Blanes

This article covers the city. For further meanings, see Blanes (disambiguation) .

Blanes municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Catalonia
Province :	Girona
Comarca :	La Selva
Coordinates	41 ° 41 ′  N , 2 ° 48 ′  E Coordinates: 41 ° 41 ′  N , 2 ° 48 ′  E
Height :	13  msnm
Area :	17.7 km²
Residents :	39,028 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	2,204.97 inhabitants / km²
Municipality number  ( INE ):	17023
administration
Mayor :	Miguel Lupiáñez
Website :	www.blanes.cat
Location of the municipality

Blanes is a town with 39,028 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the Spanish province of Girona in the autonomous region of Catalonia at the southern end of the Costa Brava directly at the mouth of the Tordera , and around 60 kilometers northeast of the regional capital, Barcelona . Blanes is considered the gateway to the Costa Brava.

Rocky bay in Blanes

City description

Blanes is a popular, typically Catalan-style resort. Countless restaurants where fish, paella or chicken dishes are prepared, bars, numerous shops and the particularly wide sandy beach of four kilometers in length are some of the features of this place. Blanes is also known as the economic center of the southern Costa Brava. To the south of the old town center, huge mobile homes, holiday homes and campsites were set up, which are among the largest seasonal holiday settlements in the Mediterranean. The city grows slightly to over 100,000 people in the summer season.

The old town with its narrow streets shows the fishing village almost as it was before the tourist invasion in 1960. The traditional fish auction takes place in the port every working day Monday to Friday at around 4 p.m. The fishing port is protected between the Sa Forcanera cliffs in the northeast and Sa Palomera in the southwest, which extend to the coast. Palomera is considered the beginning of the Costa Brava. The hotel district is located on the southern edge of the center, the initially rather simple hotels have now been supplemented with higher-class hotels. The campsites are lined up behind the hotels.

Transport links

Blanes is the terminus of a direct line along the coast from Barcelona – Mataró – Maçanet-Massanes , which then leads inland from Blanes, where it connects to the route to France. Regional national roads or the regional motorway C 35 can be reached via provincial roads. The closest airports are Barcelona-El Prat Airport and Girona Airport , which is less frequented .

Botanical gardens

The Marimurtra Botanical Garden

There are two botanical gardens in Blanes .

The German Karl Faust was the founder and owner of the Jardí Botànic Marimurtra . Before his death in 1952, he created the Jardí Botànic Marimurtra Foundation ('Botanical Garden of the Sea and Myrtle'), to which he transferred the garden and its considerable fortune.

The foundation has a scientific character and serves the international study of botany . In addition, she wants to bring the diversity and beauty of plants and the wisdom in the rule of nature closer to the numerous visitors from many countries. This botanical garden was founded in 1921 and is located on the southeast slope of the Sant Joan mountain above the steep slopes that plunge into the Mediterranean. The garden with a beautiful view of the sea is 16.5 hectares.

In the Jardí Botànic Marimurtra, the rugged natural landscape has been enhanced by artistic garden architecture. The full-grown specimens of cacti and other plants that have been grown here impress with the harmony of their colors and shapes. Due to the uniform Mediterranean climate , the plants thrive splendidly, and the entire collection is privately owned. There are more than 3000 different trees, bushes and flowers to discover. Many plants can also be purchased on site.

The second botanical garden, Jardí Botànic Pinya de Rosa , with around 7000 different plant species is located just outside Blanes. He was founded by the Catalan engineer Dr. Ferran Riviere de Caralt founded in 1945 and later declared a Natural Landscape of National Interest .

Culture and tradition

Fireworks in Blanes 2003

The annual fireworks competition is one of the most important in Spain and Europe. It lasts seven days and takes place during the Festa Major in honor of the patron saint Sant Joaquim in the week of July 26th.

For the listed buildings of Blanes see the list of cultural monuments in Blanes .

Personalities

• Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003), Chilean writer
• Quim Torra (* 1962), lawyer, publisher and politician
• Rubén Yáñez (* 1993), football goalkeeper

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. ↑ according to the city's website ( memento from April 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Blanes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official site of Blanes (Catalan, English, Spanish)
• Official tourist guide of Blanes (English and German)
• Photos and descriptions of objects of interest in Blanes in poblesdecatalunya.cat