Province of Girona

Girona (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒiˈɾonə], Spanish: Gerona; French: Gérone) is a province of Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the north by France, and on the east by the Mediterranean Sea.

756,810 people (as of 2011) live in the province. Its capital and largest city is Girona, with an urban area (including the neighbouring municipalities of Salt, Sarrià de Ter and Vilablareix) representing, with a total population of 134,226, a 17-18% of the population. The Girona area acts as an industrial, commercial and service hub for a significant part of the province.

Municipalities of Girona

The province has 222 municipalities, including Girona city (population 96,722), Figueres (pop. 44,765), Lloret de Mar (pop. 40,282), Blanes (pop. 39,834), Olot (33,725), Salt (pop. 30,389), Palafrugell (pop. 22,816) and Sant Feliu de Guíxols (pop. 21,814), as well as some significant and historical towns such as Banyoles, Besalú, Cadaqués, Camprodon, Palamós, Puigcerdà or Ripoll.

Girona

Girona (English /dʒiˈroʊnə/, Catalan: [ʒiˈɾonə], Spanish: Gerona [xeˈɾona]) is a city in the northeast of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia in Spain, at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell and has an official population of 96,722 as of January 2011. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès. It is located 99 km (62 mi) northeast of Barcelona. Girona is one of the major Catalan cities.

History

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 in 715. Finally, Charlemagne reconquered it in 785 and made it one of the fourteen original counties of Catalonia. It was wrested temporarily from the Moors, who recaptured it in 793. From this time until the moors were finally driven out, 1015, the city repeatedly changed hands and was sacked several times by the moors (in 827, 842, 845, 935, 982). Wilfred the Hairy incorporated Girona into the county of Barcelona in 878. Alfonso I of Aragón declared Girona a city in the 11th century. The ancient county 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 Leonor, Princess of Asturias, the second since the 16th century to do so.

Costa Brava

The Costa Brava (Catalan: [ˈkɔstə ˈβɾaβə], Spanish: [ˈkosta ˈβɾaβa]; "Wild" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of northeastern Spain, consisting of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva, in the province of Girona. The Costa Brava stretches from Blanes, 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Barcelona, to the French border. In the 1950s, the Costa Brava was identified by the Spanish government and local entrepreneurs as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Northern Europe and especially the United Kingdom and France. The combination of a very good summer climate, nature, excellent beaches and a favourable foreign exchange rate, which made Spain a relatively inexpensive tourist destination, was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

Etymology

The coast was named Costa Brava by Ferran Agulló (in Catalan, Ferran Agulló i Vidal) in an article published in the Catalan newspaper La Veu de Catalunya in September 1908. Agulló, a journalist born in Girona, referred to the rugged landscape of the Mediterranean coast which runs from the River Tordera, near Blanes, to Banyuls with the name Costa Brava.Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', while Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'. This term was officially recognized and promoted in the 1960s as it was deemed suitable to promote tourism in the region. Before Costa Brava became the official name, other names were suggested, such as Costa Grega (Greek Coast), Costa del Corall (Coral Coast), Costa Serena (Serene Coast), Costes de Llevant (Levant Coasts) or Marina de l'Empordà (Empordà Marine).

Spain

Coordinates: 40°N 4°W / 40°N 4°W / 40; -4

Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state largely located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, with archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and several small territories on and near the north African coast. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Extending to 1,214 km (754 mi), the Portugal–Spain border is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. It also includes two major exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, in continental North Africa; and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Alhucemas, Chafarinas and Vélez de la Gomera. With an area of 505,990 km² (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth largest country in Europe. By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union.