Palos de la Frontera

Palos de la Frontera municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Huelva
Comarca :	Huelva
Coordinates	37 ° 13 ′  N , 6 ° 53 ′  W Coordinates: 37 ° 13 ′  N , 6 ° 53 ′  W
Height :	23  msnm
Area :	50 km²
Residents :	11,289 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	225.78 inhabitants / km²
Founding:	1379
Postal code :	21810
Municipality number  ( INE ):	21055
administration
Mayor :	Carmelo Romero Hernández ( PP )
Website :	www.palosfrontera.com
Location of the municipality

View of Palos de la Frontera

Replica of the Pinta caravel

Monastery of La Rábida

Palos de la Frontera is a city ​​in the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia in Spain . Its distance to the provincial capital Huelva is 14 km. It is located on the left bank of the Río Tinto , near the mouth of the Río Odiel , where it joins the Río Tinto.

Palos de la Frontera describes itself as the "cradle of the discovery of America". From here Columbus set sail with the two caravels Niña and Pinta and the carrack Santa Maria on August 3, 1492 when he wanted to discover the sea route to India. Outstanding personalities of the city - such as B. the Pinzón brothers - played a central role in the discovery of America by the Europeans.

history

The name of the city goes back to the Latin word palus , which in this context means something like "swamp" or "lake". Until 1642 the city was only called Palos. In the middle of the 16th century, the first chroniclers of the discovery of America , Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and Francisco López de Gómara , mistakenly believed that Palos and Moguer were one and the same place. They therefore created the name Palos de Moguer , which quickly found its way into the encyclopedias and textbooks of the time.

In May 1642, the Palos City Council decided to rename the city Palos de la Frontera . He made use of the fact that the rebellious Marqués de Ayamonte had led Portuguese troops across the border river Guadiana to the east to the Río Tinto . With the new addition to the name, the false impression that Palos had appeared as the village of the neighboring town of Moguer could be suppressed.

Population development

year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1981	1991	2000	2008
Residents	1621	1902	1922	2201	2280	2469	2540	4390	5901	6750	7115	8964
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE)

economy

In recent years economic activity has shifted away from traditional fishing and towards modern industrial production. Another important industry is agriculture. Particularly noteworthy here is the large-scale cultivation of strawberries that is typical of the Huelva province.

Attractions

• Iglesia de San Jorge in Mudejar style . Next to the church are the remains of the Palos castle.
• Museo de Martín Alonso Pinzón. Here the visitor can view nautical instruments, paintings and maps related to the discovery of America. A monument commemorates the captain Columbus and important citizen Martín Alonso Pinzón .
• La Rábida Franciscan Monastery (on the road to Huelva).
• The botanical garden (also on the road to Huelva), created by José Celestino Mutis , with native and American species.
• Muelle de las Carabelas ("Wharf of the Caravels"). Here are the replicas of the two caravels Pinta and Niña and the carrack Santa Maria , with which Columbus set off for India in search of the sea route (the replicas were specially made and displayed for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America in 1992 the Expo in Seville ).
• Muelle de la Reina ("Queen's Pier"). A monument to Icarus commemorates the first intercontinental flight of the seaplane Plus Ultra from Huelva to Buenos Aires in 1926, which attracted worldwide attention .

Pope visit

On June 14, 1993 Pope John Paul II visited Palos de la Frontera. I.a. He paid tribute to the city's outstanding historical significance, both for the character of the modern world and for the spread of Christianity.

Town twinning

The city maintains partnerships with the cities, among other things

in Spain  Baiona in Galicia , since 1975 Santa Fe in Andalusia , since 1983 San Sebastián de La Gomera , since 1984 Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Andalusia Santoña in Cantabria , since 1990

as well as with Assisi in Umbria , Italy, since 1984 Latina in the Province of Lazio , Italy, since 1994 Lagos in the Algarve , Portugal Ofunato in Honshū , Japan, since 1992 Soyaux in the Charente department , France, since 1993

sons and daughters of the town

Replica of the three ships

Plaza Comandante Ramón Franco (July 2001)

• Martín Alonso Pinzón (1441–1493), Spanish navigator and participant on the first Columbus voyage
• Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (~ 1460–1523?), Spanish navigator and explorer, participant on the first Columbus voyage
• Francisco Martín Pinzón (~ 1445–1502?), Spanish navigator and explorer
• Juan Rodriguez Mafrá
• Gonzalo Guerrero (before 1500 - probably 1536), Spanish sailor, lived with the Maya after the shipwreck
• Antón de Alaminos (1482–1520?), Spanish helmsman and explorer

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).

Web links

Commons : Palos de la Frontera  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Palos de la Frontera - statistical information from the Government of Andalusia (Spanish)
• Website of Palos de la Frontera (Spanish, partly also English)