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Puerto de la Cruz

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Puerto de la Cruz
Municipality and city
Puerto de la Cruz, Top left: Panorama view of Puerto de la Cruz; Top right: Martianez Beach; Middle left: Laguna Martianez; Bottom left: Armas Square shopping area; Bottom right: View of Araucaria heterophylla tree in Loro Park
Puerto de la Cruz, Top left: Panorama view of Puerto de la Cruz; Top right: Martianez Beach; Middle left: Laguna Martianez; Bottom left: Armas Square shopping area; Bottom right: View of Araucaria heterophylla tree in Loro Park
Flag of Puerto de la Cruz
Coat of arms of Puerto de la Cruz
Municipal location in Tenerife
Municipal location in Tenerife
Puerto de la Cruz is located in Tenerife
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz
Location in Tenerife
Puerto de la Cruz is located in Canary Islands
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz (Canary Islands)
Puerto de la Cruz is located in Spain, Canary Islands
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz (Spain, Canary Islands)
Coordinates: 28°25′N 16°32′W / 28.417°N 16.533°W / 28.417; -16.533Coordinates: 28°25′N 16°32′W / 28.417°N 16.533°W / 28.417; -16.533
Country Spain
Autonomous community Canary Islands
ProvinceSanta Cruz de Tenerife
Government
 • Alcalde (Mayor)Marco González Mesa (PSC-PSOE)
Area
 • Total8.73 km2 (3.37 sq mi)
Elevation
4 m (13 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total30,483
 • Density3,500/km2 (9,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC±0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (WEST)
Postal code
38400
Official language(s)Spanish
WebsiteOfficial website
Click on the map for a fullscreen view

Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all languages. Puerto de la Cruz is located on the northern coast, 4 km (2 mi) northwest of La Orotava and 30 km (19 mi) west of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The TF-5 motorway passes through the municipality. The population is 30,483 (2018[2]). In Spanish, the local inhabitants are known as Portuenses. With an area of 8.73 km2 (3 sq mi), the municipality is the smallest in Tenerife. The elevation of the town's centre is 9 m (30 ft) above sea level and the highest point being Las Arenas, a volcanic cone with an elevation of 249 m (817 ft).

Discover more about Puerto de la Cruz related topics

Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of 2,034 square kilometres (785 sq mi) and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of January 2022, it is also the most populous island of Spain and of Macaronesia.

Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

La Orotava

La Orotava

La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, Canary Islands' and Spain's highest point at 3,718 m. At 207.31 km2, it is the largest municipality of the island of Tenerife. The population is 41,255 (2013).

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its administrative limits. The urban zone of Santa Cruz extends beyond the city limits with a population of 507,306 and 538,000 within urban area. It is the second largest city in the Canary Islands and the main city on the island of Tenerife, with nearly half of the island's population living in or around it.

Autopista TF-5

Autopista TF-5

Autopista TF-5 is a motorway in the Canary Islands, in the north of Tenerife, running from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Puerto de la Cruz. Most of the motorway is a Controlled-access highway or expressway, with some single carriageway remaining west of Puerto de la Cruz.

Volcanic cone

Volcanic cone

Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption. Types of volcanic cones include stratocones, spatter cones, tuff cones, and cinder cones.

Historical population

Year Population
1991 25,447
1996 24,542
2001 26,441
2002 30,466
2003 31,830
2004 30,088
2013 28,929
2018 30,483

Economy

Valle de La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz were the first holiday resorts on the Canary Islands.[3]
Valle de La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz were the first holiday resorts on the Canary Islands.[3]

Puerto de la Cruz occupies a prominent place in the history of tourism of the islands. The export economy established by the European colonizers after the conquest in the 15th century generated large commercial and passenger movements for decades. The first foreign visitors quickly felt drawn to the beneficial qualities of the weather in the Taoro Valley.

Before mass tourism existed in Puerto de la Cruz, minority tourism catered for privileged elites who were interested in climatology, botany and the tranquillity of the location. The proximity of the Canary Islands to Europe meant that travel for health reasons was a primary driver for launching modern tourism here.[4]

At the beginning of the 19th century, the environment of Puerto de la Cruz meant that it attracted many researchers and exclusive high-class groups from Europe. At this stage Puerto de la Cruz was a leading cultural center accommodating many travellers and writers, including William Wilde and Alexander von Humboldt Olivia Stone (Tenerife and its Six Satellites).

Puerto de la Cruz therefore gained an illustrious reputation in Europe, and when it came to the subsequent advent of modern tourism, the city was at an advantage compared with other tourist sites.

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La Orotava

La Orotava

La Orotava is a town and a municipality in the northern part of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain. The area of the municipality stretches from the north coast to the mountainous interior, and includes the summit of the Teide volcano, Canary Islands' and Spain's highest point at 3,718 m. At 207.31 km2, it is the largest municipality of the island of Tenerife. The population is 41,255 (2013).

Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

Conquest of the Canary Islands

Conquest of the Canary Islands

The conquest of the Canary Islands by the Crown of Castille took place between 1402 and 1496 and described as the first instance of European settler colonialism in Africa. It can be divided into two periods: the Conquista señorial, carried out by Castilian nobility in exchange for a covenant of allegiance to the crown, and the Conquista realenga, carried out by the Spanish crown itself, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.

William Wilde

William Wilde

Sir William Robert Wills Wilde FRCSI was an Irish oto-ophthalmologic surgeon and the author of significant works on medicine, archaeology and folklore, particularly concerning his native Ireland. He was the father of Oscar Wilde.

Alexander von Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography laid the foundation for the field of biogeography. Humboldt's advocacy of long-term systematic geophysical measurement laid the foundation for modern geomagnetic and meteorological monitoring.

Climate

Puerto de la Cruz enjoys a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh) bordering a tropical wet and dry climate, with warm winters and hot, dry summers.

History

Panorama of Valle de La Orotava

The city's origins date back to the early 16th century. It existed in 1502 as a coastal port, and as the dependent population center of La Orotava. In 1603 a church and its corresponding square were built.

It was originally a fishing village that grew as local trade was increasing. The port became the most important in the island when a volcano eruption destroyed Garachico in 1706.[5] The sugar trade gave way to wine, resulting in large scale social and economic development.

In the mid-17th century the inhabitants began to express their desire to form their own community, receiving the Royal Provision of Felipe IV on 3 May 1651, which empowered them to appoint a village head.

It belonged to the municipality of La Orotava, and in 1772, a municipal corporation was elected by the residents. It was known as Puerto de La Orotava, and it was not until 1808 that it obtained full municipal autonomy, changing its name to the current Puerto de la Cruz.

Tourism began to have an important role in the local economy in the late 19th century. It was in those years that the Grand Hotel Taoro was built and that old family houses began to be remodelled, for example as Marquesa or Monopol, transforming them into the first hotels in the city center. Finally, the real tourism boom came in the 1950s, when the city began its transformation into the tourist reference point of the island and of the archipelago.

During the second edition of the Ecological Film Festival of Nature in Puerto de la Cruz, at which guests were invited to give lectures and provide round tables, the Tenerife Manifesto was announced (29 May 1983). This text was a precursor of political ecology in Spain, and would initiate a process leading to the founding of the political party of the Greens.

Sites of interest

Monument to the waves, Lago Martianez (night view). Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.
Monument to the waves, Lago Martianez (night view). Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.
  • Martiánez Pools (Lago Martiánez) completed and designed by the famous Canary architect César Manrique.
  • Jardín Beach in Puerto de la Cruz, a famous beach filled with palm trees and hotels.
  • Plaza del Charco, in the town centre.
  • Loro Parque, a famous park and zoo located on the outskirts of the city.
  • Ermita de San Amaro, dedicated to the semi-legendary Saint Amaro.
  • Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz, with important pieces of prehistory of the island, which also houses the idol Guanche, called Guatimac.
  • Anglican Church of Puerto de la Cruz The Church of All Saints, located within the Taoro Park, was built by British residents in the city. Puerto de la Cruz has the oldest Anglican cemetery in the Canary Islands.
  • Church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia, located in the town centre.
  • Botanical Garden in the El Botánico district, opened in 1788, it's the second-oldest Botanical garden in Spain.
  • Castillo San Felipe, a small stone castle next to Playa Jardín.
  • La Ranilla, a fisherman's neighborhood (recently renovated).

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Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of 2,034 square kilometres (785 sq mi) and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of January 2022, it is also the most populous island of Spain and of Macaronesia.

César Manrique

César Manrique

César Manrique Cabrera was a Spanish artist, sculptor, architect and nature activist from Lanzarote.

Loro Parque

Loro Parque

Loro Parque or 'Loro Park' is a 135,000 m² zoo on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species. The park was conceived as a paradise for parrots and has developed over the years into one of the biggest attractions of the Canary Islands, with over 40 million visitors.

Saint Amaro

Saint Amaro

According to Catholic tradition, Saint Amaro or Amarus the Pilgrim was an abbot and sailor who it was claimed sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to an earthly paradise. There are two historical figures who may have provided the basis for this legend. The first was a French penitent of the same name who went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the thirteenth century. On his return journey, he established himself at Burgos, where he founded a hospital for lepers.

Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz

Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz

The Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz is a small archaeological museum located in the town of Puerto de la Cruz. One of the most important local museums, it offers an archival collection comprising more than 2,600 specimens of the aboriginal Guanche culture, and a document collection named after researcher Luis Diego Cuscoy.

Prehistory

Prehistory

Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins c. 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared c. 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently.

Guanches

Guanches

The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 kilometres (60 mi) west of Africa.

Guatimac

Guatimac

Guatimac or the Idol of Guatimac is an owl-shaped Guanche cult image, found in 1885, hidden in a cave between the municipalities of Fasnia and Güímar wrapped in goat hide.

All Saints' Church, Puerto de la Cruz

All Saints' Church, Puerto de la Cruz

All Saints' Church, also known as Anglican Church of All Saints, is a Church of England parish church located in the city of Puerto de la Cruz on the island of Tenerife.

Tourism

Jardín Beach. Puerto de la Cruz
Jardín Beach. Puerto de la Cruz

Tourism is an important industry in Puerto de la Cruz, as evidenced by the number of large hotels visible on the skyline.

Puerto de la Cruz is frequented by Northern Europeans during the winter months, due to its mild climate, and is particularly popular over Christmas and the New Year periods.

The Western European tourist contingent to Puerto de la Cruz tends to consist more of mature couples, in contrast to resorts such as Playa de las Americas.

The summer months see more Spanish tourists, particularly during August, when conditions on the Spanish mainland can be excessively hot.

Education

The British School of Tenerife has its Yeoward Campus in Puerto de la Cruz.[6]

Events

Faro, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, España.
Faro, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, España.

The Tenerife Airshow (Festival de Aeromodelismo) (Spanish for 'Aeromodelling festival') is held every year near the harbour, usually in Europa Square. The airshow celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006.

El Carnaval, held every year. Ash Wednesday is in the middle of Carnival.

"La Embarcacion de la Virgen del Carmen" (The Sea-setting of the Virgin Carmen), is held on 16 July. In latter years it has become "la Fiesta del Agua" (The Water Party), where copious amounts of water are thrown during the festivities.

It is preceded by "La Sardinada" (The Sardine Festival), where sardines are fried and sold the night before at San Telmo. Hundreds of people congregate in Charco Square and its fishing port, where festival goers participate in games, like the popular 'run-along-the grease-pole', which involves participants having to run along a greased pole and catch a flag to win the game. Because of the normally mild July weather, people go in T-shirt and shorts, or just bathing suits, and enjoy a quick dip in the waters of the port to help cool themselves down. The event starts around 12-1 o'clock in the afternoon and lasts until around 10–12 o'clock at night.

A few days before the main carnival procession a large papier mache sardine is wheeled through the streets, brought to the waterfront and "blessed" with "holy water" (normally petrol or lighter fluid) by a man dressed as a bishop. The sardine is then set alight, to huge applause. After this, a huge firework display ensues. The event is known as the "Burial of the Sardine".

Amongst the crowd at this event, "professional mourners" can be seen; these are invariably men in drag, who wail for comic effect.

Although the Burial of the Sardine rarely starts on time, the event always attracts crowds, and it is advised to arrive early at the harbour.

Photos

People

Discover more about People related topics

Agustín de Betancourt

Agustín de Betancourt

Agustín de Betancourt y Molina was a prominent Spanish engineer, who worked in Spain, France and Russia. His work ranged from steam engines and balloons to structural engineering and urban planning. As an educator, Betancourt founded and managed the Spanish Corps of Civil Engineers and the Saint Petersburg Institute of Communications Engineers. As an urban planner and construction manager, Betancourt supervised planning and construction in Saint Petersburg, Kronstadt, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities.

Tom Hernández

Tom Hernández

Domingo Tomás Hernández Bethencourt, known professionally as Tom Hernández, was an American theater, films, and television actor, who played supporting roles, usually Hispanics, throughout his career. He was mainly known for their roles in the American film The 3rd Voice (1960), and in the Spanish films "Fuerza Mortal" (1980) and "Tunka, el guerrero" (1983). However, he is best remembered by his interpretation of Don Diego character at the San Diego's fair (California) Del Mar Fair during almost of four decades until his death in 1984. He held the position of goodwill ambassador of the fair, promoting it and he welcomed people that came to the fair with his greeting in Spanish "¡Bienvenidos, Amigos!", greeting for which he was known. He was brother of also actor Pepe Hern and uncle of present-day actor Justin Lopez from The Three Stooges.

Domingo Vega de la Rosa

Domingo Vega de la Rosa

Domingo Vega de la Rosa is a painter from the Canary Islands, Spain. He lives and works in Los Realejos.

Surrealism

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to leader André Breton, to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality", or surreality. It produced works of painting, writing, theatre, filmmaking, photography, and other media.

Andi Deris

Andi Deris

Andreas "Andi" Deris is a German singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the power metal band Helloween, and co-founder and former lead singer of the metal band Pink Cream 69.

Michael Weikath

Michael Weikath

Michael Ingo Joachim "Weiki" Weikath is a German musician, best known as a founding member and one of the guitarists of pioneering power metal band Helloween.

Michael Hennet Sotomayor

Michael Hennet Sotomayor

Michael "Mikel" Hennet Sotomayor is a member of the boyband D'NASH. He is known simply as Mikel and is the romantic of the band, as well as the child of the group. Mikel studied audio-visual communications in the United Kingdom. He has experience as a model and salsa dancer.

Sagar Prakash Khatnani

Sagar Prakash Khatnani

Sagar Prakash Khatnani is a Spanish writer of Indian descent.

Indian people

Indian people

Indians or Indian people are the citizens and nationals of the Republic of India. In 2022, the population of India stood at 1.4 billion people. According to UN forecasts In 2023 India will overtake China as the world most populous country. containing 17.50 percent of the global population. In addition to the Indian population, the Indian overseas diaspora also boasts large numbers, particularly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and the Western world. While the demonym "Indian" applies to people originating from the present-day Republic of India, it was also used as the identifying term for people originating from what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh prior to the partition of British India in 1947.

Source: "Puerto de la Cruz", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, September 26th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_de_la_Cruz.

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See also
References
  1. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ^ "Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (National Statistics Institute)".
  3. ^ González, Lemus. Puerto de la Cruz, primer centro turístico en Canarias.
  4. ^ González Lemus, "Clima y medicina. Los orígenes del turismo en Canarias", Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 2007.
  5. ^ http://www.citpuerto.com/en/puerto-de-la-cruz/history/
  6. ^ "Find Us Archived 17 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine." British School of Tenerife. Retrieved 13 February 2016. "YEOWARD C/ Irlanda, 1; Parque Taoro; 38400 Puerto de la Cruz"
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