A Coruña 1

A Coruña

A CoruñaA Coruña (Galician)La Coruña (Spanish)—  Municipality  —

A Coruña (official)

Top: Hercules Tower.2nd: tramway (left), City Hall (right).3rd: Dársena Deportiva yacht marina.

4th row: A Coruña Marine Control Tower (left) San Antón Paseo waterfront area (right).5th: Panorama of A Coruña city centre and Orzán Beach.

Bottom: Estadio Riazor .

Flag

Coat of arms

Nickname(s): A cidade de cristal (The Glass City)

Motto: A Coruña, a cidade onde ninguén é forasteiro(A Coruña, the city where nobody is a stranger)

A Coruña 2

Location of the municipality of A Coruña within Galicia

Location of A Coruña within Spain

Coordinates: 43.371491°N 8.395970°W [1]Coordinates: 43.371491°N 8.395970°W [1]

Country Spain

Autonomouscommunity

Galicia

Province A Coruña

Comarca A Coruña

Parishes A Coruña, Elviña, Oza, San Cristovo das Viñas, Visma

Government

 • Type Mayor-council

 • Body Concello de A Coruña(Council of A Coruña)

 • Mayor Carlos Negreira (PPdeG)

Area

 • Municipality 37.83 km2 (14.61 sq mi)

Population (2008)INE

 • Municipality 246,056

 • Density 6,613/km2 (17,130/sq mi)

 • Metro 419,800

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Demonym Corunnancoruñés, coruñesa (gl/es)

Time zone CET (GMT +1)

 • Summer (DST) CEST (GMT +2) (UTC)

Postcode 15001-15011

Area code(s) +34 981

Website www.coruna.es [2]

A Coruña (/kəruːn.jə/; Galician: A Coruña [a koˈɾuɲa]; Spanish: La Coruña [la koˈɾuɲa]; still sometimes known asCorunna /kəˈrʌnə/ in English, and archaically as The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is thesecond-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country. The city is the provincialcapital of the province of the same name, having also served as political capital of the Kingdom of Galicia[3][4] fromthe 16th to the 19th centuries, and as a regional administrative centre between 1833 and 1982, before being replacedby Santiago de Compostela.A Coruña is a busy port located on a promontory in the entrance of an estuary in a large gulf (the Portus MagnusArtabrorum of the classical geographers) on the Atlantic Ocean. It provides a distribution point for agriculturalgoods from the region. Although much of the heavy industry is based on the shipyards and metalworks of theneighbouring city of Ferrol, there is an oil refinery in A Coruña itself.

NameIn English, use of the Spanish or Galician forms now predominates. However, the traditional form Corunna can stillbe found, particularly in reference to the Battle of Corunna in the Peninsular War. Archaically, the city was knownas The Groyne, probably from French "La Corogne", although this name could also be as much a geographicaldescription given the city occupies a small peninsula protruding out into the Atlantic.[5] In Spain, currently the onlyofficial form of the name is the Galician one, "A Coruña".[6] Nonetheless, the Spanish form, La Coruña, is stillwidespread, and it is the traditional name in Spanish recommended by the Real Academia Española for texts inSpanish.[7] Certain groups of people have advocated elevating the reintegrationist spelling "A Corunha" to officialstatus, pointing to the provisions of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and claiming that it is unconstitutional tostipulate use of the Real Academia Galega spelling, but have not been successful so far.

OriginThere is no clear evidence as to what word the name derives from. It seems to be from Crunia, of unknown originand meaning. At the time of Ferdinand II of León (12th century) the name Crunia was documented for the first time.As usual in Galician-Portuguese (as well as in Castilian Spanish), the cluster ni naturally evolved into the sound [ɲ],written n or nn in old Galician orthography, nn (later abbreviated to ñ, as well as the original Latin cluster "nn") inSpanish, and nh in Portuguese. 'A' is the Galician article equivalent to English 'the'; compare Castilian Spanish 'la'('the').A more poetic explanation sustains that "Coruña" derives from Gaelic (the language of Celtic tribes) "CorkOrunnach", which would mean "The harbour of the brave men". However, this explanation could have some relationto the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), which recounts the story of how the Celtic orMilesian king Breogan founded the city of Brigantia (now Coruña) here and his descendants Ith who spies Irelandfrom the top of Breogán's Tower (thought to have been at the current location of the Torre de Hercules), journeysnorth across the Celtic Sea to Ireland to investigate his discovery.A proposed etymology derives Crunia from Cluny, the town and religious order from France. During its height (c. 950–c.1130) the Cluniac movement was one of the largest religious forces in Europe. There is another town named

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Coruña in Burgos Province.A folk etymology incorrectly derives Coruña from the ancient columna, or Tower of Hercules, which still exists,having been converted into a light-house in 1791.[8]

Another possibility is that the name means simply "The Crown". The 'a' in Galician meaning 'the', similarly to 'an','am' and 'a' in Irish and Scots Gaelic. The Galician word for crown is 'coroa' but the Irish word is 'coróin' (cor-oyn)with a dative form of gcoróin (gor-oyn). This form would seem closer to Coruña, and its dative form nearly identicalto "Groyne" in pronunciation. It is also possible it came about through changes to the French 'La Couronne', alsomeaning 'the Crown'. It seems less likely that it traces back to the Galician 'clunia' or the Irish 'cluain' meaning fieldor meadow. The mythic history as the home of King Breogán, or of Hercules killing King Geryon, as well as thecrown on the skull and crossbones may be leftover memories of A Coruña having once been the "seat of theCrown".[citation needed]

GeographyA Coruña is located on a peninsula, and its isthmus was at times formed only by a small strip of sand. Erosion andsea currents caused a progressive accumulation of sand, enlarging it to its present dimensions.A Coruña is one of only eight pairs of cities in the world that has a near-exact antipodal city. Christchurch, NewZealand is A Coruña's antipode.

Parishes of A Coruña.

Administrative divisions

A Coruña has five parroquias: A Coruña, Elviña, Viñas, Visma, Oza.

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Suburbs

Anchor of the Aegean Sea outside the AquariumFinisterrae.

•• Cidade Vella (Ciudad Vieja)•• A Mariña (La Marina)•• Os Cantóns (Los Cantones)•• Pescadería•• O Ensanche (El Ensanche)•• Cidade Xardín (Ciudad Jardín)•• Catro Camiños (Cuatro Caminos)•• A Gaiteira (La Gaiteira)•• Os Maios (Los Mallos)•• Zalaeta• Atochas – Monte Alto (Las Atochas – Monte Alto)• Falperra – Santa Lucia• Juan Flórez – San Pablo•• Os Castros (Los Castros)•• A Agra do Orzán (Agra del Orzán)•• A Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia)• Labañou – San Roque•• Barrio das Flores (Barrio de las Flores)

•• Elviña•• O Ventorrillo (El Ventorrillo)•• Castrillón•• Durmideiras (Adormideras)•• O Birloque (El Birloque)•• Matogrande•• Os Rosais (Los Rosales)•• Paseo das Pontes (Paseo de los Puentes)•• Mesoiro•• Novo Mesoiro (Nuevo Mesoiro)•• Someso•• Vioño•• Eirís•• Monelos•• San Pedro de Visma•• Bens• A Silva - San Xosé (La Silva – San José)•• Palavea• Casabranca - As Xubias (Casablanca – Las Jubias)•• Feáns•• A Zapateira (La Zapatera)•• Santa Margarida (Santa Margarita)

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ClimateThe climate of A Coruña is temperate maritime and heavily moderated by the Atlantic Ocean. In short, the climatemore closely resembles the oceanic climate that is common in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.Autumn and winter are often unsettled and unpredictable with strong winds and abundant rainfall, coming fromAtlantic depressions and it is often overcast. The ocean keeps temperatures mild, and frost and snow are rare. Insummer, it is quite dry and sunny with only occasional rainfall, temperatures are warm but rarely uncomfortably hotdue to the sea's cooling influence during the day. Spring is usually cool and fairly calm.

Climate data for A Coruña

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F) 13.1(55.6)

13.7(56.7)

14.9(58.8)

15.5(59.9)

17.4(63.3)

19.8(67.6)

21.8(71.2)

22.5(72.5)

21.5(70.7)

18.7(65.7)

15.8(60.4)

14.0(57.2)

17.4(63.3)

Daily mean °C (°F) 10.4(50.7)

10.9(51.6)

11.8(53.2)

12.5(54.5)

14.4(57.9)

16.8(62.2)

18.7(65.7)

19.3(66.7)

18.2(64.8)

15.7(60.3)

13.1(55.6)

11.5(52.7)

14.4(57.9)

Average low °C (°F) 7.6(45.7)

8.0(46.4)

8.6(47.5)

9.4(48.9)

11.4(52.5)

13.7(56.7)

15.6(60.1)

16.0(60.8)

14.8(58.6)

12.6(54.7)

10.3(50.5)

8.9(48)

11.4(52.5)

Precipitation mm (inches) 128(5.04)

102(4.02)

79(3.11)

85(3.35)

80(3.15)

42(1.65)

30(1.18)

35(1.38)

68(2.68)

110(4.33)

114(4.49)

135(5.31)

1,008(39.69)

Avg. precipitation days 17 17 15 17 16 10 8 9 11 16 17 18 171

Mean monthly sunshinehours

108 112 155 167 191 220 240 240 179 150 107 93 1,966

Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN),[9] Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[10]

History

Prehistory

Compass rose representing the different Celticpeoples (near the Tower of Hercules).

A Coruña spread from the peninsula where the Tower of Herculesstands, onto the mainland. The oldest part, known popularly inGalician as Cidade Vella (Old City), Cidade Alta (High City) or theCidade (City), is built on an ancient Celtic castro. It was supposedlyinhabited by the Artabrians, the Celtic tribe of the area.

Roman times

The Romans came to the region in the 2nd century BC, and thecolonisers made the most of the strategic position and soon the citybecame quite important in maritime trade. In 62 BC Julius Caesarcame to the city (known at the time as Brigantium) in pursuit of themetal trade, establishing commerce with what are now France, England and Portugal. The town began growing,mainly during the 1st and 2nd centuries (when the Farum Brigantium Tower of Hercules was built), but declinedafter the 4th century and especially with the incursions of the Normans, which forced the population to flee towardsthe interior of the Estuary of O Burgo.

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Castro de Elviña: remnant of a Celtic militarystructure in A Coruña.

Middle Ages

After the fall of the Roman Empire, A Coruña still had a commercialport connected to foreign countries, but contacts with theMediterranean were slowly replaced by a more Atlantic-oriented focus.The process of deurbanisation that followed the fall of the RomanEmpire also affected A Coruña. Between the 7th and 8th centuries, thecity was no more than a little village of labourers and sailors.

The 11th-century Chronica iriense names Faro do Burgo (ancientname of A Coruña) as one of the dioceses that king Miro granted to theepiscopate of Iria Flavia in the year 572:

"Mirus Rex Sedi suae Hiriensi contulit Dioceses, scilicet Morratium, Salinensem, (...) Bregantinos, Farum..."

"[King Miro granted to his Irienses headquarters the dioceses of Morrazo, Salnés (...). Bergantiños, Faro...]"The Muslim invasion of the Iberian peninsula left no archaeological evidence in the northwest, so it cannot be saidwhether or not the Muslim invaders ever reached the city. As Muslim rule in early 8th century Galicia consisted littlemore than a short-lived overlordship of the remote and rugged region backed by a few garrisons, and the city was nomore than a village amidst Roman ruins, the invaders showed the same lack of interest in the ruined city as they didgenerally for the region.As the city began to recover during the Middle Ages the main problem for the inhabitants was the Norman raids, aswell as the ever present threat of raids ("razzies") from Al-Andalus to the south. During 9th century there wereseveral Viking attacks on the city, called at that time Faro or Faro Bregancio.In the year 991, King Vermudo II began the construction of defensive military positions on the coast. At Faro, in theruins of the Tower of Hercules, a fortress was built, which had a permanent military garrison. To pay for it, he gavepower over the city to the bishop of Santiago. The bishop of Santiago became the most important political post inGalicia, and remained so until the 15th century.

San Antón Castle (es)

In 1208, Alfonso IX re-founded the city of Crunia. Some privileges,such as those of disembarking and selling salt without paying taxes,were granted to the city, and it enjoyed a big growth in fishing andmercantile business. The city grew and extended through the isthmus.In 1446 John II of Castile granted to A Coruña the title of "City". TheCatholic Monarchs established the Royal Audience of the Kingdom ofGalicia in the city, instead of Santiago. A Coruña also became theheadquarters of the Captaincy General.

Modern period

During the Modern period, the city was an important port and centre for the manufacturing of textiles. In 1520, kingCharles I of Spain (future Emperor Charles V of Germany), met in the Courts of A Coruña and embarked from itsharbour to be elected Emperor. Charles I allowed the Government of the Kingdom of Galicia to distribute space inEurope between 1522 and 1529. Commerce with the Indies was allowed between 1529 and 1575. The Castle of SanAntón was built as a defense of the city and its harbour.

From the port of Ferrol in the Province of A Coruña, Philip II left to marry Mary Tudor in 1554, and much later, in 1588, from the same port the Spanish Armada would set sail to the Spanish Netherlands and England. In the following year, during the Anglo-Spanish War, Francis Drake besieged A Coruña, but was repelled, starting the

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legend of María Pita, a woman who took her dead husband's spear, killed the flag bearer of the British forces andralled support to deny a breach in the wall to the enemy.In the 16th and 17th centuries, the wars of the Spanish monarchy caused a great increase in taxes and the start ofconscription. In 1620, Philip III created the School of the Boys of the Sea. In 1682 the Tower of Hercules wasrestored by Antúnez.

19th century

Mosaic map to commemorate the Battle ofElviña. The yellow dot shows the location of the

mosaic.

The Obelisk, dedicated to DonAureliano Linares Rivas in 1895

A Coruña was the site of the Battle of Corunna during the PeninsularWar, on 16 January 1809, in which British troops fought against theFrench to cover the embarkation of British troops after their retreat. Inthis battle Sir John Moore was killed.

Spanish resistance during the Peninsular War was led by SinforianoLópez, and A Coruña was the only Galician city that achieved successagainst the French troops. French troops left Galicia at the end of May1809.

During the 19th century, the city was the centre of anti-monarchistsentiment. On August 19, 1815, Juan Díaz Porlier, pronounced againstFernando VII in defense of the Spanish Constitution of 1812. He wassupported by the bourgeoisie and the educated people. But on August22 he was betrayed. He was hanged in the Campo da Leña two monthslater. In all the 19th-century rebellions, A Coruña supported the liberalside. A Coruña also played an important role in the Rexurdimento, andthere were founded the Galician Royal Academy in 1906 and theBrotherhoods of the Galician Language in 1916.

Regarding the economy, in 1804 the National Cigarette Factory wasfounded, and there the workers' movement of the city had its origins.During the 19th century other businesses (glass, foundries, textiles,gas, matches, etc.) were slowly established, but it was maritime tradeand migrant travel that attracted Catalan, Belgian, French and Englishinvestments. The Bank of A Coruña was founded in 1857. The newprovincial division of 1832 also influenced economic development.

20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century, A Coruña had about 45,000inhabitants. The Great Depression, Spanish Civil War severely affectedthe economy through the 1930s to the mid-1950s. The 1960s and early1970s saw a dramatic economic recovery, which was part of the widerSpanish Miracle. The international oil shocks of the mid and late 1970sseverely disrupted the economy, causing many bankruptcies and highunemployment until the mid-1980s, when slower but steady economic development was resumed.

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Elections of 1931

In the Spanish general elections, 1931, all the political parties knew that the electoral results had important politicalconsequences. The campaign of Unión Monárquica was very important in A Coruña and was supported by El IdealGallego. Republicans and socialists constituted a block, made up of ORGA, independent republicans, SpanishSocialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Radical Socialist Republican Party.In the elections, the republican parties obtained 34 of the 39 council seats. The best results were of the ORGA and ofthe Partido Radical Socialista, and the Radical Republican Party lost a lot of support.

Democracy returns

From 1983 to 2006, the mayor of the city was Francisco Vázquez Vázquez (PSOE), and the city became devoted toservices, but he also was criticised because of his being openly against Galician nationalism and his town-planningpolicies.On 20 January 2006 Vázquez was named ambassador to the Vatican City, and was later replaced by Francisco JavierLosada de Azpiazu. In 2007 Municipal Elections the local government was a coalition of the Socialist Party ofGalicia and the left-wing nationalist Galician Nationalist Bloc party. The city celebrated its first millennium in 2008.In the 2011 Municipal Elections, the conservative candidate Carlos Negreira (PP) obtained a majority, the first onefor the People's Party in the city since the arrival of democracy.

Population

The province and city of A Coruña during the 20th centuryAfter the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and the War of Independence (1808–1814), the fortunes of Ferrol began todeteriorate. The largest port in northern Spain, site of one of the three Royal Dockyards, together with Cartagena andCadiz, almost became a "dead" town during the reign of Ferdinand VII. By 1833 the City and Naval Station of Ferrolsaw its civilian population reduced to just 13,000.[11] During the administration of the Marquis de Molina, Ministerfor Naval affairs in the mid-19th century new activities sprang up, but Ferrol never fully returned to its formerglories. It should be noted that during those years, most of the Spanish Colonies in Latin America succeeded ingaining independence from their former metropolis.

Celtic King Breogan in A Coruña

The population of the City of A Coruña in 1900 reached 43,971, whilethe population of the rest of the province including the City and NavalStation of nearby Ferrol as well as Santiago de Compostela was653,556.[12] A Coruña's miraculous growth happened during aftermathof the Spanish Civil War at a similar rate to other major Galician cities,but it was after the death of Francisco Franco when the city of ACoruña (and Vigo) left all the other Galician cities behind.

The miraculous meteoric increase of population of the city of ACoruña and to a lesser degree Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela,during the years which follow the Spanish Civil War during the mid

20th century, can only be explained when we see the figures of the number of villages and hamlets of the provincewhich disappeared or nearly disappeared during the same period. We are talking here about an economic revolutionor substantial increase in living standards and not so much to an explosion of births, which has happened too, butlooking to the overall picture what has happened is that the fields have been abandon due to the introduction of newmachinery and most of the population has moved to find jobs in the main cities increasing the number of peopleworking in the Tertiary and Quaternary sectors.

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Metropolitan area map.

The city today

City's Metropolitan area 2010

District Population

Coruña 246,047

Culleredo 28,737

Arteixo 30,255

Oleiros 33,550

Sada 14,734

Bergondo 6,758

Abegondo 5,765

Cambre 23,621

Carral 5,945

The municipality of A Coruña has 246,047 inhabitants, and has one of the highest population densities of Spain andEurope, with around 6,700 inhabitants per square kilometer.In 2010 there were 12,344 foreigners living in the city, representing a 5% of the total population. The mainnationalities are Brazilians (10%), Colombians (8%) and Peruvians (7%).By language, according to 2008 data, 7.75% of the population speak always in Galician, 36% speak always inSpanish and the rest use both interchangeably.A Coruña metropolitan area has nearly 400,000 inhabitants.

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Main sights

The Tower of Hercules, reconstructed andmodernization on the Celtic lighthouse in Roman

Empire times..

The city is the site of the Roman Tower of Hercules, a lighthousewhich has been in continuous operation since possibly the 2nd centuryAD. It has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It issurrounded by a large public park with a golf course and a formerMuslim cemetery. The lighthouse features as the main embelem of thecity's flag and coat of arms.[13]

The city is also well known for its characteristic glazed windowbalconies, called galerías. Originally, this type of structure came aboutas a naval architecture solution for the challenging weather,particularly designed for rainy days. This fashion started in Ferrol inthe 18th century when some of the technicians working for the RoyalDockyards had the idea of using the shape of the back of a war ship ina modern building. Soon, afterwards, most sea ports in northern Spain, including the Basque region were addingthese glazed window balconies to their city-port houses.

The Old Town (Ciudad Vieja in Spanish, Cidade Vella in Galician) is the name given to the oldest part of A Coruña.During the ninth and tenth centuries, the inhabitants of what was then called Faro Island (peninsula where the Towerof Hercules stands) were leaving the area due to constant attacks by the Viking fleet and settled in the area ofBetanzos. In 1208 King Alfonso IX refounded the city at the present site of the Old Town and put it under hispersonal control, free from allegiance to the clergy or feudal lords. In the fourteenth century the scarcely-survivingcity walls of the Old Town were built, as well as three harbours: the Parrote and San Miguel. It also preserves thestronghold known as the Old Fortress, now converted into the Garden of San Carlos, in which Sir John Moore isburied. The Old City of A Coruña kept streets and squares that revive the city's history and noble mansions andresidences such as Rosalia de Castro's house, located on Prince Street. Notable buildings are the Royal GalicianAcademy, the institution dedicated to the study of Galician culture and especially the Galician language, theRomanic churches of Santiago and Saint Mary, As Bárbaras Monastery (Romanic and Baroque) and theheadquarters of the Operational Logistics Force of the Spanish Army. In July, a Medieval Fair takes place in thestreets of the Old City.The city has several museums, such as the Castle of San Antón Archaeological Museum, Fine Arts Museum, UniónFenosa Museum of Contemporary Art (MACUF) and the network of scientific museums (Casa das Ciencias, whichalso includes a planetarium, DOMUS, made by Arata Isozaki and Aquarium Finisterrae). In 2012, the NationalMuseum of Science and Technology (MUNCYT) will open a branch in the city. A Coruña's social scene is mostpopular on Summer nights. Most bars and clubs are on Calle Orzan, which runs directly parallel to Paseo Maritimoon the beach side. Another popular destination, for mostly a more youthful crowd, is Los Jardines (The Gardens), apark near the beginning of Calle Real and the Los Cantones Village Shopping Centre.

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Squares, parks and beaches• María Pita Square, the most important square in the city. Notable landmarks are the City Hall and the statue of

the local heroine Maria Pita.• Mount of San Pedro Park, a former military area, with spectacular views over the city and the ria. You can

arrive by road or using an elevator from the promenade. It has a cafe, play areas, gardens and three restoredartillery pieces.

• The promenade (Paseo Marítimo) is nine kilometres long (when completed, it will be 13 km), one of the largestin Europe. It runs around the city's headland, passing sights such as its Aquarium, the Estadio Riazor and theTower of Hercules. There is a touristic tramway that covers the stretch between the Parrote and the EsclavasSchool.

• In the summertime, the Orzan and Riazor beaches are immensely popular destinations, located directly oppositeof the port in the central part of the city. During María Pita festivity, which takes place all over August, Riazor isthe venue of Noroeste Pop Rock Festival, a free music festival with groups from Spain and abroad (Amaral,David Bisbal, The Corrs or Status Quo have played on it in last editions).

Economy

Harbour of A Coruña

Menhires in A Coruña

A Coruña is nowadays the richest region of Galicia and its economicengine. There have been various changes in the city's structure over thelast few decades—it now shares some administrative functions with thenearby city of Ferrol. Companies have grown, especially in sectorssuch as finance, communication, planning, sales, manufacturing andtechnical services, making A Coruña the wealthiest metropolitan areaof Galicia. The port itself unloads large amounts of fresh fish, and withthe increase in other port activities like crude oil and solid bulk, whichmake up 75% of Galician port traffic.

In 1975, the clothing company Zara, founded by Amancio OrtegaGaona, opened its first store in the city and has since become a nationaland international clothing chain.

Inditex, the main textile manufacturer of the world, has itsheadquarters in the nearby town of Arteixo. A Coruña concentrates the30% of the GDP of Galicia and in the period between 1999 and 2001 itgrew 35%, surpassing Vigo which was traditionally economicallystronger. Other important companies of the city are Banco Pastor,Banco Etcheverría (oldest in Spain), Hijos de Rivera Brewery,Novacaixagalicia, R Cable Operator, the Repsol refinery, Gas Naturalcombined cycle power plant, General Dynamics factory, Alcoa andSapa Group aluminium plants and La Voz de Galicia, the main daily

newspaper of Galicia. A Coruña is also an important retail center. El Corte Inglés, the main department store chain inSpain, has two centers in the city, one of them in the new commercial area Marineda City, opened in April 2011, thebiggest shopping center in Spain, which also includes, among others, IKEA and Decathlon stores, cinemas, an icerink, a bowling court and a kart circuit. Other hypermarket chains present in the city are Carrefour (two centers),Hipercor, Auchan (known in Spain as Alcampo) and Eroski.

Over the last few years, emphasis has been placed upon better access and infrastructure, especially cultural, sporting, leisure and scientific areas. Following a spectacular oil spill when the Aegean Sea wrecked and exploded, considerable resources have been used in the recovery of the shoreline and strengthening the tourist sector. All this

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has reaffirmed the city's existing character as a centre for administration, sales, port activities, culture and tourism.The city also has a regional airport, used by 1,012,800 passengers in 2011.

TourismTourism in A Coruña has increased in recent years to the point of receiving 62 cruise ships a year.

Riazor beach with sports palace in thebackground

The two main beaches of A Coruña (Orzán and Riazor) are located inthe heart of the city and are bordered by the promenade above. Thislocation makes them a great attraction for tourists, being also a meetingpoint for surfers much of the year. Moreover, the city has otherbeaches like As Lapas, San Amaro, Oza and Matadero . These fourbeaches, along with Riazor and Orzán, were recognized with blue flagcertification in 2011.

An important holiday is on the night of San Juan, celebrated with amassive fireworks celebration, parade, burning fails and the ancientfires on all city beaches well into dawn.In 2006 and for the first time ever, the number of tourists has doubled

the population of the city, virtually to 500,000 the number of people who chose the city as a tourist destination.The city has an extensive network of hotels, with an offer of over 3,000 hotel vacancies. There are one five star-hoteland 11 four star-hotels, as well as many other hotels and hostels. The city is also focusing in business tourism,offering the Congress and Exhibition Centre PALEXCO, with room for more than 2,500 people; a new trade faircentre, EXPOCORUÑA, venue of concerts, exhibitions and festivals like Sónar.

Education and CultureThere are 38 Pre-school centers, 47 primary schools, 29 vocational schools and 33 secondary schools.High education is represented by the University of A Coruña, a public university established in 1989, the UNEDbranch, and CESUGA, a private university centre in alliance with University College Dublin, which offers Bachelorof Commerce and Bachelor of Architecture Irish degrees. Escuela de Negocios NCG offers MBA and other master'sdegree in business.There are 7 municipal libraries, one library that belongs to the provincial government and one public library,administered by the Xunta. The Archive of the Kingdom of Galicia (Arquivo do Reino de Galicia in Galician) islocated in the Old Town.There is an Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (Spanish language school) center, which offers classes in English, French,Galician, Italian, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish as a Foreign Language.The Music studies are well represented by a Music school. A Coruña is also the base for the Orquesta Sinfónica deGalicia.The city is home of two main theaters, Teatro Colón and Teatro Rosalía, with regular performances, music concertsand other representations. A multiporpouse center called Coliseum holds all kind of cultural events like concerts orsport exhibitions. International artists like David Copperfield, Maná, Mark Knopfler, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, IronMaiden, Deep Purple or Judas Priest among others have performed in the venue. In summer it also works as abullring and in winter it is used as an ice rink.A Coruña has several museums, like the Castle of San Antón Archaeological Museum, Fine Arts Museum, UniónFenosa Museum of Contemporary Art (MACUF), the Military Museum and the network of scientific museums(Casa das Ciencias, which also includes a planetarium, DOMUS, made by Arata Isozaki and Aquarium Finisterrae).In 2012, the National Museum of Science and Technology (MUNCYT) will open a branch in the city.

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The main festivity in the city is María Pita Festivity, which lasts from the end of July to mid September. The festivalincludes Noroeste Pop Rock (free concerts at Riazor beach), free concerts in venues all over the city, the Medievalfair in the Old Town, the International Folklore Festival, a book fair, Festival Viñetas desde o Atlántico, a comic fairand, for the first time in 2011, a recreation of famous German Oktoberfest. Another very popular festivity in the cityis on June 23, when it is celebrated Saint John's day with a great number of bonfires under the night sky in thebeaches and in the neighbourhoods of the city. That day, more than 150,000 people go out from afternoon to earlymorning in order to frighten the evil spirits away by jumping above the bonfires. Apart from that, Virgen delRosario's day is also celebrated, but is not as much celebrated as the festivities previously mentioned.

TransportA Coruña is the destination of one of the radial roads originating in Madrid, (N-VI). Currently there is a highway(Autovía A-6) that runs parallel to the old radial road. Another major road running through the city is the tollmotorway AP-9, which links Ferrol with the Portuguese border crossing the main cities of Galicia. AG-55 motorwaylinks the city with the Costa da Morte, although currently only go as far as Carballo. The conventional road N-550(A Coruña-Tui) it's the main link to the airport while the new highway is still under construction.A Coruña Airport, formerly known as Alvedro Airport, is located in the municipality of Culleredo, approximately 7kilometres (4.3 mi) from the city center. It serves mainly Spanish destinations, although there are regular services toLondon and Lisbon and, in summer season, to Amsterdam and Paris. In 2010, 1,101,208 passengers used the airport.Railway services depart from San Cristóbal Station. The city will be connected with Madrid and Vigo by high-speedrail in next years. Regional lines connect the city with Vigo through Santiago de Compostela and Pontevedra, Lugoand Monforte de Lemos. Intercity trains depart to Madrid, Barcelona and Basque Country, passing through manyother important Spanish northern cities. There is a freight train station that serves the port.Regional and intercity buses depart from the Bus station at Caballeros street. A Coruña is well connected with itsmetropolitan area and other Galician cities and towns. Intercity services connect the city with Madrid, Barcelona,Andalusia and Basque Country among others and with European cities like Geneva, Paris or Munich.Local transportation in A Coruña is carried out by Compañía de Tranvías de La Coruña. Its network includes 24lines served by 93 vehicles. There is also a regular taxi service distributed in taxi tanks all over the city.

Sport

Deportivo played in UEFA Cup in the2008–2009 season

A Coruña has an extensive network of sports infrastructures. The mostimportant one is the Riazor Sport Complex, which includes Riazorstadium (home of Deportivo de La Coruña), the Palace of Sports(home of HC Liceo La Coruña), two indoor tracks, a pelota court andan indoor swimming-pool. La Torre Sport Complex hosts manyfootball fields, a golf court and another pelota court. There are also fivemunicipal football fields, 11 sports centers and several marinas (RealClub Náutico, Marina Coruña, etc.). In 2007 opened Termaria Casa delAgua complex, which has a gymnasium, a thalassotherapy center andan indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The city has a football club in Spain's First division, Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña. Deportivo was founded in1906 and is currently playing in the Primera División.Since the Spanish football league system was established in1928, it has spent all but two seasons in the top two tiers.

Depor has won the league title once, in the 1999–2000 season, finishing as runner-up on five occasions. The club has also won the Spanish Cup twice, (1995 and 2002) and three Spanish Super Cups. The Blues and Whites have been a

A Coruña 15

regular in top positions in La Liga in the last 20 years, finishing in the top half of the table in 16 out of 19 seasons.As a result, the club has been a regular participant in European competitions, playing in the UEFA ChampionsLeague five seasons in a row, and reaching the semi-finals in 2004.The city has a roller hockey team, HC Liceo La Coruña, one of the most laureate in Spain, and dispute the mainLeague OK Liga. They became Europe's Champions in 2011.A Coruña basketball team CB Coruña, plays in LEB Oro league, the Spanish second division.Handball team OAR Ciudad 1952 (es) currently plays in Spanish First Division.Two Gaelic football teams have been founded recently, the Sons of Breogan and the Exiles. Both participate in theIberian Championship and in some Pan-European competitions.Casas Novas riding club, in the outskirts of the city, hosts many national and international championships.

PoliticsDomingos Rafael Merino Mexuto was the firs mayor after the Spanish Constitution of 1978 from PSG (he is now atBNG), now works in the Ombudsman galician office.Francisco Vázquez Vázquez from PSOE had been mayor of the city from 1983; however, after becoming theSpanish ambassador to the Vatican, he was replaced by Javier Losada on February 10, 2006.The current mayor is Carlos Negreira, from PP.

Notable people• Maria Pita, María Mayor Fernández de Cámara y Pita (1565–1643), a Galician-Spanish heroine of the defense of

A Coruña in 1589 against the English Armada• José Andrés Cornide de Folgueira y Saavedra (es) (1734–1803), writer• Ramón Dionisio José de la Sagra y Peris (1798–1871), botany teacher, philosopher and social economist• Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851–1921), novelist, journalist, essayist and critic• Eduardo Dato Iradier (1856–1921), lawyer and politician• Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968), writer• José Millán Astray (1879–1954), founder and first commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion• Santiago Casares Quiroga (1884–1950), lawyer and politician• Wenceslao Fernández Flórez (1885–1964), narrator, journalist and humorist• Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (1896–1978), writer and poet• Fernando Casado Arambillet (1917–1994), better known as Fernando Rey, actor• Amando de Ossorio (1918–2001), film director• María Casares (1922–1996), actress• Luis Suárez Miramontes (born 1935), football player and manager• Amancio Amaro Varela (born 1939), football player• Emilio Pérez Touriño (born 1948), former president of the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia• Manuel Rivas Barros (born 1957), writer, poet, essayist and journalist• Andrés Manuel Díaz, (born 1969), athlete• María Pujalte, (born 1966), actress• Fernando Romay, (born 1959), basketball player• Amancio Ortega, (born 1936 in Castilla y León), founder of fashion brand Zara (clothing)

A Coruña 16

Sister cities• Limerick, Ireland

References[1] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=A_Coru%C3%B1a& params=43. 371491_N_-8.

395970_E_type:city(244388)_region:ES-C[2] http:/ / www. coruna. es[3][3] "La Coruña, capital militar y administrativa del Reino..."[4][4] "The city of Corunna, Armory, Capital, and Head of the Kingdom of Galicia..." (1748), in[5][5] Chisholm 1911.[6] Decree of the Xunta de Galicia 146/1984, 27 September, Ley 2/1998, de 3 de marzo, sobre el cambio de denominación de las provincias de

La Coruña y Orense. (http:/ / noticias. juridicas. com/ base_datos/ Admin/ l2-1998. html) which follows on the principles of Law 3/1983, 15June, of Linguistic Normalization, article 10 BOE.es: Consultas. Documento (http:/ / www. boe. es/ g/ es/ bases_datos/ doc.php?coleccion=iberlex& id=1983/ 90056& codmap=)

[7] La Coruña (http:/ / buscon. rae. es/ dpdI/ SrvltGUIBusDPD?origen=RAE& lema=La Coruña) in DPD[8] Converted into a light-house date and other details taken from the Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer By Thomas Baldwin, Sixth Edition,

(1847). (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?hl=en& id=-7MBAAAAYAAJ& dq=universal+ pronouncing+ gazetteer+ by+ thomas+ baldwin&printsec=frontcover& source=web& ots=QQYLcgizRX& sig=zfw6It6B7cOnYiHWa9FGAv10BVM)

[11] Population figures and other data taken from the Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer By Thomas Baldwin, Sixth Edition, (1847). (http:/ /books. google. com/ books?hl=en& id=-7MBAAAAYAAJ& dq=universal+ pronouncing+ gazetteer+ by+ thomas+ baldwin&printsec=frontcover& source=web& ots=QQYLcgizRX& sig=zfw6It6B7cOnYiHWa9FGAv10BVM)

[12][12] ether data taken from

Attribution•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).

"CORUNNA" (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ encyclopaediabrit07chisrich#page/ 208/ mode/ 1up).Encyclopædia Britannica 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 208–209. Retrieved 2008-09-22.

External links• Ayuntamiento de A Coruña (http:/ / www. coruna. es/ )• Tourism Office website for A Coruña (Turismo Coruña – Town Council) (http:/ / www. turismocoruna. com/ )• Tourism website for A Coruña (TurGalicia – Regional Tourism Office) (http:/ / www. turgalicia. es/ sit/ coruna.

asp?cidi=I)• Tourism website – Travel Guide for A Coruña (TurEspaña – National Tourism Office) (http:/ / www. tourspain.

org/ coruna)• Pinocho in la Coruña: An illustrated guidebook to la Coruña (http:/ / crtpesaro. altervista. org/ Materiali/

Esperienze/ Pinocchiate/ Pinocho in la Coruna/ index. php)• News of A Coruña, Spain (http:/ / www. corunacity. com/ )

Article Sources and Contributors 17

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