Tarifa

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Albanian singer see Eneda Tarifa

Tarifa municipality
Tarifa seen from the port
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Cadiz
Comarca :	Campo de Gibraltar
Coordinates	36 ° 1 ′  N , 5 ° 36 ′  W Coordinates: 36 ° 1 ′  N , 5 ° 36 ′  W
Height :	7  msnm
Area :	419 km²
Residents :	18,162 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	43.35 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	11380
Municipality number  ( INE ):	11035
administration
Mayor :	Juan Andrés Gil García ( PP )
Website :	www.aytotarifa.com
Location of the municipality

Harbor wall, on the horizon the Moroccan coast with the mountain Jebel Musa

Plazuela del Viento

Tarifa is located in the Andalusian province of Cádiz ( Spain ) and is the southernmost city and at the same time the southernmost point of mainland Europe . It marks the eastern end of the Costa de la Luz . Due to its strategically important location at the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar , Tarifa has repeatedly been the scene of historical events. Today the city is one of the “world capitals” for wind and kite surfers, along with Ho'okipa on Hawaii and Fuerteventura ( Canary Islands ) .

geography

On the western edge of the city is the " Punta de Tarifa " ( Punta , Spanish : "tip" or "horn"), the southernmost point of the European mainland, which is immediately in front of the Isla de Las Palomas . The distance to Morocco , and thus the African continent, is only 14 km here. Nowhere else are Europe and Africa closer to each other. Ferries , including high-speed catamarans , run several times a day between Tarifa and Tangier .

fauna

The location between the European and African mainland also makes the region of Tarifa one of the central fixed points on the routes of more than 200 species of migratory birds (see also bird migration ). In the sea, the meeting of the water masses of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean creates a unique ecosystem. The most spectacular inhabitants include a number of dolphin and whale species ( common dolphin , blue and white dolphin , bottlenose dolphin , pilot whale , orca , sperm whale , fin whale ).

Climate table

Tarifa (32 m)
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     70   15th 11     75   15th 11     48   16 12     57   17th 13     28   19th 15th     8th   22nd 18th     2   24 19th     4th   25th 20th     16   23 19th     80   21st 17th     86   18th 14th     118   16 12 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, period 1981-2010

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Tarifa (32 m) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 15.2 15.1 16.3 17.3 19.4 21.8 23.9 24.5 23.1 20.6 17.9 16.1 O 19.3 Min. Temperature (° C) 10.8 10.9 12.4 13.0 14.9 17.8 19.4 20.0 19.0 16.7 13.9 12.1 O 15.1 Temperature (° C) 13.0 13.0 14.4 15.2 17.2 19.8 21.7 22.3 21.1 18.6 15.9 14.1 O 17.2 Precipitation ( mm ) 70 75 48 57 28 8th 2 4th 16 80 86 118 Σ 592 Rainy days ( d ) 6.9 7.8 5.4 6.7 4.0 1.3 0.4 0.4 2.0 6.4 8.0 10.1 Σ 59.4 Humidity ( % ) 77 79 78 77 78 79 80 81 81 81 79 78 O 79 Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, period 1981-2010

History and culture

The oldest evidence of human settlement activity in the region is an approximately 60,000 year old skull of a Neanderthal man , which was found in a cave in the Rock of Gibraltar about 15 km from Tarifa .

Antiquity

Archaeological finds suggest that Tarifa, like Cádiz, was already at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Was founded by the Phoenicians . Settlement by the Romans is certain from the 1st century BC. The name at that time was Tingentera . 15 km west of Tarifa, near the village of Bolonia , Baelo Claudia is one of the best-preserved Roman settlements in Spain.

middle Ages

In July 710 the Berber Tarif ibn Malik led an expeditionary army of 500 men against the place. Most historians agree that the current name of the city was derived from this military leader. Another approach traces the name back to the Arabic word Ṭaraf , which means "end". Al-Idrisi speaks of the Ǧazīra ( t ) (island) Ṭarīf (جزيرة طريف). The Strait of Gibraltar has been considered the end of the world since ancient times , which only changed with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus more than 700 years after the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors . Tarif abu Zura's attack was the first Berber military advance into mainland Europe. One year later, the Berber conquest of “ Al-Andalus ” began, again starting from the region around Tarifa, Algeciras and Gibraltar.

The castle between the port and the city was built by the Muslim rulers in the 10th century (around 960) under the Caliph of Córdoba , Abd ar-Rahman III. , built. Above all, it served to protect against attacks by the Fatimids from the area of ​​today's Morocco and the Vikings , as well as to control the strait known today as the Strait of Gibraltar, which was ravaged by pirates at that time . The old town of Tarifa with its narrow winding streets and white painted houses goes back to the time of Moorish Spain, Al-Andalus .

An army of Catholic Spaniards under King Sancho IV of Castile and León (ruled 1284-1295) conquered Tarifa in the course of the Reconquista in 1292. However, the city remained fought over until the conquest of the nearby city of Algeciras (1344). In 1292 the city was besieged by the Merinids from North Africa. They kidnapped the son of the fortress commander and threatened to kill him if his father did not let them have the castle. But the latter, known as Guzmán El Bueno , refused and, according to legend, even threw his dagger down at the besiegers so that they could kill his son with it: he would rather be a man without a son than one without honor. The Spaniards named the castle Castillo de Guzmán , which was further expanded at that time, after him . Like other generals who excelled during the Reconquista, he was rewarded with lands. His descendants, the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia , were among the greatest of the great landowners in Andalusia until the 20th century and owned large parts of the province of Cádiz.

The Puerta de Jerez also dates from shortly after the Spanish conquest , the gateway to the old town built in place of part of the earlier city wall in the Mudejar style (i.e. by Muslims who continued to live in Catholic Spain after the Reconquista). The Iglesia de San Mateo church , which was later expanded in the Baroque style , was built in the city center in the 15th century .

Modern times

Flag of Tarifa

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Tarifa was not only one of the ports in shipping between Spain and its American colonies, many residents of the city were also actively involved in the colonization as sailors, soldiers and settlers. With the end of the Spanish colonial empire , Tarifa, which had already lost a large number of its inhabitants, lost its importance as a trading port. As a result, fishing, which has been an important industry since Roman times, became the most important and almost exclusive source of income for the city's residents. Since the early 1980s, tourism has become increasingly important and is now the primary economic sector.

Since Spain joined the European Union , the region around Tarifa has increasingly become a destination for Africans, especially from the Maghreb , who are trying to get to Europe because of its proximity to the Moroccan coast . The strong currents, the winds and the often violent waves make the crossing on the mostly overloaded and unsuitable boats a dangerous and often fatal undertaking. Hundreds of drowned people are found on Spanish beaches every year. In the years from 1997 to 2001, according to a census by the Moroccan "Association of Friends and Families of Victims of Illegal Immigration" ( Association des amis et familles des victimes de l'immigration clandestine , AFVIC) on the Moroccan and Spanish coastal strips of the Gibraltar found a total of 3286 dead. How many were drifted off to sea and never found is unknown. It is estimated that the number is about three times as high as that of those washed up on the beaches - almost 2,000 deaths per year.

economy

The port of Tarifa

Wind turbine near Tarifa

In the region of Tarifa - with the exception of a few days, especially in August - strong winds blow all year round : either the warm Levant ( wind force 7–9, mostly stronger) coming from the east, mostly from the Sahara , or often large amounts Bring sand, or the cool, mostly weaker ( wind force  6) Poniente coming from the Atlantic . The city and the surrounding area up to about 50 km to the west, Cape Trafalgar, owe their popularity to these winds, first with windsurfers and later with kite surfers from all over the world, and thus their position as an international tourist destination. The locals also call the surfers locos por el viento , "those who are crazy about the wind". The energy is also used with numerous wind turbines , some of which were built as an EU- funded large-scale test on the hills in the hinterland. Since the 1970s, tourism has replaced traditionally important fishing (see also bluefin tuna , Almadraba ) as the predominant industry. Due to its proximity to the Moroccan coast, Tangier is a popular destination for tourists.

Attractions

Puerta de Jerez

The old town center of the city was declared a protected cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) due to its medieval walls . Large parts of the structure of that time have been integrated in their original location or in other buildings and have thus been preserved.

Historical sights in the city are:

• The well-preserved castle Castillo de Guzmán near the port. Adjacent to it are the Bueno Tower from the 13th century and the Church of St. Mary.
• The Church of San Francisco (German: Franz von Assisi) was built in 1797 on an existing temple and has a baroque and neoclassical facade.
• The 13th century Puerta de Jerez that remained from the medieval walls.
• The Church of St. Matthias (Spanish: Iglesia de San Mateo), which was built in the early 16th century in the Gothic style. The facade was renewed in 1774 by Torcuato Cayón de la Vega.
• Outside the city walls is the Santa Catalina Castle, which is located on the hill of the same name to the east of the Guzman Tower.

Tarifa is a popular summer vacation spot for visitors from Northern Europe. The coast is well suited for windsurfing and kite surfing due to strong winds. That is why Tarifa is also characterized by hundreds of wind turbines.

Web links

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

Wikivoyage: Tarifa  - travel guide

• aytotarifa.com Official website of the municipality of Tarifa (es)
• tarifa.de German-language information on Tarifa
• Tarifa OnLine history, information, photos, sports, kitesurfing, windsurfing (es)
• firmm.org Information and photos about Tarifa

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. ↑ Bird watching in and around Tarifa
3. ↑ Whales and Dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar
4. ↑ DECREE 215/2003 BOE . Retrieved September 12, 2014.
5. ↑ Tourismo Tarifa: A Millennial City ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 1, 2014. 
6. ↑ Tarifa: Castillo de Guzmán el Bueno ( Memento of the original from December 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 12, 2014. 
7. ↑ Gurriarán Daza, Pedro: Dos puertas tarifeñas excepcionales: Jerez y 'Abd al-Rahman III en castillo de los Guzmanes ( Memento of the original of September 13, 2014 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. . In: Aljaranda (47) . Retrieved September 12, 2014. 
8. ↑ Patrón Sandoval, Juan A .: De ermita a fortín: Apuntes sobre la historia del Cerro y Castillo de Santa Catalina (I) ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Aljaranda (43) . Retrieved September 12, 2014.