Girona
Skyline of Girona
Coat of arms
Motto: Girona m'enamora - Girona inspires me with love
Girona Location in Catalonia
Girona Location of Girona within Spain
Coordinates: 41°59′04″N 02°49′16″E / 41.98444°N 2.82111°E / 41.98444; 2.82111Coordinates: 41°59′04″N 02°49′16″E / 41.98444°N 2.82111°E / 41.98444; 2.82111
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Catalonia
Province	Girona
Comarca	Gironès
Founded	79 BC
Government
• Mayor	Carles Puigdemont
Area
• Total	39.14 km2 (15.11 sq mi)
Elevation(AMSL)	76 m (249 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	96,722
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
17001-17007
Area code(s)	+34 (Spain) + 972 (Girona)
Administrative Divisions	9
Website	Official website

Girona (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒiˈɾonə]; Spanish: Gerona [xeˈɾona]) is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,722 in January 2011. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès. Lies 99 km (62 mi) on north-east from Barcelona.

History[link]

The first historical inhabitants in the region were Iberians; Girona is the ancient Gerunda, a city of the Ausetani. Later, the Romans built a citadel there, which was given the name of Gerunda. The Visigoths ruled in Girona until it was conquered by the Moors. Finally, Charlemagne reconquered it in 785 and made it one of the fourteen original countships of Catalonia. Thus it was wrested temporarily from the Moors, who were driven out finally in 1015. Wilfred the Hairy incorporated Girona to the countship of Barcelona in 878. Alfonso I of Aragón declared Girona to be a city in the 11th century. The ancient countship later became a duchy (1351) when King Peter III of Aragon gave the title of Duke to his first-born son, John. In 1414, King Ferdinand I in turn gave the title of Prince of Girona to his first-born son, Alfonso. The title is currently carried by Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias, the first since the 16th century to do so.

Unofficial flag of Girona.

The 12th century saw a flourishing of the Jewish community of Girona, with one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in Europe. The Rabbi of Girona, Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi (better known as Nahmanides or Ramban) was appointed Great Rabbi of Catalonia. The history of the Jewish community of Girona ended in 1492, when the Catholic Kings expelled all the Jews from Catalonia. Today, the Jewish ghetto or Call is one of the best preserved in Europe and is a major tourist attraction. On the north side of the old city is the Montjuïc (or hill of the Jews in medieval Catalan), where an important religious cemetery was located.

Girona Bridge

Girona has undergone twenty-five sieges and been captured seven times. It was besieged by the French royal armies under Charles de Monchy d'Hocquincourt in 1653, under Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds in 1684, and twice in 1694 under Anne Jules de Noailles. In May 1809, it was besieged by 35,000 French Napoleonic troops under Vergier, Augereau and St. Cyr, and held out obstinately under the leadership of Alvarez until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate, 12 December. Finally, the French conquered the city in 1809, after 7 months of siege. Girona was center of the Ter department during the French rule, which lasted from 1809 to 1813. The defensive city walls were demolished at the end of the 19th century to allow for the expansion of the city. In recent years, the missing parts of the city walls on the eastern side of the city have been reconstructed. Called the Passeig de la Muralla it now forms a tourist route around the old city.

Climate[link]

Girona has a mild climate. In winter temperatures can drop to below −5 °C (23 °F) sometimes due to winds coming from the Pyrenees. In the summer temperatures often soar to about 30–40 °C (86–104 °F) in the high season of July and August. Rain is common in winter and spring and thunderstorms often occur. Frost is common in winter, making temperatures seem colder than they actually are.

Main sights[link]

Girona is a popular destination for tourists and Barcelona day-trippers - the train journey from Barcelona Sants to Girona takes just a bit over one hour. The old town stands on the steep hill of the Capuchins to the west of the river, while the more modern section stands on the plains to the east.

The façade of Girona's Cathedral

City wall and towers, of Girona at the old town.

The Collegiate Church of Sant Feliu, as seen from the river Onyar.

Sant Pere de Galligants

Independence Square.

Cathedral[link]

The ancient cathedral, which stood on the site of the present one, was used by the Moors as a mosque, and after their final expulsion was either entirely remodelled or rebuilt. The present edifice is one of the most important monuments of the school of the Majorcan architect Jaume Fabre and an excellent example of Spanish Gothic architecture. It is approached by eighty-six steps. An aisle and chapels surround the choir, which opens by three arches into the nave, of which the pointed stone vault is the widest in Christendom (22 meters). Among its interior decorations is a retable which is the work of the Valencian silversmith Pere Bernec. It is divided into three tiers of statuettes and reliefs, framed in canopied niches of cast and hammered silver. A gold and silver altar-frontal was carried off by the French in 1809. The cathedral contains the tombs of Ramon Berenger and his wife.

Old Fortifications[link]

The old fortifications are another popular sight. Historically, these have played a vital role in protecting Girona from invaders for hundreds of years. The city wall of the old town was an important military construction built in Roman times in the 1st century BC. It was thoroughly rebuilt under the reign of Peter III the Ceremonious in the second half of the 14th century. The Roman wall was used as a foundation. At the start of the 16th century, the wall was absorbed in the city. The walled precinct lost its military value. Bit by bit, the wall was degrading, as parts were gradually altered from the inside and the outside. The walls and lookout towers that make up these fortifications are split in two - a small section in the north of the old town and a much larger section in the south. It is possible to walk the entire length of the walls and climb the towers, where visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Girona and the surrounding countryside.

Sant Feliu[link]

The Collegiate Church of Sant Feliu is noteworthy from an architectural point of view. Its style is fourteenth-century Gothic, the façade dating from the eighteenth, and it is one of the few Spanish churches which possesses a genuine spire. It contains, besides the sepulchre of its patron and the tomb of the valiant Álvarez, a chapel dedicated to St. Narcissus, who according to tradition was one of the early bishops of the see.

Sant Pere de Galligants[link]

The Benedictine church of Sant Pere de Galligants is in early Romanesque style. From the same period is the Monastery of St. Daniel.

Plaça de la Independència[link]

The Plaça de la Independència, which refers to the War of Spanish Independence against Napoleon Bonaparte, is one of the best known and most frequented places in Girona. Located in Mercadal district in the city center, is also known as Plaça de San Agustin, because formerly the Convent of San Agustin had been raised there.

The interest of the square lies nineteenth-century style, despite it is surrounded by austere identical neoclassical buildings with porches dedicated to the defenders of the city of Girona during the sieges of 1808 and 1809.

However, the symmetrical proportions of square corresponds more to current interventions than its architectural past. The municipal architect Marí Sureda was the first who thought up an arcaded square with loops closed and neoclassical, with some buildings having the same aesthetic proportions. The urbanization of the area only followed in part their schemes. The construction of the first theaters in this city, broke down the idea of Martí Sureda. Until the 18th century, what that architect had imagined could not be completed. This part of the city in Noucentisme style is a romantic and timeless creation, from one century to another, nowadays captivates inhabitants and visitors. Today has great activity due to the gradual opening of cafes and restaurants. On this, some business are well known for its history like the Café Royal, Cinema Albéniz and Casa Marieta^[2]

Jewish Quarter "El Call".

Cases de l'Onyar[link]

Girona are very characteristic of the houses hanging over the river Onyar. These picturesque houses built over the centuries by the river give a splendid of a small Mediterranean city. All facades are painted along the river palette afforded by Enric Ansesa, James J. Faixó and architects Fuses and J. Viader

Jewish Heritage[link]

Most traces of Girona's rich Jewish history were wiped out when the Jews were expelled from Spain (see Spanish expulsion), however some remain. On Carrer de Sant Llorenc, the doorway of an old building has a rectangular indentation which once held a mezuzah. Further along is the Centre Bonastruc ça Porta and the Catalan Jewish Museum. The Bonastruc ça Porta project started in the 1970s, when it became fashionable to renovate properties in the old town. Clearing away nearly 700 years of construction, Jose Tarres, a local restaurateur, discovered the remains of what turned out to be the medieval yeshiva founded by Nahmanides.

The city has a number of relevant Art Nouveau buildings including the Farinera Teixidor by Rafael Masó.

Panorama of Girona: cases penjades on Onyar River, the Cathedral to the centre of the image and Sant Feliu collegiate to the left

Sports[link]

During the professional cycling season, various non-European pro cyclists have called Girona home, as illustrated in the book Inside the Postal Bus by Michael Barry, written during his time with the US Postal Service cycling team. Between races, cyclists do their training rides outside the city, which provides excellent training terrain.

In the Spring of 1997 Marty Jemison, Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie moved to Girona as teammates of the US Postal Service Professional Cycling Team. This was the first year that American cyclists started living in Girona and meeting for training rides at the Pont de Pedra. Later, other well-known professional cyclists such as Lance Armstrong came to live in the city.

Football is also widely popular. The local Football club is Girona FC, currently playing in the Spanish Segunda División after promotion in the 2007-08 season in the playoffs. Its stadium is Estadi Montilivi.

The city has a roller hockey team, GEiEG, one of the most important in Spain, which competes in the main League OK Liga.

Education[link]

The city is the home of the Universitat de Girona.

Transport[link]

Girona landmarks include Saint Mary's Cathedral (left) and the Passeig de la Muralla (right)

Modernist building, Farinera Teixidor by architect Rafael Masó

Road[link]

The town is on the Autopista AP-7 and N-II. The city is also the hub of the local road network with routes to the coast and inland towards the Pyrenees.

Buses[link]

The city has a comprehensive urban bus service operated by TMG. There are also services to the other towns in the Girona province.

Train[link]

Girona is served at its railway station to the west of the Old Town, from Barcelona to Portbou and the French border. The journey time to Barcelona is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. A new station is being constructed for the AVE trains which will be in the same location as the current one, but underground.

Airport[link]

Main article: Girona-Costa Brava Airport

The town's airport, Girona-Costa Brava, is 10 km south of the town centre. It has grown tremendously in recent years principally as a result of Ryanair choosing it as one of their European hubs. Whilst the airport has been used since the early 1980s for charter flights, holidaymakers and other travellers now have a wider range of scheduled flights available from a number of destinations across Europe.

Girona Airport is a 15 minute bus ride from the bus terminal and train station in Girona city and an hour from Barcelona centre, 92 km to the south. Most low cost airlines mention "Barcelona" in their descriptions of Girona airport. The bus stops in the centre of Barcelona, at the Estació d'Autobusos Barcelona Nord, Barcelona's main bus terminal.

Twin towns — sister cities[link]

"Temps de flors" exhibition.

Girona is twinned with:

See also[link]

• Prince of Girona
• La Girona
• Girona's Cathedral
• Girona railway station
• List of mayors of Girona
• Casa Marieta

References[link]

Sources and external links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Girona

• Official website
• Girona Temps de Flors Exhibition webpage
• History of the coat-of-arms of Girona
• Universitat de Girona
• Girona Airport website
• Real Estate in Girona
• Girona Map
• Hostelry association of Girona

v t e Municipalities of Gironès Aiguaviva Bescanó Bordils Campllong Canet d'Adri Cassà de la Selva Celrà Cervià de Ter Flaçà Fornells de la Selva Girona Juià Llagostera Llambilles Madremanya Quart Salt Sant Andreu Salou Sant Gregori Sant Joan de Mollet Sant Jordi Desvalls Sant Julià de Ramis Sant Martí Vell Sant Martí de Llémena Sarrià de Ter Vilablareix Viladasens

v t e Capitals of provinces of Spain A Coruña Albacete Alicante Almería Ávila Badajoz Barcelona Bilbao Burgos Cáceres Cádiz Castellón de la Plana Ciudad Real Córdoba Cuenca Donostia-San Sebastián Girona Granada Guadalajara Huelva Huesca Jaén Logroño Las Palmas León Lleida Lugo Madrid Málaga Murcia Ourense Oviedo Palencia Palma Pamplona Pontevedra Salamanca Santander Santa Cruz Segovia Seville Soria Tarragona Teruel Toledo Valencia Valladolid Vitoria-Gasteiz Zamora Zaragoza

Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar at the Global Rhythm 15th Anniversary Party in 2007
Background information
Born	(1981-06-09) 9 June 1981 (age 31) London, United Kingdom
Genres	Indian classical, crossover
Occupations	Sitarist, composer
Instruments	Sitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Angel Records (1998–2007), Deutsche Grammophon (2010–present)
Website	AnoushkaShankar.com

Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar. She is the paternal half-sister of Norah Jones.^[1]

Personal life and education[link]

Shankar was born in London and divided her childhood between London and Delhi. As a teenager, she lived in Encinitas, California and attended San Dieguito Academy. A 1999 Honors graduate, Shankar decided to pursue a career in music rather than attend college.^[1]

Anoushka married British director Joe Wright.^[2] Their first child, Zubin Shankar Wright, was born on 22 February 2011.^[3]

Career[link]

Anoushka and Ravi Shankar in concert, 2005

Shankar began training on the sitar with her father as a child, and gave her first public performance at the age of thirteen at Siri Fort in New Delhi. By the age of fourteen, she was accompanying her father at concerts around the world, and signed her first record contract, with Angel Records (EMI) at 16.

Though success came at an early age for Shankar, she was still uncertain if music was the career she wanted to fully pursue. "The question was continually back and forth in my mind," she admits. "After I graduated from high school, I made a decision not to go to college and start touring full-time. Even at that time, I thought maybe I’d do it for a year and see what happens. During that year, it became so clear to me that that was my life and who I was– a touring musician."^[4]

She released her first album, Anoushka, in 1998, followed by Anourag in 2000. Both Shankar and Norah Jones were nominated for Grammy awards in 2003 when Anoushka became the youngest-ever and first woman nominee in the World Music category for her third-album, Live at Carnegie Hall.

2005 brought the release of Anoushka’s fourth album RISE, earning her another Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary World Music category. In February 2006 she became the first Indian to play at the Grammy Awards.

Shankar, in collaboration with Karsh Kale, released Breathing Under Water on 28 August 2007. It is a mix of classical sitar and electronica beats and melodies. Notable guest vocals include Norah Jones, Sting, and Ravi Shankar who performs a sitar duet with his daughter.

Anoushka has made many guest appearances on recordings by other artists, among them Sting, Lenny Kravitz and Thievery Corporation. Duetting with violinist Joshua Bell, in a sitar-cello duet with Mstislav Rostropovich, and with flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, playing both sitar and piano. Most recently Anoushka has collaborated with Herbie Hancock on his latest record The Imagine Project.

Anoushka has given soloist performances of her father's 1st Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra worldwide. In January 2009 she was the sitar soloist alongside the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the series of concerts premièring her father’s 3rd Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra, and in July 2010 she premiered Ravi Shankar's first Symphony for Sitar and Orchestra with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Barbican Hall.

Anoushka has also ventured into acting (Dance Like a Man, (2004)) and writing. She wrote a biography of her father, Bapi: The Love of My Life, in 2002 and has contributed chapters to various books. As a columnist she wrote monthly columns for India's First City Magazine for three years, and spent one year as a weekly columnist for India's largest newspaper, the Hindustan Times.

Anoushka recorded her next album in Madrid, Spain. Released in autumn 2011 "Traveller" is an exploration of the commonalities and differences between classical Indian music and Spanish flamenco, and features the talents of Shubha Mudgal, Tanmoy Bose, Pepe Habichuela, Sandra Carrasco and Duquende among others.^[5]

Benefit concerts[link]

On 29 November 2002, Anoushka Shankar was the opening act at the Concert for George, a posthumous tribute to the life and music of George Harrison, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She was the principal performer in the entire first set or "Indian portion" of the concert. She opened the show by playing a solo sitar instrumental titled "Your Eyes". Also on the sitar, she performed George Harrison's "The Inner Light" with Jeff Lynne (vocals and guitar). Lastly, she conducted a new composition, Arpan, written by her father. The composition featured Eric Clapton playing acoustic guitar. The concert was modelled after Ravi Shankar's benefit concert with Harrison, the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh.

Anoushka Shankar was invited by Richard Gere and Philip Glass to perform in a concert at the Avery Fisher Hall in 2003 in aid of the Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation. Shankar and Jethro Tull postponed a concert scheduled for 29 November 2008 in Mumbai after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. They reorganised the performance as A Billion Hands Concert, a benefit performance for victims of the attacks, and held it on 5 December 2008. Shankar commented on this decision stating that: "As a musician, this is how I speak, how I express the anger within me [...] our entire tour has been changed by these events and even though the structure of the concert may remain the same, emotionally perhaps we are saying a lot more."^[6]

Awards[link]

• British House of Commons Shield, 1998^[7]
• Voted Homecoming San Dieguito High School, Class of 1999
• Woman of the Year (shared with Kareena Kapoor, Ritu Beri, and Rhea Pillai) awarded on International Women's Day 2003^[1]
• Named as one of 20 Asian Heroes by the Asia edition of Time in 2004
• Nominated for a Grammy award in 2003 in the World Music category for her third-album, Live at Carnegie Hall. She was the youngest-ever and first woman nominee in this category.
• In 2005 she was nominated for another Grammy, in the Best Contemporary World Music category for her fourth album RISE.

Activism[link]

Shankar is a supporter of animal rights and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She and her father appeared in a thirty-second public-service announcement against animal suffering.^[8] Anoushka is also the spokesperson for the United Nations World Food Programme in India.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Anoushka (1998)
• Anourag (2000)
• Live at Carnegie Hall (2001)
• Rise (2005)
• Rise Remixes (2006)
• Breathing Under Water (2007)
• Traveller (2011)

Live and compilations[link]

• Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 (2000)
• Concert for George (2003)
• Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation (2007)
• Live in Concert at the Nehru Park, New Delhi (2005)

Features[link]

• Variant Moods – Duet For Sitar & Violin (Abridged Version) Written by Ravi Shankar, At Home With Friends by Joshua Bell 2009
• Charu Keshi Rain – Co-written by Nitin Sawhney and Anoushka Shankar, London Undersound 2008
• Mandala – Featuring Anoushka Shankar on sitar. Co-written by Hilton Garza, Radio Retaliation
• Beloved – by Anoushka Shankar remixed by Thievery Corporation – Versions 2006
• Rebirth – Co-written by Gaurav Raina, Tapan Raj and Anoushka Shankar. MIDIval Times 2005
• Sacred Love – by Sting 2003
• 8 classical ragas performed on ShankaRagamala composed by Ravi Shankar 2005
• Chants Of India – Ravi Shankar; George Harrison, featuring Anoushka as Conductor & Assistant 1997
• Adarini – In Celebration composed by Ravi Shankar 1995

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anoushka Shankar

• Official site
• Anoushka Shankar at the Internet Movie Database
• The show must go on – Video interview about A Billion Hands Concert
• Anoushka Shankar: Different Worlds, One Musical Language – Video interview about performing Ravi Shankar's Concerto No. 3 for Sitar and Orchestra.
• Anoushka Shankar Live : Gypsy Music From India to Spain on Medici.tv