Catalan Bay
Catalan Bay ( Spanish La Caleta ) is a village in Gibraltar . The village is located on the east side of the Rock of Gibraltar , away from the capital, and originated as a fishing village .
etymology
The actual origin of the name Catalan Bay is unknown, but there are several theories about it. One such theory is that the name comes from about 350 Catalans (men from Catalonia ) who settled here after serving the Anglo-Dutch coalition in the War of the Spanish Succession and ceding Gibraltar to the English in the Treaty of Utrecht .
The Spanish name La Caleta ( small bay or cala ) is older than the English one. The two fishing villages of La Tunara (near La Línea de la Concepción ) and La Caleta are mentioned in a royal despatch of March 6, 1634, according to which they would belong to the Kingdom of Granada . Since the name La Caleta is older than Catalan Bay , a second theory assumes that Catalan Bay was created simply by incorrectly pronouncing the Spanish name in English (the official language in Gibraltar is English, but Spanish is of course widespread).
history
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Catalan Bay was originally inhabited by Genoese fishermen . Catalan Bay was one of several such settlements along the east coast of the rock in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 18th century, Genoese was so widespread in Gibraltar that even official texts were published in this language (alongside English and Spanish). Genoese was spoken in La Caleta well into the 19th century. It only went under completely at the beginning of the 20th. Whether it is related to the fact that the British - allegedly - confused Genoese with Catalans is unclear, as there is clear evidence that the British were well aware of the difference. Eighteenth and nineteenth-century census lists include many people who were born in Genoa , not Catalonia .
In the 19th century, only fishermen were allowed to settle in Catalan Bay. They had to have a fishing license issued by the Governor of Gibraltar. Only a limited number of such licenses have been issued. Many of the families still living here today are descended from these Genoese fishermen.
present
The beach in front of Catalan Bay is the second largest sandy beach in Gibraltar (the largest is Eastern Beach , located about a kilometer further north, also on the east side of the peninsula). It is popular with tourists and locals. Several restaurants and hotels offer the necessary infrastructure .
The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows is the religious center of the village. The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows is carried in procession to the beach in September, where the Bishop of Gibraltar blesses the sea in the most important religious festival of the village.
If you follow the road further south on the east side of the rock, you come to Sandy Bay and then, through the newly opened Dudley Ward Tunnel , to Europa Point .
literature
- Catalan Bay - EG Archer, EP Vallejo & Tito Benady
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Discovergibraltar.com - Catalan Bay
- ↑ Jose Carlos de Luna: Historia de Gibraltar 1949.
- ↑ The Melting Pot ( Memento of the original from August 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
Coordinates: 36 ° 8 ′ 20 ″ N , 5 ° 20 ′ 29 ″ W.