Costa Brava

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Costa Brava between Tossa de Mar and Sant Feliu de Guíxols

The Costa Brava ( Catalan and Spanish for "wild coast") is the northeasternmost strip of the Spanish Mediterranean coast in the autonomous region of Catalonia . The writer Ferran Agulló (born 1863 in Sant Feliu de Guíxols ) coined her name in the magazine La Veu de Catalunya in the September 12, 1908 edition.

Geography and nature

Costa Brava near Portbou
Costa Brava near Cap de Creus

The approximately 220 kilometers long Costa Brava stretches from the foothills of the Pyrenees on the French- Spanish border near Portbou to the south and southwest to the Tordera river mouth near Blanes . To the south, the Costa del Maresme joins the province of Barcelona ; the city ​​of Barcelona is about 60 km from the southern edge of the Costa Brava.

The Costa Brava owes its name to the strongly jagged rock massifs that drop steeply to the sea from the mountain ranges ( Serras ) that run parallel to the coast . Between the capes are picturesque fishing villages such as L'Estartit and Tamariu , small beaches and bays ( Calas ); some of them can only be reached by boat, while holiday apartment complexes have established themselves in others. "Wild" within the meaning Ferran Agullós particular the peninsula Cap de Creus as the easternmost point of Catalonia with the place Cadaqués , the landscape around the Cap de Begur in Palafrugell and the coast between Sant Feliu de Guixols and Tossa de Mar .

However, not the entire coastline is such. For example, the land in the Golf de Roses is expanding ; flat beaches with fine sand extend at Empuriabrava and Sant Pere Pescador . To the south of Lloret de Mar , the topography changes to the gentler forms of the flat, partly swampy coastal land that characterizes the adjacent Costa del Maresme.

The rocky coastal mountains are overgrown with light pine , cork oak and acacia groves. Due to clearing in the past and the dry summers, which often cause fires, there are only a few closed forest areas. Typical is Mediterranean scrub vegetation with gorse , rock roses and wild herbs ( rosemary , thyme ). The animal world has also been affected by the clearing; Foxes, lynxes, wild boars, wild cats, various birds of prey and reptiles live in retreat areas.

climate

Costa Brava at El Port de la Selva

The average air temperatures are between 21 ° C and 28 ° C in summer and between 6 ° C and 10 ° C in winter. The water temperatures are around 12 ° C in February and up to 24 ° C in summer.

In spring and autumn it is sometimes very stormy, especially on the Golf de Roses. The freezing cold land winds that come from the north-west of the Pyrenees in winter and early spring and are related to the Mistral and Tramontana , known as Tramuntana in Catalonia , often reach gale force. In summer, strong sea breezes, which can reach up to 50 km inland, reduce the daytime heat. They attract many windsurfers who are concentrated in Roses or the Bay of Riells, a district of L'Escala .

Overall, the maritime climate on the Catalan Mediterranean is more balanced than the continental inland climate, and it is 6 to 7 ° C warmer than on the Spanish Atlantic. However, it is much more unstable in summer than further south of Spain, so that even in July and August you can experience rainy and cooler days again and again.

Precipitation decreases significantly from north to south of the Costa Brava. They are highest in winter with an average of 85 liters / square meter, and lowest in July and August with only 50 liters / square meter. An average of 200 sunny days are counted per year.

Administrative structure

Administratively, the Costa Brava belongs to the province of Girona . Three of the eight administrative districts ( Comarques ) of this province are on the coast:

Comarca population Area (km²) Capital
Alt Empordà 112,439 1,357.5 Figueres
Baix Empordà 115,566 701.7 La Bisbal d'Empordà
Selva 136,738 995.1 Santa Coloma de Farners

Figures from 2004 according to the Idescat (Institute for Statistics of Catalonia)

The coastline includes - from north to south - the following municipalities:

Alt Empordà (High Ampurdan)

The beach with small fishing boats in the center of Cadaqués

Baix Empordà (Lower Ampurdan)

Selva

Culture and sights

Sant Pere de Rodes

The most visited attractions in the Costa Brava area are not on the coast, but inland:

But the coastal towns also have some tourist attractions of supraregional importance:

Numerous places are characterized by a picturesque old town with relics of a fort on a hill above the town center.

There are also important natural parks on the Costa Brava:

economy

The Roses fishing fleet, with one of the largest fishing ports in Catalonia

The classic industries on the Costa Brava were fishing and the cork industry until the middle of the 20th century . Both branches have lost their importance, but are still active.

Due to environmental damage in the Mediterranean Sea and overfishing of the shrimp and sardine stocks, the fishery, which in the 21st century only feeds 0.4% of the Catalan population full-time, has been affected; Fishing ports (and at the same time as sports and trading ports) are still important today: Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols , as well as L'Escala and Roses .

The cork industry also dominated until the Second World War, but the raw material obtained naturally from the cork oak then increasingly came into competition with the synthetically produced bottle stoppers. The centers of the cork industry were Palafrugell , where there is also a cork museum and a manufacturing factory, Sant Feliu de Guixols and Palamos (commercial and export ports).

Other sectors of the economy in Catalonia (agriculture, viticulture, paper and metal processing, ceramics, textile industry) are concentrated in the interior.

Since the second half of the 20th century, tourism and the infrastructural service branches (accommodation, shops, restaurants, sports facilities and amusement facilities) that have emerged as a result of tourism have been the main source of income on the Costa Brava. The construction boom of large hotel complexes in the 1960s initially promoted general bathing tourism with nightlife at a low price level in summer on the broad beaches of the southern coastline (Platja d'Aro, Lloret de Mar, Blanes). By the end of the 20th century, alternative concepts were used to attract individual target groups: Campsites and apartment complexes were created in the smaller towns and bays between the rocky capes for guests arriving by car, water sports enthusiasts, cyclists and hikers. The season is continuously extended to the spring and autumn months.

In 1998, 18 million visitors were counted on the Costa Brava. The largest group among the foreign guests were the French with 43%, followed by Germans, Italians, British and Dutch.

Sports

Golf course in Gualta near Torroella de Montgrí (above the Castell del Montgrí )

The rough coast with unpredictable winds is only suitable for water sports to a limited extent. Sailing and windsurfing is still possible in some places, such as Roses, Palamós and Platja d'Aro.

Classic diving areas are the small islands ( Illes Medes ) off L'Estartit, the coast near Sant Feliu de Guíxols and, since it was declared a nature park, the Cap de Creus peninsula.

Cyclists are mainly on the mountain roads in the northern sections of the Costa Brava.

There are a number of marked hiking trails for hikers, especially in the nature park at Cap de Creus and in the coastal mountains between Platja d'Aro and Palamós.

In the tourist centers, mini golf, tennis, horse riding and go-karting are all on offer.

Golf is becoming increasingly popular in the 21st century. There are several golf courses , for example at Pals, Platja d'Aro and Lloret de Mar.

The bullfight is losing popularity. Tossa de Mar was the first municipality on the Costa Brava to ban it. Bullfighting has been prohibited by law across Catalonia since 2012.

literature

  • Peter M. Took ao: Costa Brava. Costa del Maresme. Barcelona . 4th edition. Baedeker Ostfildern 2000, ISBN 3-89525-735-4 . ( Baedeker Allianz travel guide ), (With large travel map)
  • Hans-Jürgen Fründt: Costa Brava. (With Barcelona) . 3rd completely updated edition. Reise-Know-How-Verlag Rump, Bielefeld 2002, ISBN 3-8317-1027-9 .
  • Thomas Schröder: Costa Brava . 5th edition. Michael Müller Verlag, Erlangen 2012, ISBN 978-3-89953-681-2 .
  • Ingo Seehafer: Aiguamolls de l'Empordà: Natural treasures on the Costa Brava . 1st edition. Westarp Sciences, 2012, ISBN 978-3-89432-260-1 .

Web links

Commons : Costa Brava  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Costa Brava  - explanations of meanings, origins of words, synonyms, translations