Ferrol () is a city in the

Province of A Coruña The province of A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical en, link=no, Corunna) is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the At ...

in Galicia, on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city has a population of 64,785, making it the seventh largest settlement in Galicia. With Eume to the south and Ortegal the north, Ferrol forms the Ferrolterra comarca, and together with

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

forms the second largest conurbation in Galicia, with a total population of 640,000 in 2016. The harbour, for depth, capacity and safety, is not equalled by many in Europe. The entrance is very narrow, commanded by forts, and may even be shut by a steccado. The city has been a major naval shipbuilding centre for most of its history, being the capital of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

's Maritime Department of the North since the time of the early Bourbons. Before that, in the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

, Ferrol was the most important arsenal in Europe. Today, the city contains some of the major shipbuilding yards of the

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...

Group. As the birthplace of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1892, the municipality was officially named after him as "El Ferrol del

Caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

" from September 1938 to December 1982. It was also the birthplace of the founder of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(PSOE), Pablo Iglesias, in 1850. The city is one of the starting points of the

English Way The English Way ( gl, Camiño Inglés and es, Camino Inglés) is one of the paths of the Camino de Santiago. It begins in the Galician port cities of Ferrol (118 km) or A Coruña (75 km) and runs south to Santiago de Compostela. Middl ...

path of the Camino de Santiago. Because of the modern requirement that pilgrims must travel 100 km by foot in order to be officially recognized, Ferrol is the preferred starting point for pilgrims traversing the English Way.

Toponym and etymology

The first historical mention of this settlement, then called ''Burum'' as well as ''Arotebrarum Portum'' in the history of

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

, a Roman historian who wrote in the year AD 43 detailing a description of the ''Portus Magnus Artabrorum'', the "great port of the Artabri". The current toponym Ferrol, though, can only be traced back to the Middle Ages; a document of 1087'' ''instances sancto Iuliano de Ferrol, nearby the monastery of San Martín de Jubia (12th century, in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

), where Ferrol is probably the local evolution of the genitive form of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name Ferreolus; Ferrol was probably, in origin, the estate of one Ferreolus. In 1982 the government of Spain adopted officially Ferrol in consonance with its long history and tradition. Another theory with regards to the

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the locative name Ferrol and potential origins is Ferro, Latin for Iron as these parts from

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

and earlier have been places rich in metals specially Iron and

Tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

but also

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

. Possibly, as the bay of Ferrol was such a well guarded port that the old

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

would have been named after the metal by traders ''reaching the enclave, in other words: Ferrol.'' Alternatively, the name comes from the legend of a Breton saint, Ferreol, who arrived here on a ship, amid a chorus of seven sirens. Another tradition says that Ferrol proceeds from farol, alluding to the heraldic figure that appears on the coat of arms of the city. However, according to experts, the origin of the arms of Ferrol goes back only to the eighteenth century, and there are also several variants used over time, without having been set in accordance with the applicable legislation since the 1990s. The combination of two words that can mean either 'port – close', 'landing on pillars' or a Ferreoli Domini, "the lord of Ferreol", a veiled allusion to the town, which could have had a church under the patronage of St. Ferreol.

History

The existence of prehistoric human settlements in this Galician city is backed up by the abundance of burial chambers,

megalithic monuments 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 ...

as well as Petroglyphs and other archaeological findings. The

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns established in this area different dried and salted cod stations and their presence together with the presence of the

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

is well documented by historians like

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

, Strabo,

, just to mention a few classic ones including

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

. In

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times, in the 1st century BC, a fishing port existed which also trade in metals (like Silver, Gold,

and Iron ) as well as wild horses in the bay of Ferrol in the neighbourhood of Nerium ''there is a place called Narahio'' ''famous for its

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle which

phonetically Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

resembles a bit Strabo's Nerium'' ''modern day Cape Prior'' in these parts of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

dominated in

ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

by the Artabri (or Arrotrebae) giving name to the Portus Magnus Artabrorum (Form not just by the bay of Ferrol but the three rias of Ferrol,

Betanzos Betanzos () is a municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain in the province of A Coruña. It belongs to the comarca of Betanzos. In Roman times Betanzos was called Flauvium Brigantium or ''Brigantium''. During the ...

and Corunna). Ferrol, was then, just as it is today a first class natural harbour, in the treacherous waters of the Atlantic, very well guarded, not surprisingly, described often in history as the best natural port in Europe. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the whole

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, including Ferrol, was raided by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

and incorporated in 411 to the

Suebic Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of the Suebi ( la, Regnum Suevorum), also called the Kingdom of Galicia ( la, Regnum Galicia) or Suebi Kingdom of Galicia ( la, Galicia suevorum regnum), was a Germanic post-Roman kingdom that was one of the first to separate from ...

; their kingdom was incorporated in 584 by

Leovigild Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' (Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 568 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between th ...

to the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...

. After the collapse of the " Suebic-

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

state" these Christian parts of Iberia saw very little change, in comparison with other parts of the Iberian peninsula, becoming part of the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of ...

as early as 750AD. A period marked at the beginning with the massive shock and shake, and destruction of one state, followed by the humble-at-first but firm-and-quick rebirth of the "Christian Visigothic State" in the mountains and green pastures of the Atlantic North of the Iberian Peninsula. Over time,

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

would split into further Christian kingdoms making these parts to change hands from one

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

to the next: first Galicia, then

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

and finally Castile. Castelo de San Filipe, Brión, Ferrol, Galiza

Ferrol served as a strategic safe port during the Hundred Years' War, sided the House of Trastamara during the

Castilian Civil War The Castilian Civil War was a war of succession over the Crown of Castile that lasted from 1351 to 1369. The conflict started after the death of king Alfonso XI of Castile in March 1350. It became part of the larger conflict then raging betwee ...

and as a personal reward to Fernan Perez de Andrade, in 1371, Henry II gave the town to the powerful

Andrade Andrade is a surname of Galician origin, which emerged in the 12th century as the family name of the knights and lords of the small parish of ''San Martiño de Andrade'' ( St. Martin of Andrade), in the municipality of Pontedeume. The first ment ...

family. In 1568 a fire reduced to rubble the old medieval town; in the same period some parts of the existing fortifications at the entrance of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

were built. As a naval base, at that time the town was considered more important as a Royal Arsenal than as a safe harbour. With the arrival of the Bourbons in the 18th century, Ferrol became a leading naval centre. Ferrol was made Capital of the Maritime Department of the North, formed under Ferdinand VI and

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

for the defence of the Spanish Colonial Empire in America. Rapid improvements followed, notably under the leadership of the

Marquis of Ensenada A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

, and the position of Ferrol was made almost unassailable from the sea, the difficulties of disembarking troops on its precipitous coast being strengthened by a renewed line of fortresses and newly built castles, including that of San Carlos. Ferrol-Iglesia de San Francisco 02

Ferrol - Concatedral de San Julián (San Xiao) 01

The Royal Dockyards of A Graña and Ferrol ( Reales Astilleros de Esteiro), built between 1726–1783, produced ships protected with copper sheets from the rolling mills of Xubia. In 1772,

The Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers The Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers is a military naval academy in Ferrol, Spain, founded in 1772, during the reign Charles III of Spain. The purpose of this Royal Academy was to train the future members of the 1770 newly created Profession ...

of Ferrol, the first such academy in Spain, was created. For the most laborious works of the harbour six hundred forced-labour galley-convicts were employed in the harbour. Ferrol is famous in the history of the struggle between the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

for being one of the only enclaves in the world, together with Cartagena de Indias, that always resisted occupation successfully: mostly, because Ferrol was virtually impossible to

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

in the age of sail, as strong westerly winds would take any blockading force away along the treacherous north coast of Spain where they had no safe haven. The geography of Ferrol meant that an entire Spanish fleet could slip out on a single tide. By the time the British were able to resume the blockade, the Spanish would be safely away and out to sea. Despite these advantages, a decline set during the reign of Charles IV, and in 1800, during the Ferrol Expedition (1800), after the defences had been reduced, a British fleet of 109 vessels landed troops on the beach of Doniños to take the Castle of San Felipe. Although only equipped with meagre artillery, the castle's small defence force under the command of Count Donadio together with a sizable number of volunteer citizens of Ferrol, successfully resisted the attack and the fleet withdrew. The alliance with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

of 1808–1814 failed to prevent the deterioration in the town’s fortunes. The arsenals and fortresses were abandoned and they were easily occupied by the French in

1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...

. When the war with

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

was over, many of the South American colonies chose to break apart from their mother country and the shipyards of Ferrol went into a serious decline losing most of its civilian, clergy and military population, and henceforth, by 1824, Ferrol had a population of just 10,000 civilian and about 6,000 military personnel (stationed locally if not permanently, at least during most of the year) with its mathematical school for marine artillerists, the pilot school, and Academy for the Guardas Marinas almost completely empty in contrast with the glorious years of abundance known before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Ferrol City

Ferrol only built two ships of the line between 1794 and 1845, although nine frigates and a considerable number of smaller warships were also built between these dates. And silent for half a century, it lost its title of capital under

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. However, there was a massive renovation during Cardinal Alberoni's leadership and in just a few years fourteen great line-of -battle-ships were launched. New activities sprang up and Ferrol was employing 2,000 workmen constantly on its foundries, now in full operation. A School of Naval Engineers was established where 40 pupils were learning the scientific principles of their profession, under a competent staff of instructors bred in England and France. So successful in bringing the worlds most advanced technologies was the administration of the Marquis de Molina, Spanish Minister for Naval affairs, that by 1858 the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol was launching Spain's first steam propelled ship which was the first iron-hulled too. The second half of the 19th century brought to the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol not just plenty of work but social and political tensions which ended up in the failed republican uprising of 1872. Steamers between Ferrol and the port of Havana in Spanish Cuba were operating frequently, back then, so, shipyard workers who got themselves into trouble with the local authorities in Ferrol, for one reason or another always thought of the Spanish Main as a possibility. Casa Pereira II

During this period, same as it is nowadays, and just like it was in the days of the Armada, the Bay of Ferrol always attracted and still attracts numerous ships seeking repairs or refuge after meeting with disaster or rough waters trying to cross the Bay of Biscay on bad weather. Such was the case of ''Cleopatra,'' carrying one of the two Cleopatra Needles, the one standing today on the Thames Embankment in London, UK. It arrived in Ferrol on 19 October 1877 after tragedy and almost sinking off the west coast of France five days earlier. There is a plaque commemorating the event and those who died to be seen at the base of the Needle in London. Ten years after the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

of 1898, in which Spain lost

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the Antonio Maura Government, in an attempt to restore the Spanish Navy and Spanish shipbuilding industry, hired the Spanish Society for Naval Construction, whose major investors were a British-Spanish-Association taking contracts In the following proportions: 40% Vickers Sons and Maxim, 30% Marquis of Comillas of the Spanish Transatlantic Company, 30% Biscay Furnace Company, all the previously state owned

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

yards,

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the onl ...

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and

dry docks A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

at Ferrol were handed over to the technical expertise of some of finest British shipbuilders: John Brown,

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

and Armstrong now in charge of building the new Spanish Fleet. For a period of sixteen years, all the technicians were exclusively British, and the situation was not altered till 1925 when the management was taken over by Spanish engineers, as one of the new policies introduced by the then newly created government, including ministers both civil and military, of the dictator

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...

(1923–1930). The arrival of the

coincided with the construction of a local electric-powered trolley streetcar's line (1924–1961). In sight of the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, and because there was fear of social unrest in the naval station, the Foreign Office in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, organized a ship to repatriate all the remaining British citizens and on 22 July 1936 HMS ''Witch'') departed from Ferrol back to Britain. At the outbreak of the

(1936–1939) the shipbuilding yards, workshops, foundries and dry docks in Ferrol were taken over by the state and fully

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

in 1945 under the name "Bazán", later renamed "IZAR", and, starting from January 2005,

. The town was the birthplace of Francisco Franco, after whom the city was officially known as ''El Ferrol del Caudillo'' from 1938 to 1982. The end of the Spanish State and the arrival of democracy in 1978 did not help Ferrol, and from 1982 to the early 1990s, the city confronted numerous problems due to a decline in the naval sector. The beginning of the new millennium however has been a time of economic expansion and prosperity in general. A new motorway and an outer-port have been built as well as numerous arcades and shopping centres mostly in the outskirts of the city between Ferrol and Naron which basically is the same metropolitan area and young shoppers with their families tend to make their big family shopping as well as weekend day out with the family attracted to all the amenities like bowling, cafeterias, fast food outlets, cinemas and sports facilities. The Spanish Squadron, as always have done from times immemorial, loves taking part in Naval demonstrations and at the beginning of the 21st century Ferrol hosted the large

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Maritime Exercise Loyal Mariner ( RN) back in June 2008. The Ferrol Terminus railway station, connecting Lugo to Ferrol, branching off from the line from Madrid to nearby Corunna, was sanctioned by the Cortes in Madrid as early as 1865 but it took many decades till its final inauguration in 1904. A century later more of the same happened with the High Speed Railway AVE; so it took as late as 2013 till inauguration day. From September 2017, a new local railway branch serving the outer-port of Ferrol (known as Canelinas-Ferrol container-port) the inside of the bay docks and the Ferrol Terminus railway station has been given a green light to start constructing and very soon operating I’m sure moving loads of modern containers in and out of Ferrol and distributing goods throughout Galicia and the rest of Spain and Europe. There was a similar small railway local branch operating here from the early years of the 20th century with the difference that at that time, Ferrol itself and its ports were intended solely for the Royal Navy and its shipyards, and henceforth not open to the general commerce per se, even though, historically, there have been many local exceptions like; PEMSA (Timber), PYSBE (Dry-Cod) and HISPANIA (Pencils) all three very good examples without forgetting: manufactures of hats,

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

, naval stores and hardware as well as other local items for export like: corn,

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, brandy,

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

pilchards "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 Ital ...

and herrings ''(and other produce of Ferrol's own fisheries)''

Climate

As in most of Galicia, Ferrol climate is a humid oceanic climate, characterised by year-long mild temperatures, rainy winters, and relatively dry summers, although slightly wetter than the typical Spanish

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 ...

during the summer season.

Demography

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.9) ImageSize = width:700 height:425 PlotArea = left: 60 bottom: 30 top: 20 right: 20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:100000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:20000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar: 1857 text: 1857 bar: 1877 text: 1877 bar: 1887 text: 1887 bar: 1900 text: 1900 bar: 1910 text: 1910 bar: 1920 text: 1920 bar: 1930 text: 1930 bar: 1940 text: 1940 bar: 1950 text: 1950 bar: 1960 text: 1960 bar: 1970 text: 1970 bar: 1981 text: 1981 bar: 1996 text: 1996 bar: 2000 text: 2000 bar: 2005 text: 2005 bar: 2010 text: 2010 bar: 2015 text: 2015 bar: 2021 text: 2021 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:center bar: 1857 from:18669 till: 0 bar: 1877 from:23848 till: 0 bar: 1887 from:25701 till: 0 bar: 1900 from:25281 till: 0 bar: 1910 from:26331 till: 0 bar: 1920 from:30350 till: 0 bar: 1930 from:35563 till: 0 bar: 1940 from:59829 till: 0 bar: 1950 from:77030 till: 0 bar: 1960 from:74766 till: 0 bar: 1970 from:87736 till: 0 bar: 1981 from:87691 till: 0 bar: 1996 from:83048 till: 0 bar: 2000 from:81255 till: 0 bar: 2005 from:77155 till: 0 bar: 2010 from:73638 till: 0 bar: 2015 from:69452 till: 0 bar: 2021 from:64785 till: 0 PlotData= bar: 1857 at: 18669 fontsize:S text: 18.669 shift:(0,5) bar: 1877 at: 23848 fontsize:S text: 23.848 shift:(0,5) bar: 1887 at: 25701 fontsize:S text: 25.701 shift:(0,5) bar: 1900 at: 25281 fontsize:S text: 25.281 shift:(0,5) bar: 1910 at: 26331 fontsize:S text: 26.331 shift:(0,5) bar: 1920 at: 30350 fontsize:S text: 30.350 shift:(0,5) bar: 1930 at: 35563 fontsize:S text: 35.563 shift:(0,5) bar: 1940 at: 59829 fontsize:S text: 59.829 shift:(0,5) bar: 1950 at: 77030 fontsize:S text: 77.030 shift:(0,5) bar: 1960 at: 74766 fontsize:S text: 74.766 shift:(0,5) bar: 1970 at: 87736 fontsize:S text: 87.736 shift:(0,5) bar: 1981 at: 87691 fontsize:S text: 87.691 shift:(0,5) bar: 1996 at: 83048 fontsize:S text: 83.048 shift:(0,5) bar: 2000 at: 81255 fontsize:S text: 81.255 shift:(0,5) bar: 2005 at: 77155 fontsize:S text: 77.155 shift:(0,5) bar: 2010 at: 73638 fontsize:S text: 73.638 shift:(0,5) bar: 2015 at: 69452 fontsize:S text: 69.452 shift:(0,5) bar: 2021 at: 65560 fontsize:S text: 64.785 shift:(0,5) Histogram of population evolution of Ferrol from 1877. (From: ''Censos de población INE'

Economy

# Primary sector of industry, Primary Industries –

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

( Horse Breeding), Aquaculture (

Fish Farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

( Specializing in the Atlantic Shoals), Important Mines (

ENDESA Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

), NTFPs (

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

Quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

and

Timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

. # Secondary Industries –

Shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

, Ship Engines,

Turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...

(Wind Mills and Ships), Electrical Equipment, Ironworks, Fashion ( Textiles), Food (

Canned Fish Canned or tinned fish are food fish which have been processed, sealed in an airtight container such as a sealed tin can, and subjected to heat. Canning is a method of preserving food, and provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five y ...

) and Wood-Made Products. # Tertiary Industries – Mercantile,

and Military Ports,

Restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

News Media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and ...

(Ferrol TV/ Diario de Ferrol),

Hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

(Barceló Almirante/Pazo Libunca),

Leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisur ...

and

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

( World Surf Competitions, Popular Transatlantic Steamships Stop),

Consulting A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

, Health Care/

Hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

(Arquitecto Marcide Hospital Complex),

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

(

Schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

, Colleges/ ESENGRA and

Universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

/ UNED/ PERITOS) and

Public Utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...

Franchises Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television ...

( main brand names and designer label's shops),

Wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

(Navy Suppliers/ Anton-Martin) and Retail Industries (

El Corte Inglés El Corte Inglés S.A. (), headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks third worldwide. Its primary source of sales is from department stores, followed by internet sales. It is a family business, with most s ...

/ Alcampo). # Quaternary Sector Industries – Naval, Electrical and Mechanical Equipment together with New Technologies.

Festivals

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Ferrol is twinned with: * Lugo, Spain, since 2000 *

Mondoñedo Mondoñedo () is a small town and municipality in the Galician province of Lugo, Spain. , the town has a population of 4,508. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. Despite being the core ...

, Spain, since 2004 *

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia, since 2010

Notable people

* Alonso Pita da Veiga * Andrés Suárez, singer-songwriter * Ángeles Alvariño Gozález (1916–2005), biologist and oceanographer (1916–2005) * Benito Vicetto Pérez (1824–1878), writer * Carlos Jean (born 1973), electronic musician and music producer * Concepción Arenal (1820–1893), writer, feminist activist * Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor y Zaragoza (1875–1960), painter * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), dictator of Spain from the

(1936–1939) to his death. * Frederick H. Shaw (1864–1924) * Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (1910–1999), writer * Ignacio Fernández Toxo (born 1952), ex general secretary of the national union CCOO and President of the

ETUC The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

* Jenaro Pérez Villaamil (1807–1854), painter * Jesús Vázquez Martínez (born 1965),

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

* José Canalejas Méndez (1854–1912), former

Spanish Prime Minister The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...

died in office * María Isabel Rivera Torres (born 1952), actress * Marquis of Amboage (1823–1892), multimillionaire and politician * Nacho Novo (born 1979), professional footballer *

Pablo Iglesias Posse Pablo Iglesias Posse (17 October 1850 – 9 December 1925) was a Spanish socialist and Marxist labour leader. He is regarded as the father of Spanish socialism, having founded the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in 1879 and the ...

(1850–1925), politician and founder of Spanish socialist party PSOE * Paloma Pérez-Lago González (born 1967), fashion model and TV presenter * Patricio Montojo y Pasarón (1839–1917), Spanish admiral during the

who was defeated at the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

* Paula Vázquez Picallo (born 1973), TV presenter and model *

Ramón Franco Ramón Franco Bahamonde (2 February 1896 – 28 October 1938), was a Spanish pioneer of aviation, a political figure and brother of later caudillo Francisco Franco. Well before the Spanish Civil War, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, both br ...

(1896–1938), aviator and brother of Francisco Franco * Ricardo Carvalho Calero, first ever professor of Galician literature and Linguistics –

University of Santiago de Compostela , established = , type = Public , budget = €228 million (2011) , rector = Prof. Dr. Antonio López Díaz , city = Santiago de Compostela , state = Galicia , country = Spain , undergrad = 23,835 , postgrad = 1,716 , doctoral = 2,697 ...

(1910–1990)

Notes

External links

*
Green Tourism in Northern Spain 2005

When I Was a Child in Ferrol, Spain (1953–65)
{{Authority control Municipalities in the Province of A Coruña Port cities and towns on the Spanish Atlantic coast Populated coastal places in Spain Spanish Navy