Huelva
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Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of 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 ...
in the
autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...
of
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 t ...
. It is between two short
ria A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...
s though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the
Gulf of Cádiz The Gulf of Cádiz ( es, Golfo de Cádiz, pt, Golfo de Cádis) is the arm of the Atlantic Ocean between Cabo de Santa Maria, the southernmost point of mainland Portugal and Cape Trafalgar at the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar. Two maj ...
coast. The rias are of the
Odiel The Odiel ( es, Río Odiel) is a river in the Atlantic basin in southern Spain, more precisely in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. It originates at Marimateos in the Sierra de Aracena at an elevation of above sea level. At the Punta del S ...
and
Tinto Tinto is an isolated hill in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It comprises little more than one top, which stands on the west bank of the River Clyde, some west of Biggar. The peak is also called "Tinto Tap", with the name Tinto possibly de ...
rivers and are good
natural harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
s. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 149,410. Huelva is home to
Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...
, the oldest football club in Spain. While the existence of a pre-Phoenician settlement within the current urban limits since circa 1250 BC has been tentatively defended by scholars,
Phoenicians 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 ...
established a stable colony roughly by the 9th century BC.


History


Protohistory

At least up to the 1980s and 1990s, the mainstream view was that Huelva at first was an autochthonous Tartessian settlement (even the very same Tartessos mentioned in Greek sources) yet some later views tended to rather stress a pluri-ethnic enclave mixing natives with peoples with a mainly Phoenician and later Greek extraction. However, following the (unsystematic) finding of Phoenician archaeological materials in the Méndez Núñez-Las Monjas site, the chronology as to the Phoenician presence was reassessed. The evidence favours viewing Huelva-Onoba as a very early Phoenician colony, a development which was parallel to a certain "dismantling" of the idea of Tartessos as a mainly autochthonous archaeological culture, even though the tentative identification of Huelva with Tartessos was not discarded, but the contrary. It has been also identified with the biblical
Tarshish Tarshish ( Phoenician: ''TRŠŠ'', he, תַּרְשִׁישׁ ''Taršīš'', , ''Tharseis'') occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings, most frequently as a place (probably a large city or region) far across the sea from Phoen ...
. First contacts in terms of local
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 ...
n presence have been hypothesised to have taken place as early as 1015 to 975 BCE. However remains such as those found in the Méndez Núñez-Las Monjas go so far as to likely prove a Phoenician settlement of the 9th century BCE, especially to resemble a founding date of a Tyrian settlement from the reign of
Ithobaal I Ithobaal I ', 1 Kings 16:31; grc, Εἰθώβαλος ''Eithobalos'') is the name of a 9th-century BCE king of Tyre mentioned in the story of Jezebel from the Hebrew Bible, and in a citation by Josephus of a list of the kings of Tyre put together ...
between 875 and 850, although the Méndez Núñez-Las Monjas' items have been also brought forward to consider a 10th-century BCE chronology in the era of
Hiram I Hiram I ( Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤌 ''Ḥirōm'' "my brother is exalted"; Hebrew: ''Ḥīrām'', Modern Arabic: حيرام, also called ''Hirom'' or ''Huram'') was the Phoenician king of Tyre according to the Hebrew Bible. His regnal years have b ...
(c. 975–950). The outpost was presumably primarily populated by continental Phoenicians, with some possible addition of the likes of
Eteocypriot Eteocypriot is an extinct pre-Indo-European language that was spoken in Cyprus by the pre-Hellenic population until the Iron Age. The name means "true" or "original Cypriot" parallel to Eteocretan, both of which names are used by modern scholars ...
s, Cypriot Phoenicians and Sardinian Phoenicians. As a Phoenician outpost, it facilitated local exports such as
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 ...
,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, purple dye and
salted fish Salted fish, such as kippered herring or dried and salted cod, is fish cured with dry salt and thus preserved for later eating. Drying or salting, either with dry salt or with brine, was the only widely available method of preserving fish u ...
, while it also served as node in the trade routes connecting the Northern Atlantic, the Southern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Population notably increased from the mid-8th century BCE onward, possibly connected to the arrival of refugees fleeing from
Tiglath-Pileser III Tiglath-Pileser III ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "my trust belongs to the son of Ešarra"), was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to his death in 727. One of the most prominent and historically significant Assyrian kings, T ...
and overall from the economic crisis and social unrest induced by the
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...
subjugation of the Levant. It was called ''ʿunʿu baʿl'' ("
Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...
's fort") by the Phoenicians, which in most
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
texts corrupted to (''Onoba''). The Tartessian world entered a crisis in the 6th century BCE. The transition from the Tartessian period to the ensuing Turdetani period was presumably slow and not traumatic, degenerating from an economy based on mining to a new one rather focused on the trade of agricultural and fishing products. It was in the hands of the
Turdetani The Turdetani were an ancient pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula, living in the valley of the Guadalquivir (the river that the Turdetani called by two names: ''Kertis'' and ''Rérkēs'' (Ῥέρκης); Romans would call the river by th ...
at the time of conquest by
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, and before the conquest it issued silver coins with Iberian legends.


Antiquity

The place was called both ''Onoba Æstuaria'' or ''Onuba'' (used on coinage) during Roman times, or, simply, ''Onoba''. It was put in the Roman province of Hispania Bætica. According to the Antonine Itinerary: it was a maritime town between the Anas, (modern
Guadiana 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 ...
) and Bætis (modern
Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gul ...
); it was on the estuary of the Luxia (modern
Odiel The Odiel ( es, Río Odiel) is a river in the Atlantic basin in southern Spain, more precisely in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. It originates at Marimateos in the Sierra de Aracena at an elevation of above sea level. At the Punta del S ...
), and on the road from the mouth of the Anas to Augusta Emerita (modern Mérida). There are still some Roman remains. Huelva hosted a mint; and many coins have been found there bearing the name of the town as Onuba.


Middle ages

Soon after the beginning of the Umayyad invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711, ''Onuba'' was seized by the troops of
Musa ibn Nusayr Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa ( Ifriqiya), and dire ...
by April 712. Within a few decades, to both the broader Islamic world and the conquered locals, the town's name had corrupted to ولبة (''Walba''). During the
fitna of al-Andalus The Fitna of al-Andalus ( ar, فتنة الأندلس; 1009–1031) was a period of instability and civil war that preceded the ultimate collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba. It began in the year 1009 with a coup d'état which led to the assas ...
a weak and ephemeral
taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...
emerged following the demise of local Umayyad control: the bakrid
taifa of Saltés and Huelva The Taifa of Saltés and Huelva () was a medieval ArabKennedy, Hugh (2014). Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus. Routledge. . taifa kingdom that existed in southern Iberia from around 1012 to 1051. From 1051 until 109 ...
, from 1012 to 1051. In the latter year it was annexed by the more powerful
Taifa of Seville The Taifa of Seville ( ''Ta'ifat-u Ishbiliyyah'') was an Arab kingdom which was ruled by the Abbadid dynasty. It was established in 1023 and lasted until 1091, in what is today southern Spain and Portugal. It gained independence from the Caliph ...
, to be later occupied by the Almoravids in 1091. By 1262, Huelva—then part of the
Taifa of Niebla The Taifa of Niebla () was an Arab taifa kingdom that existed during three distinct time periods: from 1023 to 1053, from 1145 to 1150 and from 1234 to 1262. From 1053 until 1091 it was under the forcible control of Taifa of Seville, by Abbad I ...
—was taken by
Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...
. From 1265 onward, Huelva enjoyed an exemption from the ''portazgo'' tribute, portage tax (a
customs duty A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and po ...
). Following the Christian conquest, the town became a ''realengo'' ('royal demesne') for a brief spell until it was ceded in Lordship to Admiral in 1293 by Sancho IV of Castile. After a spell during which Huelva was probably controlled by Seville, the tenency of the lordship was passed to several lords, including Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán—brother of
Eleanor de Guzmán Leonor (Eleanor) de Guzmán y Ponce de León (1310–1351) was a Castilian noblewoman. After roughly 1330, she became the long-term mistress and favourite of Alfonso XI, with whom she had the illegitimate Henry "the Fratricidal", future first mona ...
—(in 1338) and
Juan Alfonso de la Cerda Juan Alfonso de la Cerda (1295 – August 7, 1347) was Lord of Gibraleón, Huelva, Real de Manzanares and Deza. He was the son of Alfonso de la Cerda, grandson of Ferdinand de la Cerda. His mother was Matile of Brienne, daughter of John I of ...
(). Huelva, again a ''realengo'' for a short time during the reign of
Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
, saw its privileges confirmed and was granted the right to choose the ''alcalde'' and the ''alguacil'' in 1351. The lordship was soon given to King's Mistress
María de Padilla María Díaz de Padilla ( 1334 –Seville, July 1361) was the mistress of King Peter of Castile. Family She was a Castilian noblewoman, daughter of Juan García de Padilla (died between 1348 and 1351) and his wife María de Henestrosa (d ...
.


Early modern history

It suffered substantial damage in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Huelva became a leading fishing town in Andalusia in the 16th century (thriving in the
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 ...
and
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 len ...
markets). The town became a provincial capital in 1833.


Modern history

Mines in the countryside send
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...
to the Huelva's port for export. From about 1873, the greatest locally was
Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...
, the British mining firm, catered to technological breakthroughs on both sides of the Atlantic using copper of high quality such as for electrics and alloys.Ben Macintyre, Operation Mincemeat; How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, Harmony Books, Chapter 8 Huelva acquired the status of city (''ciudad'') by means of a royal decree from 17 September 1876. The ore smelting caused severe sulfur dioxide pollution and were frequently accompanied by protests of local farmers, peasants and miners, allied under the anarchist syndicalist leader Maximiliano Tornet. On 4 February 1888, the Pavi Regiment of the Spanish Army opened fire on demonstrators at the village plaza of Rio Tinto. Historians estimate the number of deaths between 100 and 200.David Avery, Not on Queen Victoria's Birthday: The Story of the Rio Tinto Mines, Collins, London, 1974. p. 207; 6, pp. 83 ff. Environmentalists from and defending the nearby Nerva village referred to 1888 as the "year of shots" a hundred years later in their protests against the province government's plans to site a large waste dump in a disused mine in the 1990s.Joan Martinez-Alier, Mining conflicts, environmental justice, and valuation, in Journal of Hazardous Materials 86 (2001) 153–170 The local football club,
Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...
was founded in 1889 by workers of Rio Tinto Group. Nicknamed the "Decano" (dean, widower, or the feminine loan word "doyenne" being the main translation in other contexts) of Spanish football, it is the longest (active) football club in the country. The 17–18 July 1936 military coup d'état that started 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 ...
failed in the city and much of the province. However, on 27 July 500 ''guardias civiles'' rose in arms against the Republic in the city, with the authorities escaping and later being shot down. Two days later, on 29 July, a rebel column from Seville on behalf of
Gonzalo Queipo de Llano Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra (5 February 1875 – 9 March 1951) was a Spanish military leader who rose to prominence during the July 1936 coup and then the Spanish Civil War and the White Terror. Biography A career army man, Queipo de Lla ...
took control of the city. For the rest of the conflict it remained to the rear of the zone controlled by the
Rebel faction The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup ...
. The ensuing
Francoist repression In the history of Spain, the White Terror ( es, Terror Blanco; also known as the Francoist Repression, ''la Represión franquista'') describes the political repression, including executions and rapes, which were carried out by the Nationalist ...
took a heavy toll, with an estimated total of deaths all over the province for the rearguard and post-war repression. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the city was a hub of espionage activities led by members of the large British and German communities. German activity centered on reporting British shipping moving in and out of the Atlantic. Most famously, the outskirts was where
Operation Mincemeat Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating ...
allowed a body carrying false information to wash ashore. 25 years after the city was declared a ''Polo de Desarrollo Industrial'' ("Pole of Industrial Development") in 1964, the population had nearly doubled. On 11 October 2005,
Hurricane Vince Hurricane Vince was an unusual hurricane that developed in the northeastern Atlantic basin. Forming in October during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, it strengthened over waters thought to be too cold for tropical development. Vince was the ...
made landfall in Huelva as a tropical/subtropical depression.


Geography

;Location Huelva is in the Southwest of the
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 ...
, in the
Gulf of Cádiz The Gulf of Cádiz ( es, Golfo de Cádiz, pt, Golfo de Cádis) is the arm of the Atlantic Ocean between Cabo de Santa Maria, the southernmost point of mainland Portugal and Cape Trafalgar at the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar. Two maj ...
, facing the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. The coastline straddling along the Gulf of Cádiz is known as
Costa de la Luz The Costa de la Luz (, "Coast of Light") is a section of the Andalusian coast in Spain facing the Atlantic. It extends from Tarifa in the south, along the coasts of the Province of Cádiz and the Province of Huelva, to the mouth of the Guadiana ...
. The city lies next to the estuary formed by the confluence of the
Odiel The Odiel ( es, Río Odiel) is a river in the Atlantic basin in southern Spain, more precisely in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. It originates at Marimateos in the Sierra de Aracena at an elevation of above sea level. At the Punta del S ...
and
Tinto Tinto is an isolated hill in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It comprises little more than one top, which stands on the west bank of the River Clyde, some west of Biggar. The peak is also called "Tinto Tap", with the name Tinto possibly de ...
, sandwiched in between both rivers. A rather wide estuary in ancient times, the estuary of Huelva progressively silted up to a large extent.


Transportation

Huelva is home to Grupo Damas, a provincial bus company. Huelva's train station is now a shadow of its former self, and exists on a spur line. There are no trains to Portugal. The
Port of Huelva The Port of Huelva is a cargo and fishing port located off the Spanish southwestern coast, belonging to the municipalities of Huelva and Palos de la Frontera. With a total annual traffic capacity of 33.8 million tonnes, it is the second biggest por ...
hosts Naviera Armas' ferry ''Volcan del Teide'', on which one can travel weekly to Arrecife and
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...
. Huelva does not have an airport. The closest airports to the city are
Faro Airport Faro Airport ( pt, Aeroporto de Faro, ), officially Gago Coutinho Airport (''Aeroporto Gago Coutinho''), is located westAI of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965 being the main gateway to the year-round resort region of the Al ...
(93 km as the crow flies) and
Seville Airport Seville Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Sevilla) is the sixth busiest inland airport in Spain. It is the main international airport serving Western Andalusia in southern Spain, and neighbouring provinces. The airport has flight connections to 42 de ...
(95 km).


Demographics

Huelva had a population of 149,410 in 2010. The city experienced a population boom in the nineteenth century, due to the exploitation of mineral resources in the area, and another with the construction of the Polo de Desarrollo in the 1960s. It had a population of 5,377 inhabitants in 1787, which had risen to only 8,519 by 1857. From 1887, the city experienced rapid growth, reaching 21,539 residents in 1900, 56,427 in 1940, and 96,689 in 1970. Rapid expansion occurred in the following decades and the population reached 141,479 by 1991. In the last ten years, immigration both from abroad and from the surrounding area have sustained population growth. In 2007, the city reached the 145,000 mark, while the metropolitan area had nearly 232,000 inhabitants, encompassing the surrounding areas of Aljaraque,
Moguer Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2022 census, it has a population of 22,623. Its surface area is , and its population density is . The present site of Moguer had been h ...
,
San Juan del Puerto San Juan del Puerto, Spain is a municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Lat ...
,
Punta Umbría Punta Umbría is a town and municipality in the province of Huelva, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is a fishing village located on the banks of the Rio Odiel river and across the water from the capital, Huelva. It is ...
,
Gibraleón Gibraleón is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. ...
, and
Palos de la Frontera Palos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva. According to the 2015 census, the cit ...
. The 2006 census recorded a foreign population of almost 5,000 people in the urban centre, the majority of whom were of Moroccan origin.


Climate

Huelva and its metropolitan area have a
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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Csa''), characterized by mild and wet winters and long warm to hot and dry summers. The average annual temperature is during the day and at night. The average annual precipitation is per year, there are about 52 rainy days per year. Extreme temperatures have been recorded on 25 July 2004 and recorded on 28 January 2005 at Ronda Este. Huelva is warmer than places on the immediate coastline, with cooler maritime air warming up in summer over the river delta.


Artists

The most well-known artists in Huelva have been: the poet and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Juan Ramón Jiménez Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón (; 23 December 1881 – 29 May 1958) was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which in the Spanish language constitutes an example of high ...
, the sculptor Antonio León Ortega, the writer
Nicolas Tenorio Cerero Nicolas Tenorio Cerero (28 December 1863 – 1 December 1930) was a Spanish writer, historian, politician and judge. Early life Nicolas was born in Villalba del Alcor, Spain. Orphaned at age 5, Cerero moved to Seville. He studied at the Univers ...
and the painter
Daniel Vázquez Díaz Daniel Vázquez Díaz (January 15, 1882 – March 17, 1969) was a Spanish painter. Biography Born in Nerva, Spain, Vázquez Díaz settled in Paris in 1918, where he found cubism to be the ideal form of expression. Unlike other artists such as ...
.
Other outstanding artists from Huelva include the painters José Caballero, Pedro Gómez y Gómez, Antonio Brunt, Mateo Orduña Castellano, Pablo Martínez Coto, Manuel Moreno Díaz, Juan Manuel Seisdedos Romero, Francisco Doménech, Esperanza Abot, José María Labrador, Sebastián García Vázquez, Pilar Barroso, Juan Carlos Castro Crespo, Lola Martín, Antonio Gómez Feu, Rafael Aguilera, and Florencio Aguilera Correa. Miguel Báez y Espun

called ''el Litri'', is a retired bullfighter very famous from Huelva, his son, named Miguel Báez :es:Miguel_Báez_Spínola_"El_Litri", Spínola, was also a very renowned bullfighter retired in 1999.


Events

* Carnaval, fiesta *
Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva The Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival ( es, links=no, Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva), held since 1975 in Huelva, Spain, is the oldest film festival in Europe dedicated to the Ibero-American cinema. During the first editions, it was ...
* Columbian Festivals, fiesta first week of August * Fiestas de la Cinta, between 3–8 September * San Sebastián, festival 20 January * Semana Santa (Easter Week) * Virgen de la Cinta, fiesta 8 September * El Rocio Romeria pilgrimage, every seventh August, a statue of the Virgin of el Rocio travels at night from El Rocio to Almonte.


Nearby

Near Huelva lay ''Herculis Insula'', mentioned by Strabo (iii. p. 170), called by Steph. B. (''s. v.''), now '' Isla Saltés'' ("Saltes Island").


Twin towns – sister cities

Huelva is twinned with: *
Borgomezzavalle Borgomezzavalle is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont. As of 2019 the population was 320. It was established on 1 January 2016 by the merger of the municipalities of Seppiana and Viga ...
, Italy *
Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
, Spain * Faro, Portugal *
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, United States *
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, Canada


See also

*
Costa de la Luz The Costa de la Luz (, "Coast of Light") is a section of the Andalusian coast in Spain facing the Atlantic. It extends from Tarifa in the south, along the coasts of the Province of Cádiz and the Province of Huelva, to the mouth of the Guadiana ...


References

;Informational notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * *


References

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External links


Información sobre la Sierra de Aracena


– Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía

Andalucia Destination
Huelva municipal government
Official Website

Andalucia Destination
Port Authority of Huelva
Official web page with information about the port, its history and technical characteristics.

** **

Juntadeandalucia.es. Juan David Ayllón Burguillo
Doñana Natural Park

Sierra de Aracena Natural Park
{{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Huelva Phoenician colonies in Spain Roman sites in Spain