Cádiz

This article deals with the Spanish city. For other uses, see Cadiz (disambiguation).

Cádiz is a coastal city in southwestern Spain, in the region of Andalusia, and is the capital of the province of Cádiz. As of the 2003 census its population was 134,989, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 406,095, ranking as the 16th-largest urban area of Spain.

HISTORY

The city was originally founded as Gadir (Phoenician גדר "walled city") by the Phoenicians, who used it in their trade with Tartessos. The Greeks knew it as Gadira or Gadeira. Traditionally, its date of establishment is about 1100 BCE, although as of 2004 no finds have been found that date back further than the 9th century BCE. One resolution of the discreptency has been to assume that it was in the initial phase merely a small trading post. It is regarded as the most ancient still existing city in western Europe. According to Greek legend, Gadir was founded by Heracles after killing Geryon. Indeed, one of its notable features during this era was the temple dedicated to the Phoenician god Melqart. Some historians think that the columns of this temple gave origin to the myth of the Columns of Hercules (Melqart was associated by the Greeks with Heracles, or Hercules).

In about 500 BCE the city fell under the sway of the Carthage. In 206, the city fell to Romans forces under Scipio Africanus. Under the Romans it was renamed Gades. The city flourished under Roman rule, but, with the decline of the Roman Empire, Gades' commercial importance began to fade.

Under Moorish rule, the city was called Qādis (Arabic قادس), and the modern Spanish name Cádiz was derived from this form.

During the Age of Exploration the city had another renaissance: Columbus sailed from Cádiz on his second voyage in 1495, and the city later became the home port of the Spanish treasure fleet.

Sir Francis Drake destroyed a Spanish fleet in its harbor in April 1587. In the Anglo-Spanish War Admiral Robert Blake blockaded Cádiz from 1655 and 1657, during which one of his captains, Richard Stayner destroyed most of the Spanish treasure fleet. A galleon of treasure was captured, and the overall loss to Spain was estimated at £2,000,000.

In the 18th century, the city surpassed Seville as the port monopolizing commerce with Spanish America.

Cádiz was the seat of the liberal Cortes fighting Joseph I of Spain in the Peninsula war; the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed there. Cádiz is also famous by its carnival with Chirigotas (amateur satirical choruses) competing for a prize.

Since the 1950s, a power line crosses the bay of Cádiz. The pylons on which they are mounted are from unique design.

INTERESTING PLACES

MONUMENTS

Cadiz Cathedral

This Cathedral of baroque style was built over a period of 116 years, this is the reason why the cathedral suffered many changes in style. It was started in baroque style, but the ground floor and the inside until the rococo freize, was finished in neoclassic style. Its chapels have many paintings and relics from the Old Cathedral and the other monasteries. Inside the Cathedral there is the Cathedral's museum. The cathedral was ordered to be built by Alfonso 5 around 1260 but it was burned in 1596. The reconstruction which was not started until 1776, was supervised by the architect Vicente Arcero who had also built the Granada Cathedral. This architect left the project and was succeeded by several other architecs.

Theatre Falla

This theatre was built between 1884 and 1905 over the remains of the previous Gran Teatro. The architect was Adolfo Morales de los Rios and the direction was carry out by Juan Cabrera Latorre. The outside is covered by red bricks and is of "mudejar" style.

Puertas de Tierra

This great wall come from a primitive wall of the 6th century, after many modifications and improvements this great wall was built with severals layers of walls, but nowadays they have almost completely dissappeared with only one left remaining.

BEACHS

Caleta

It is the most well loved beach of Cadiz, it has always been in the Carnival songs due to its unequalled beauty and its proximity to the "Barrio de la Viña" – an authentic and pure district where all Cadiz's famous joy is contained. It is the beach of the old city and it is situated between two castles, San Sebastian castle and Santa Catalina castle. It is around 400 metres long and 30 metres wide when there is low tide.

Victoria Beach

It is the most visited beach by the tourists and the native people of Cadiz. It is about 3 kilometres long and it has an average width of 50 metres of soft golden sand. The moderate swell and the absence of rocks allows the entire family to enjoy bathing at this beach. It is separate from the city by a avenue, and on the other side of the avenue there are a lot of shops and resturants. The beach provides a lot of activities for example there are lifeguards, sport areas, places where you can rent beach umbrellas, sun loungers, and jet-ski, etc...