Cantabria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Mesozoic island Cantabria, see Cantabria (Mesozoic island).
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| Image:Localización de Cantabria.png | |||||
| Capital | Santander | ||||
| Official language(s) | Spanish | ||||
| Area – Total – % of Spain | Ranked 15th 5,321 km² 1.05% | ||||
| Population – Total (2005) – % of Spain – Density | Ranked 16th 562,309 1.3% 105.68/km² | ||||
| Demonym – English – Spanish | Cantabrian cántabro/a, cantábrico/a | ||||
| Statute of Autonomy | January 11, 1981 | ||||
| Parliamentary representation – Congress seats – Senate seats | 5 5 (4 elected, 1 appointed) | ||||
| President | Miguel Ángel Revilla Roiz (PRC) | ||||
| ISO 3166-2 | S | ||||
| Gobierno de Cantabria | |||||
Cantabria is an autonomous community of Spain, containing one province (also called Cantabria).
It borders to the east on the Basque Country (province of Vizcaya), to the south on Castile and León (provinces of León, Palencia, and Burgos), to the west on Asturias, and to the north on the Cantabrian Sea, the local designation for the part of the Bay of Biscay that lies off its coast.
Santander functions as the capital of Cantabria.
Cantabria shares the National Park Picos de Europa (in the Cantabrian Mountains) with Asturias and León.
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[edit] Etymology and names
In pre-Roman times the people known as Cantabri inhabited Cantabria. The name has no connection with Cantabrigia, a Latinate version of Cambridge. Many different authors have written about the origins of the name Cantabria, including Isidore of Seville, Julio Caro Baroja, Aureliano Fernández Guerra, Joaquín González Echegaray, and Adolf Schulten. No consensus on the matter exists, but many experts suggest a derivation from the Celtic root cant-, meaning "rock" or "stone", and from the suffix -abr, used frequently in Celtic regions. From this we can deduce that the word "cantabrus" means "dwelling in the mountains", referring to the rugged terrain of Cantabria. It has also been suggested that Cantabria is derived from the Celtic "Kant" = mountain or rock and "Iber" = Ebro, thus The Mountains of the Ebro<ref>Alberto González Rodríguez, Diccionario Etimológico de la Toponimia Mayor de Cantabria, Estudio, Santander.</ref>.
The traditional name of the area was la Montaña [de Castilla] ("the Mountain [of Castile]"), with locals being montañeses. Another archaic name was las Asturias de Santillana. In the division of the provinces of Spain, it was named provincia de Santander after its capital city.
[edit] Geography
Area: 5,321 km²
Transportation:
- Freeways/motorways: Autovía del Cantábrico (A-8), Autovía de la Meseta (under construction), N-623.
- Seaport: Puerto de Raos (Santander)
- Airport: Aeropuerto de Parayas (Santander)
The postal code is 39xxx.
Climate: Cantabria has a reputation for a rainy and cool Melbourne-like climate. Santander has a similar climate to Seattle.
[edit] Economy
GDP (2002): € 8,911.5 million.
[edit] Population
Statistics
- 562,309 people in the 2005 census, representing 1.3% of the population of Spain.
- Population density 103.31 people/km²
- Life expectancy: 75 years for men, 83 years for women.
- Cántabro/a and cantábrico - we generally use "Cantabrian" for people and things, and "Cantabric" for places.
- Montañés - literally "Mountainese", but English-speakers do not use this term.
- Santanderino/a - this refers specifically to residents of Santander, but often wrongly applies to other Cantabrians as well: before 1981 the entire Cantabric area formed the Province of Santander.
[edit] Famous Cantabrians
Historical Figures:
- Corocotta, Pedro, Duke of Cantabria, Alfonso I, Beato de Liébana, Iñigo de Mendoza, Juan de la Cosa, Juan de Escobedo, Juan de Herrera, Bárbara de Blomberg, Juan Francisco de Güemes, Francisco Rávago, Francisco Antonio Cagigal de la Vega, Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Pedro Velarde, Angel Herrera Oria.
Art and Literature:
- Iñigo López de Mendoza (Marqués de Santillana), Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo, José María de Pereda, Manuel Llano, Pancho Cossío, José María de Cossío,Gerardo Diego, Rafael de Floranes, Agustín Riancho, Ataúlfo Argenta, Concha Espina, José Hierro.
Science and Technology:
Sports:
- José Manuel Abascal, Severiano Ballesteros, Óscar Freire, Francisco Gento, Santiago Herrero, Vicente Trueba Pérez, Carlos Alonso González "Santillana", Iván Helguera, Iván de la Peña, Pedro Munitis, Vicente Trueba Pérez.
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Autonomous communities: Autonomous cities:
Ceuta · Melilla Plazas de soberanía: Islas Chafarinas · Peñón de Alhucemas · Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera |
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
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