| Sanlúcar de Barrameda | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
| Barrio Alto in Sanlúcar de Barrameda | |||
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| Location of Sanlúcar de Barrameda | |||
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Sanlúcar de Barrameda
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Spain | ||
| Autonomous community | Andalusia | ||
| Province | Cádiz | ||
| Comarca | Bajo Guadalquivir | ||
| Government | |||
| • Alcalde | Angel Pozo nghtmr (NGHTMR) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 170.93 km2 (66 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 30 m (98 ft) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Total | 65,805 | ||
| • Density | 385/km2 (997.1/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | sanluqueño/a | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 11540 | ||
| Official language(s) | Spanish | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Sanlúcar de Barrameda (or simply Sanlúcar) is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposite the Doñana National Park, 52 km from the provincial capital Cádiz and 119 km from Sevilla capital of the autonomous region Andalucía. Its population is 65,805 inhabitants (national statistical institute of Spain 2009)
Sanlúcar has been inhabited since ancient times, and is assumed to belonged to the realm of civilization Tartessus. The town of San Lucar was granted to His Lordship Guzmán The Good in 1297.
Due to its strategic location the city was a starting point for exploration, colonization and evangelization of America between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Sanlucar lost much of its strategic value after 1645 due to the disgrace of the house of Medina-Sidonia, the general decline of Spain under Charles II, the relocation of Cadiz capital in 1711 and the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
In the nineteenth century the economy of the city was converted to viticulture and summer tourism. The twentieth century brought destruction and political upheaval like elsewhere during the civil war. Sanlucar was declared a Cultural Historical-artistic site in 1973. Since the restoration of democracy (1975–1982) City Hall has borrowed heavily, making Sanlúcar the city with the lowest per capita income in Spain.
Currently (2010) Sanlucar is a summer tourist destination famous for its cuisine, especially the manzanilla (a variety of fino sherry) and prawns. It is internationally renowned for beach horse racing and flamenco music. Less well known but equally important is the historical archives of Medina-Sidonia located in the palace of the same name. The patron of the city is Our Lady of Charity dedicated in 1917.
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On the etymology of both names, there is no consensus among scholars, several hypotheses exist:
Sanlucar de Barrameda is located on the Atlantic coast of the autonomous community of Andalusia, in the province of Cadiz. Specifically on the left side of the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, which separates the provinces of Huelva and Seville. The municipality covers an area of 174.3 km2 with 6 km of beaches.
It is part of the tourist area known as Costa de la Luz (Coast of the light), about 44 km from the provincial capital of Cádiz. Which includes Pinar de la Bonanza Algaida-marshes and The marshes of the Guadalquivir part of the Doñana Natural Park.
It borders the municipalities of Trebujena; Jerez de la Frontera; Rota; Puerto de Santa María y Chipiona. Shown in MTN50 sheet (scale 1:50,000) No. 1047 National Topographic Map.[5]
In 1264, after Sanlúcar de Barrameda was taken from the Moors by King Alfonso X of Castile, it was reconstituted, becoming, during the 15th and 16th centuries, one of the most important ports for trade connecting the Atlantic coast with the Mediterranean.
After the discovery of the New World, Sanlúcar became a port for refitting ships, and it was the point of departure for various Spanish conquistadors. Christopher Columbus, on 30 May 1498 left for his third voyage from Sanlúcar (See Voyages of Christopher Columbus). Another historical departure was that of Ferdinand Magellan on 10 August 1519, with a fleet of five ships under his command, that left Seville and traveled down the Guadalquivir to Sanlúcar de Barrameda at the mouth of the river, where they remained more than five weeks. Sanlucar also witnessed the arrival in 1522 of the last surviving ship of Magellan's expedition, commanded by Juan Sebastián Elcano, making it the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
Alonso Fernández de Lugo, conqueror of the Canary Islands, of La Palma (1492) and Tenerife (1495), and subsequently the governor of the islands, was born in Sanlúcar.
Sights include:
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is one of Spain's three better-known sherry-producing towns. (The other two are Jerez de la Frontera, for which sherry is named, and El Puerto de Santa María.)
A seaside town, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is also home to the oldest horse races in Spain and some of the oldest in Europe. The races take place, just before sunset, along the beach at the mouth of the river Guadalquivir every August within sight of thousands of spectators. Contested at distances of 1500 m and 1800 m, these were the first-ever regulated horse races in Spain. Riders wear distinctive colours and caps.
Events include the Sanlúcar Tapas Fair, a local gastronomy competition, the Feria de la Manzanilla in late May, which is held at the beginning of the Noches de Bajo de Guía flamenco season, classical and jazz festivals, and the occasional first-rate concert. The city is also known for the Rocio pilgrimage, one of the more popular manifestations of the Roman Catholic faith; it can be compared to the pilgrimages to Santiago or Lourdes.
People in Sanlúcar used to work primarily in agriculture (for the most part, the vineyards) and fishing (especially for the famous Sanlúcar prawn).
These two activities (agriculture and fishing) were located in different parts of the town, and, until the modernizing trends of last few decades, there were marked distinctions between the people living in each area. People living near the sea, in the area known as Bajo de Guía, were almost exclusively dedicated to fishing. Nowadays these same people combine fishing with managing restaurants that rely on fresh fish and shellfish for their menus. People living in the higher elevations, away from the sea, in a part of the town known as the Barrio Alto, used to dedicate themselves to agriculture, but, nowadays, this sector requires less manpower throughout the year, and most farm workers only work seasonally during the grape harvest, in the so-called "sherry triangle".
The centre of Sanlúcar developed as a commercial hub, with a cityscape combining historic buildings (monasteries, churches, etc.) with more modern ones. This part of the city developed at the beginning of the 20th Century as the province of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. Sanlúcar was then a popular beach resort. The social classes living in this area are generally linked to local winemaking interests and the tourist industry.
Because of its position at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, Sanlúcar is a convenient home base for exploring the nearby Doñana National Park (Parque Nacional de Doñana) and its natural wonders. Within the park lies the Marisma de Hinojos (Salt Marsh of Fennel Plants), which some believe to be site of the lost city of Atlantis. Also within the precincts of the park is the likely site of another lost city, Tartessos, the capital of an ancient civilization that predated the Phoenicians in Iberia.
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