Es Mercadal 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 go ...
in northern
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
in the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
.
Etymology
The name "Mercadal" derives from the
Latin language
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...
''mercatum'', meaning "market". In 1301, King
James II of Majorca
James II ( ca, Jaume) (31 May 1243 – 29 May 1311) was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife, Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary. In 1279, by the Trea ...
decreed the establishment of a public center of commerce in Menorca, and the bustling open-air marketplace remains a principal attraction of the island to this day.
Features
Mercadal is dominated by Mount Toro (
El Toro El Toro, Spanish for "the bull", may refer to:
Geography
* El Toro (Mallorca), a neighbourhood in the municipality of Calvià on the island of Mallorca
* El Toro, Castellón, a town in Castellón, Spain
* El Toro (Jujuy), a rural municipality and ...
), the highest point on the island. In mid-July, Mercadal is the site of traditional Menorcan festivities dedicated to the Roman Catholic saint Martin (Sant Martí).
References
External links
Mercadal's Town Hall Web page
Municipalities in Menorca
Populated places in Menorca
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