Orihuela
Encyclopedia
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela
mountains in the province of Alicante
, Spain
. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006. The municipality has a total area of 367.19 km², and stretches all the way down to the Mediterranean coast, west of Torrevieja
, and had a total population of 77,949 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006. This includes not only the city of Orihuela, but also the coastal tourist centre (urbanización turística) of Dehesa de Campoamor with 21,659 inhabitants (2006) and a few other villages.
The river Segura
flows through the city. The city was settled by Romans
who called it Orcelis and subsequently Aurariola.
" (natural region of the Segura River); it has been the capital of a province and even of a kingdom. The city was named the first city of the province of Alicante
, 11 September 1437.
In 576 it was the capital of the Visigothic province of Aurariola, to which it gave its name. In 713 (5 April) the military man and Count Teodomiro, proclaimed himself King of Tudmir
.
In 825
the Kingdom of Tudmir, became a dependent kingdom under Ummayad
control, and the capital was moved to Murcia. In 910 the Kingdom of Tudmir passed to the Emirate of Cordova.
In 1053 the principality of Murcia, part of the Kingdom of Denia
, is created. In 1086 the principality of Murcia becomes independent from Denia. In 1212 the area passed to the Kingdom of Murcia.
In 1304 Orihuela was considered to be on the border between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón. In 1366 it passed to the kingdom of Valencia
.
In 1437, it was declared a city and in 1707, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
made Orihuela capital of the province of Orihuela. In 1737 Alicante
, Elche, Monforte
, Jijona, Villajoyosa, Agost
, Busot
, San Juan
or Muchamiel became independent from the province of Orihuela, forming the one of Alicante
.
1799 Orihuela was part of the province of Alicante. In 1810, Napoleon made Orihuela part of the Department of Segura with the capital at Murcia. In 1822, Orihuela passed to the province of Murcia. 1833 it became part of the province of Alicante. In 1920 nationalistic movements spoke of Orihuela as belonging to the "country of Murcia."
Between 1988 and 2006 various research studies from the Universities of Andalusia, Castile and Murcia demonstrated that Orihuela was more culturally part of Murcia than Valencia in terms of phonetics, lexicon, architecture, agriculture, folclore, musical celebrations, instruments, language, burial customs, gastronomy and varieties.
The metropolitan area
of Orihuela includes the eleven municipalites of Orihuela, Benejúzar
, Benferri
, Beniel, Bigastro
, Callosa de Segura
, Cox
, Jacarilla
, Rafal
, Redován
and Santomera
. It had a total population of 151,358 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006, and a total area of 510,3 km².
The metropolitan area of Orihuela is also a part of the larger Murcia
-Orihuela conurbation
, with a total population of 727,741 inhabitants (2006) and an area of 1,743.5 km².
s, cotton, hemp
and vegetables. It also has an important industry of silk
, wool
and preserved food
.
ic castle with its towers, a Catholic
cathedral
built between the 14th and 16th centuries and the Baroque
church of Santo Domingo.
was born in this city, which shares a campus with the University Miguel Hernández. It is also important for its festival of Moros y Cristianos.
Sierra de Orihuela
Sierra de Orihuela is a long mountain range in the Vega Baja del Segura comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Peña de Orihuela . This range is named after the town of Orihuela , located at the feet of the mountains...
mountains in the province of Alicante
Alicante (province)
Alicante or Alacant is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Murcia on the southwest, Albacete on the west, Valencia on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the east...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006. The municipality has a total area of 367.19 km², and stretches all the way down to the Mediterranean coast, west of Torrevieja
Torrevieja
Torrevieja is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in south-eastern Spain.Torrevieja lies about 30 miles south of the city of Alicante and has a population of 104,000...
, and had a total population of 77,949 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006. This includes not only the city of Orihuela, but also the coastal tourist centre (urbanización turística) of Dehesa de Campoamor with 21,659 inhabitants (2006) and a few other villages.
The river Segura
Segura
Segura is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain.It starts at Santiago Pontones , passes Calasparra, Cieza, Murcia, Beniaján, Orihuela, Rojales and ends in the Mediterranean Sea near Guardamar del Segura in the province of Alicante...
flows through the city. The city was settled by Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
who called it Orcelis and subsequently Aurariola.
History
Orihuela is the capital of the region of the "Vega Baja del SeguraVega Baja del Segura
Vega Baja del Segura is a comarca in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain.To the North its neighbouring comarcas are the Baix Vinalopó and Vinalopó Mitjà...
" (natural region of the Segura River); it has been the capital of a province and even of a kingdom. The city was named the first city of the province of Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, 11 September 1437.
In 576 it was the capital of the Visigothic province of Aurariola, to which it gave its name. In 713 (5 April) the military man and Count Teodomiro, proclaimed himself King of Tudmir
Tudmir
Theodemir or Theudimer was a Visigothic comes prominent in the southeast of Carthaginensis during the last decades of the Visigothic kingdom and for several years after the Moorish conquest...
.
In 825
825
Year 825 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandun. Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submit to Wessex and East Anglia acknowledges Egbert as overlord.* Emperor Louis the Pious of the Franks wars against the Wends...
the Kingdom of Tudmir, became a dependent kingdom under Ummayad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
control, and the capital was moved to Murcia. In 910 the Kingdom of Tudmir passed to the Emirate of Cordova.
In 1053 the principality of Murcia, part of the Kingdom of Denia
Dénia
Dénia is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, the judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta...
, is created. In 1086 the principality of Murcia becomes independent from Denia. In 1212 the area passed to the Kingdom of Murcia.
In 1304 Orihuela was considered to be on the border between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón. In 1366 it passed to the kingdom of Valencia
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
.
In 1437, it was declared a city and in 1707, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
made Orihuela capital of the province of Orihuela. In 1737 Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Elche, Monforte
Monforte
-Places in Italy:*Monforte d'Alba, a commune in the province of Cuneo*Corleto Monforte, a commune in the province of Salerno* A Lazio village near Casalattico, formerly called Mortale but renamed in honour of the Forte family-Places in Portugal:...
, Jijona, Villajoyosa, Agost
Agost
Agost is a Valencian town and municipality located in the province of Alicante, Spain, at a distance of about 18 km from Alicante, the capital of the province...
, Busot
Busot
Busot is a municipality in the comarca of Alacantí in the Valencian Community, Spain.The moros i cristians festivals are held from the Friday to the Monday on the weekend after Easter weekend every year....
, San Juan
Sant Joan d'Alacant
Sant Joan d'Alacant is a municipality belonging to Alicante metropolitan area, in the southeast of Valencian Community, Spain. It is the geographic center of the Old Garden of Alicante. Its limits are with the settled areas of Alicante , Mutxamel and El Campello...
or Muchamiel became independent from the province of Orihuela, forming the one of Alicante
Alicante (province)
Alicante or Alacant is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Murcia on the southwest, Albacete on the west, Valencia on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the east...
.
1799 Orihuela was part of the province of Alicante. In 1810, Napoleon made Orihuela part of the Department of Segura with the capital at Murcia. In 1822, Orihuela passed to the province of Murcia. 1833 it became part of the province of Alicante. In 1920 nationalistic movements spoke of Orihuela as belonging to the "country of Murcia."
Between 1988 and 2006 various research studies from the Universities of Andalusia, Castile and Murcia demonstrated that Orihuela was more culturally part of Murcia than Valencia in terms of phonetics, lexicon, architecture, agriculture, folclore, musical celebrations, instruments, language, burial customs, gastronomy and varieties.
City and suburbs
The municipality had a total population of 77,979 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006, of which the city of Orihuela only accommodated 32,472 of them. Another major locality within the municipality is the tourist centre of Dehesa de Campoamor, located on the coast, more than 20 km from Orihuela. It had 21,659 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006.The metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
of Orihuela includes the eleven municipalites of Orihuela, Benejúzar
Benejúzar
Benejúzar is a town and municipality located in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura, in the province of Alicante, Spain. Benejúzar has an area of 9.3 km² and, according to the 2005 census, a total population of 5,249 inhabitants. The economy of Benejúzar is mainly based on agriculture...
, Benferri
Benferri
Benferri is a municipality in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura in the Valencian Community, Spain.This town is located to the north of the Sierra de Orihuela mountain range....
, Beniel, Bigastro
Bigastro
Bigastro is a district in the Valencian Community situated in the south of the province of Alicante, in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura. It had a population of 6,450 at the time of the -History:...
, Callosa de Segura
Callosa de Segura
Callosa de Segura is a municipality in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura in the Valencian Community, Spain. It contains the historic monument of the Church of St Martin....
, Cox
Cox, Alicante
Cox is a municipality in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura in the Valencian Community, Spain.This town is located at the feet of the Sierra de Callosa mountain range....
, Jacarilla
Jacarilla
Jacarilla is a municipality and village in the province of Alicante and autonomous community of Valencia, Spain.-References:...
, Rafal
RAFaL
RAFaL is a faculty association of all students in the Literature faculty of Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada...
, Redován
Redován
Redován is a municipality in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura in the Valencian Community, Spain.This town is located at the feet of the Sierra de Callosa mountain range....
and Santomera
Santomera
Santomera is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of Murcia. It has a population of 13,919 and an area of 44.2 km².-External links:*...
. It had a total population of 151,358 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006, and a total area of 510,3 km².
The metropolitan area of Orihuela is also a part of the larger Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
-Orihuela conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
, with a total population of 727,741 inhabitants (2006) and an area of 1,743.5 km².
Economy
The agriculture of Orihuela is based on lemons, oranges, almonds, olives, palm trees, pomegranatePomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
s, cotton, hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
and vegetables. It also has an important industry of silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and preserved food
Food preservation
Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or slow down spoilage and thus allow for longer storage....
.
Main sights
The most important architectonic monuments of Orihuela are an ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ic castle with its towers, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
built between the 14th and 16th centuries and the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
church of Santo Domingo.
Famous people
The Spanish poet Miguel HernándezMiguel Hernández
Miguel Hernández Gilabert was a 20th century Spanish poet and playwright.-Biography:Hernández was born in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community, to a poor family and received little formal education; he published his first book of poetry at 23, and gained considerable fame before his death...
was born in this city, which shares a campus with the University Miguel Hernández. It is also important for its festival of Moros y Cristianos.
External links
- Official Web of Dehesa de Campoamor
- Dehesa de Campoamor One of the best beaches of Spain. White and fine sand beaches on the Mediterranean coast.
- ocmdigital.com English language edition of ocmdigital.com Digital newspaper in the English language. Local news from Orihuela Costa, Orihuela and surrounding areas, updated daily.
- orihueladigital.es Up to date local news, culture and information site in the Spanish language
- activaorihuela.es Day by day in Orihuela. Website for local newspaper in Spanish language.
- Orihuela.com News and Guide of the city.
- Orihuela Spain, Overview of the City of Orihuela including a video with most important sightseeing attractions.
- Orihuela Official tourism site for the region of Valencia.