Murcia (city)
| Murcia | |||
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 Murcia Cathedral
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| coat of arms | Map of Spain | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Autonomous Community : | Murcia | ||
| Province : | Murcia | ||
| Comarca : | Huerta de Murcia | ||
| Coordinates | 37 ° 59 ′ N , 1 ° 8 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 43 msnm | ||
| Area : | 881.86 km² | ||
| Residents : | 453,258 (Jan 1, 2019) | ||
| Population density : | 513.98 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Postal code : | 30001 to 30012 | ||
| Municipality number ( INE ): | 30030 | ||
| administration | |||
| Mayor : | José Ballesta German (PP) | ||
| Website : | www.murcia.es | ||
| Location of the city | |||
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Murcia [ ˈmuɾθja ] is a city in southeastern Spain . It is the capital of the autonomous region of Murcia and is assigned to the Levant in Spain . Murcia lies on the Segura River and is characterized by a mild climate with hot summers and mild winters and little rainfall. It is one of the largest university cities in Spain and with 453,258 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) the seventh largest city in the country .
Highlights for visitors are the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of other baroque buildings as well as the local cuisine, the Easter processions and the works of the sculptor Francisco Salzillo . The city is known as an exporter and producer of fruit, vegetables and flowers due to its long, agricultural tradition Called "Europe's orchard".
geography
Murcia is located in the valley of the Río Segura. To the south rises a small mountain range with the Cresta del Gallo and the Valle Perdido . There is also the Ermita de la Fuensanta , the most important sanctuary in the Murcia region . The Sierra Espuña stretches to the west of the city, while the Sierra Espartal with the Revolcadores , the highest mountain in the province of Murcia , is a little northwest of the city . The town of Cabecico del Rey belongs to the city .
climate
The Murcia region is one of the driest and hottest regions in Europe. Located in a semi-desert , temperatures often exceed 40 ° C in summer. The winters are relatively mild, but single-digit minus degrees are sometimes reached at night.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Murcia
Source: wetterkontor.de
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history
The place of today's Murcia was already before the Roman occupation of southern Spain in the 3rd century BC. It was populated in BC, but it is unknown what name the place was called during Roman rule. He is mentioned for the first time in Muslim chronicles. According to Yāqūt ar-Rūmī , the city was founded in 825 under the name Mursiya by Abd ar-Rahman II . Using Moorish technology, which was superior at the time, a complex network of irrigation canals was created, allowing the city to practice rich agriculture. After the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031, Murcia came under the rule of the Kingdom of Almería , then the Kingdom of Valencia . In 1063, Abd al-Rahman ibn Tahir proclaimed an independent kingdom of Murcia. In the 12th century, al-Idrisi described the city as populous and heavily fortified. In 1172 the Almohads conquered Murcia, which was the capital of an independent Muslim emirate from 1223-43. Then the Castilians took it when numerous immigrants from northeast Spain and Provence settled in the city. Moorish princes continued to rule nominally over the mixed population, but an uprising against the overlord Alfonso X led to the final incorporation of Murcia into the Kingdom of Castile in 1266 . Since 1291 the city was a bishopric.
In 1651 Murcia was completely flooded by the Río Segura , killing over 1000 people. During the War of the Spanish Succession , Bishop Luis de Belluga defended the city against an archducal army by flooding the fertile surroundings ( huerta ). In 1810 and 1812 Murcia was attacked by Napoleon's French troops under the command of Marshal Soult . The city was almost completely devastated by the earthquake of March 18-21, 1829. Numerous buildings, including the cathedral, collapsed or suffered major damage, and many people were killed. On June 23, 1843, Murcia was surrendered by insurgents. In 1879 and 1907 it suffered badly from floods, although the construction of a dam did much to keep the Río Segura in its bed.
Murcia has been the capital of the Province of Murcia since 1833 . With the formation of the Autonomous Communities in 1982, it also became the capital of the Murcia region, which is identical to the province . In the last few decades the population has grown by leaps and bounds, so that Murcia is now the seventh largest city in Spain.
Population development
| year | 1857 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1960 | 1981 | 1991 | 2000 | 2007 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 89,314 | 111,539 | 141.175 | 193.731 | 249,738 | 288,631 | 383,250 | 357.166 | 422.861 | 439,889 |
1991: as of March 1; 1996: as of May 1st; from 1998: as of January 1st
economy
In addition to agriculture , which is no longer so important , most of the gross national product of the city of Murcia is generated in the service sector .
Attractions
The cathedral has elements from different centuries. It was built between 1394 and 1465 in the Castilian-Gothic style. Its tower was completed in 1792 and also shows a combination of different architectural styles: the first two floors were built in the Renaissance style (1521 to 1546), the third in the Baroque style . The bell tower contains both rococo and neoclassical influences. The main facade (1736 to 1754) is considered a masterpiece of the Spanish Baroque.
Another building on the cathedral square, Plaza Cardinal Belluga, is the colorful 18th-century Bishop's Palace . Glorieta Square, built in the same century on the banks of the Segura River, is the traditional center of the city. The town hall is also located here.
A large part of the old town is designated as a pedestrian zone, it is characterized in its center by the streets Trapería and Platería. On the Trapería is the Casino, a club from 1847 with a Moorish courtyard based on the model of the Alhambra near Granada . The name Platería goes back to plata (silver), as this street was the main trading place of raw materials for the Jewish population in the history of Murcia . Trapería is derived from the word trapos (clothing).
Several bridges cross the Segura, including the Puente de los Peligros (Bridge of Dangers), an 18th-century stone bridge with a Lady Chapel on one side, as well as modern bridges designed by Santiago Calatrava and Javier Manterola and the steel bridge Puente Nuevo from the early 20th century.
More Attractions:
- On the Monteagudo mountain there is a Roman fort , remains of an Arab castle and a statue of Christ similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro . There are two more Arab castles in the immediate vicinity: the Castillo de Larache and the palace of Ibn Mardanīsch .
- Significant remains of the Arab palace Alcazar Seguir can be seen in the inner courtyard of the Santa Clara monastery in the center.
- In the Jardín de San Estebán, an Arab quarter was excavated at the end of the 2000s when a car park was to be built on the site. After public protests and a legal decree, the project was stopped in December 2009.
- The Los Jerónimos Monastery from the 18th century.
- The 19th century Romea theater.
- The Almudí Palace, a historic building from the 17th century. Inside there are Tuscan columns. Since 1985 it has housed the city's archive and regular exhibitions.
- The Salzillo Museum.
- Many churches, some of which survived the civil war relatively undamaged.
Religion and culture
The city's patron saint is María de la Fuensanta . The most important festival in the city is the Bando de la Huerta , which ushers in the Fiestas de Primavera and which ends with the Entierro de la Sardina . These festivals take place shortly after Semana Santa (Holy Week), which is celebrated with numerous processions . These are characterized by the fact that most of them give out small gifts (sweets and typical baked goods, the monas ). In addition, the so-called Saetas - religious supplications - are sung on Palm Sunday and Good Friday .
The Murcia Tres Culturas festival takes place in May to commemorate the three previously dominant religions in the city - Christianity , Islam and Judaism . The 1997 film Pajarico by Carlos Saura is set in Murcia in the 1970s. Murcia has an active music scene, especially rock music ; Among other things, the bands M Clan and Second are based here. The Spanish painter Jorge Fin lives and works in Murcia.
traffic
Murcia had an international airport, the airport in San Javier , which is also used as a military base , about 40 kilometers away on the Mar Menor lagoon . The opening of the new Murcia-Corvera airport, which was completed in 2013, took place in January 2019. From there civil flights are now handled.
Otherwise, not much has changed in Murcia's status as a transit region. There is an extremely high density of motorways, etc. a. the Autovía del Mediterraneo (A7), which runs along the entire Spanish Mediterranean coast. There are also direct motorway connections to Madrid and Granada .
The train system is not particularly well developed. There is a non-electrified route from Cartagena via Murcia to Alicante and from there on to Barcelona , which is served by local trains (cercanías) and individual long-distance trains. Another route leads to Lorca . A connection to the Spanish high-speed network AVE is planned or under construction. The city's train station, Murcia del Carmen, is located south of the old town in the Del Carmen district. From there, various long-distance lines lead to Madrid, Albacete, Valencia, Catalonia and Montpellier in France.
Since 2007, a 2.2 km long tram line has been in trial operation with four stops along Avenida Juan Carlos I. It is used with cars borrowed from Madrid (no. 151 and 152). Since May 29, 2011, the V-shaped line 1 with 16.7 km and 24 stops has been in operation.
The interurban bus operation is carried out by LatBus. Urban bus transport is offered by operator TM (Transportes de Murcia), a joint venture between Ruiz, Marín & Fernanbús.
Sports
Murcia has with Real Murcia a football club , in the third-tier Segunda División B plays. The basketball club Polaris World Murcia is represented in the highest Spanish division, the ACB league . In futsal , the city has the Spanish champions in 2005/2006 and 2006/07 with El Pozo Murcia Turistica . In 2005 the women's team CAV Murcia represents the city in volleyball .
The Murcia Tour cycling race starts in Murcia every year . In 2010 the city was the destination of a stage of the Vuelta a España .
Culinary specialties
- Morcilla (blood sausage with cinnamon and pine nuts)
- Zarangollo (a stew made from zucchini, egg and potatoes)
- Pisto (a kind of ratatouille)
- Pastel de Carne (a pastry with a meat filling)
- Michirones
- Paparajote (in fat being baked lemon leaf with pastry case)
- Migas
Town twinning
Sister cities of Murcia are:
Personalities
Sons and daughters of the town:
- Ibn Arabi (1165-1240), Sufi
- Francisco Salzillo y Alcaraz (1701–1783), Baroque sculptor (church art )
- Blas Parera (1776–1840), composer
- José Selgas (1822–1882), writer
- Juan de la Cierva (1895–1936), inventor of the first helicopter (Autogiro)
- José Nieto (1902–1982), actor
- Ramón Gaya (1910-2005), painter
- Julio Ruzafa (* 1928), painter
- Nana Lorca (* 1937), dancer and prima ballerina
- Francisco Gil Hellín (* 1940), Catholic clergyman, Archbishop Emeritus of Burgos
- Francisco Lerma Martínez IMC (1944–2019), religious and Roman Catholic Bishop of Gurué
- Ramón Luis Valcárcel (* 1954), politician
- Esperanza Spierling (* 1971), artist
- Francisco Pérez (* 1978), racing cyclist
- Óscar Sánchez Fuentes (* 1979), football player
- Eloy Teruel (* 1982), racing cyclist
- Luis León Sánchez Gil (* 1983), racing cyclist
- Nicolás Almagro (* 1985), tennis player
- Andrés Fernández Moreno (* 1986), football goalkeeper
- José Maria Alcaraz (* 1987), racing cyclist
- Rubén Fernández (* 1991), racing cyclist
- Jaime Lorente (* 1991), Spanish actor
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ a b Murcia , in: Encyclopædia Britannica online.
- ↑ a b c Murcia , in: Encyclopædia Britannica , 11th edition, 1910-11, Vol. 19, p. 33.
- ↑ Murcia , in: Heinrich August Pierer (Ed.): Universal-Lexikon der Gegenwart und Past , 4th edition, 1857-65, Vol. 11, p. 560
- ↑ Spain.info: Murcia Cathedral. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
- ↑ Museo de Santa Clara de Murcia. ( Memento of the original from December 18, 2016 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.
- ↑ Restos de San Esteban (Murcia): Yacimiento sí, 'parking' no. Arqueologiamedieval.com, December 10, 2009.
- ↑ Murcia Corvera Airport (RMU) Región de Murcia International Airport. Accessed August 25, 2019 .
- ↑ Murcia se engancha al tranvía. laopiniondemurcia.es, May 29, 2009.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 4, 2010 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
- www.murcia.es Website of the municipality
- www.um.es University of Murcia
- Official website for tourism in Spain: Information about Murcia (english)
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