- published: 04 Jan 2010
- views: 2321107
The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques 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.
The coast was named Costa Brava by Ferran Agulló (in Català, Ferran Agulló i Vidal) in an article published in 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).
Jeden Sommer mach ich Urlaub an dem weißen Sonnenstrand
wo ich jedes Jahr aufs neue eine große Liebe fand.
O Costa Brava
deine Sonne ist so heiß
doch wer die Liebe kennt
weiß
was noch heißer brennt.
O Costa Brava
deine Sonne ist so heiß
doch sie muß untergeh'n
und das Allerschönste
das hat nur der Mond geseh'n.
ich liebe Sommerliebe und vergess' beim ersten Kuß
daß ich schon in ein paar Wochen ganz alleine hausen muß.
O Costa Brava
deine Sonne ist so heiß
. . .
In den kalten Winternächten bin ich manchmal schon im Traum
wieder an der Costa Brava
denn erwarten kann ich's kaum.
O Costa Brava
deine Sonne ist so heiß