.5 21.3 24.2 27.7 30.8 31.1 29.1 24.7 20.2 17.2 O 23.4 Min. Temperature (° C) 6.3 6.9 8.0 10.0 13.0 16.6 19.3 19.9 17.3 13.6 9.7 7.0 O 12.3 Precipitation ( mm ) 20th 27 25th 34 32 22nd 4th 8th 41 66 42 34 Σ 355 Rainy days ( d ) 5 4th 6th 6th 6th 3 1 2 5 7th 6th 6th Σ 57 Water temperature (° C) 14th 14th 14th 15th 17th 20th 24 24 24 20th 17th 15th O 18.2 Humidity ( % ) 67 65 63 65 65 65 64 68 69 70 69 68 O 66.5 Source: wetterkontor.de

Web links

Commons : Alicante  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• City Council website (in Spanish, Catalan / Valencian and English)
• "Fogueres de Sant Joan" website (in Spanish)
• Information about places of interest in Alicante (in German)
• Alicante information (German) (in German)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
2. ↑ Holiday Destinations.com: Parque de la Ereta
3. ↑ Alicantetourismo: The Monastery of Santa Faz
4. ↑ MARQ - EL MUSEO . Website of the Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante museum. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
5. ↑ Bienvenidos a MUBAG . Website of the Museo de Bellas Artes Gravina (MUBAG) museum. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
6. ↑ MACA - Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Alicante . Museum website. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
7. ↑ [1] . Website of the Museo Volvo Ocean Race museum. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
8. ↑ Alicante.com: Festivals
9. ↑ www.wenzhou.gov.cn: City friendships . Retrieved July 11, 2019.