Ayamonte (; pt, Aiamonte) is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

belonging to the

province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is 10,1 ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

. It is located near the border with Portugal on the mouth of the

Guadiana River The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...

. According to the 2015

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, the city had a population of 20,357 inhabitants.

History

In the municipality are located parts of the

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

site La Torre-La Janera which is assumed to date back to the 5th millennium BC. The town was seized away from Muslim control in 1240 during the reign of

Sancho II of Portugal Sancho II (; 8 September 1209 – 4 January 1248), nicknamed the Cowled or the Capuched ( pt, o Capelo), alternatively, the Pious ( pt, o Piedoso), was King of Portugal from 1223 to 1248. He was succeeded on the Portuguese throne by his bro ...

, and it was donated afterwards to the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" (St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgri ...

. Ayamonte became part of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

in 1263. Fishing and salting of

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...

and

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

was already practised in Ayamonte since the Middle Ages. The town suffered due to the War with Portugal and the plague pandemics in the 17th century. In the following century, Catalans and other eastern merchants installed in the town and gave impetus to the local canning and salt industry.

Location

The township of Ayamonte preserves its old medieval quarter in the central district of the town, with many very narrow streets and historical buildings; this central area is a designated

car-free zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

. The beach area of Ayamonte is Isla Canela and is reached by a causeway across the Marismas del Guadiana; the marismas (salt marshes) are a wildlife reserve, providing a home to many waterfowl, including herons and flamingos. Isla Canela is built along several kilometers of sandy beaches, and provides an area for windsurfing, kitesurfing and sailing. There are a number of golf courses in and around the area, including one built into the Marismas itself.

Transport

The ferry link between Ayamonte and

Vila Real de Santo António Vila Real de Santo António (, often run together as ) is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km2. It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without te ...

was the traditional crossing point between Spain and Portugal. A modern bridge over the

has now been built to the north of the town, linking the motorway systems of both countries, but the ferry still runs and provides an inexpensive mode of transport between the two countries.

Culture

The city, is also famous for his local festivities, the "Fiestas de las Angustias" in honor of their patron "Nuestra Señora de las Angustias". The festivities in the beginning of September are a moment of celebration not only from the Ayamontin population, but also for many Andalucians, and Portuguese. The festivities are graced by the local band, "Banda Ciudad de Ayamonte" and the Portuguese "Banda da Sociedade Filarmónica Progresso e Labor Samouquense" from the Portuguese village of Samouco.

Climate

Ayamonte has a

Hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

( Köppen: Csa) with mild, somewhat humid winters and dry, warm to hot summers. Autumn is the wettest season.

Demographics

People

* Antonio León Ortega (1907–1991),

Sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He had his professional education in Madrid and he created a personal style in the Andalusian imagery of the 20th century. * María Isabel, singer.

References

External links

Ayuntamiento de Ayamonte
** changed to www.ayamonte.es **

- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía {{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Huelva Portugal–Spain border crossings