The province of A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical en, link=no, Corunna) is the northwesternmost province of

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") , i ...

, and one of the four provinces which constitute 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 Galicia. This province is surrounded by 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 ...

to the west and north, Pontevedra Province to the south and

Lugo Province Lugo is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, Pontevedra, and A Coruña, the principality of Asturias, the State of León, and in the nor ...

to the east.

History

The history of this province starts at the end of the

Middle Ages 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 a ...

during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. During those years this province was far smaller than today. This is because in the

1833 territorial division of Spain The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions" ( es, link=no, regiones históricas).Province of Betanzos together with half of the

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 ...

were amalgamated into one single province with its capital city in A Coruña. Since 1833, the province has always been the one with the largest population and largest coast. Until the second half of the 20th century, this province was both the religious and cultural centre of the entire region. The

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 ...

was the only university in North-western Spain until the arrival of democracy after the death of General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

Population

Since 1877

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1200 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:50 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-60,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till: 612 text: 612,402 bar:1887 from:0 till: 635 text: 635,327 bar:1900 from:0 till: 682 text: 681,895 bar:1910 from:0 till: 727 text: 726,697 bar:1920 from:0 till: 772 text: 772,363 bar:1930 from:0 till: 836 text: 835,906 bar:1940 from:0 till: 913 text: 912,662 bar:1950 from:0 till: 972 text: 971,641 bar:1960 from:0 till:1036 text:1,035,619 bar:1970 from:0 till:1031 text:1,030,745 bar:1980 from:0 till:1093 text:1,093,121 bar:1990 from:0 till:1097 text:1,096,966 bar:2000 from:0 till:1096 text:1,096,027 bar:2010 from:0 till:1141 text:1,141,286 bar:2020 from:0 till:1121 text: 1,121,815 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Main sights

The

cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...

is the destination of the

Way of St. James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostle ...

, a major historical

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

route since the

which still gathers thousands of pilgrims each year from all over the world.

Parks

* Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park
is the only

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in Galicia. It is shared between the Provinces of A Coruña and

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

. *

The "Fragas" of the River Eume Natural Park The Fragas do Eume is a natural park situated in north-west Spain. ''Fraga'' is a Galician word for "natural woodland", ( old-growth forest) and the park is an example of a temperate rainforest in which oak (''Quercus robur'' and ''Quercus pyre ...

extends itself throughout the

Eume O Eume is a comarca in the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. Its capital is the municipality of Pontedeume. It contains five municipalities and 24,629 inhabitantsINE 2018 in an area of 538.7 km2. Municipalities The five municipalities ...

and Ferrol regions of

Ferrolterra Ferrol is a coastal ''comarca'' in the northwest of the province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is also known as Ferrolterra. The area is 613.4 km2, and the overall population of this ''comarca'' was 161,154 at the 2011 Census; the latest offic ...

. *

The Dunes of Corrubedo Natural Park Dunes of Corrubedo Natural Park ( Galician: ''Dunas de Corrubedo e Lagoas de Carregal e Vixán'') is a natural park on the Atlantic coast of Spain. It is one of six natural parks in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is situated at the ve ...

(''Parque Natural das Dunas de Corrubedo e lagoas de Carregal e Vixán'') is a beach park at the very end of the Barbanza Peninsula.

Transport

Airports and airfields

* Aeroporto da Lavacolla in Santiago de Compostela * Aeroporto de Alvedro in the City of A Coruña * Heliporto da Graña in the Naval Base of A Graña (Ferrolterra) * Heliporto de Narón in Naron (

)

Railway

* Spanish National Railway Network Linking every major city: 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 ...

, A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela * Spanish Narrow-Gauge Railways Linking the City of Ferrol with different towns of Ferrol and

Ortegal Ortegal is a ''comarca'' in the north of the Galician Province of A Coruña, Spain. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, the Province of Lugo to the east, the comarca of O Eume O Eume is a comarca in the province o ...

. This line is also known as Ferrol-

Irun Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as ...

( Basque Country) * Spanish High Speed Railway Network (AVE) Linking most major cities of the province with

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

is under construction.

Economy

Ports

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 ...

– ''Major Commercial Port'' – Rías Altas * Malpica – ''Fishing Port'' – Costa da Morte *

Camariñas Camariñas is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Terra de Soneira. An important fishing center, it is renowned all over Spain by the bobbin lace wo ...

– ''Fishing Port'' – Costa da Morte *

Fisterra Fisterra (; es, Finisterre) is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Fisterra. Fisterra is on Cape Finisterre, the final destination for many pilgrims on the Wa ...

– ''Fishing Port'' – Costa da Morte * Ferrol – ''Major Commercial Ports'' (also:

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

) – Rias altas *

Cariño Cariño is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is situated in the north of the province and located on the Ría de Ortigueira y Ladrido (Ortigueira and Ladrido tidal inlet) ...

– ''Fishing Port'' – Rias altas * Espasante – ''Fishing Port'' – Rias altas *

Cedeira Cedeira is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is situated in the northern coast of the Rías Altas. Cedeira has a population of 7,412 inhabitants ( INE, 2010). Parroquias * ...

– ''Fishing Port'' – Rias altas

Sport

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

Spanish Segunda Division team from the City of A Coruña. * Racing Club de Ferrol Spanish Segunda Division team from the City of Ferrol. *

SD Compostela Sociedad Deportiva Compostela is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Santiago de Compostela, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. They play home matches at ''Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro'', and ...

Spanish Tercera Division team from the City of Santiago de Compostela. *

Atlético Arteixo Club Atlético Arteixo is a Spanish football team based in Arteixo, A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1949 it currently plays in Tercera División RFEF, holding home games at ''Campo Municipal Ponte dos Brozos'', with ...

Spanish Segunda Division team from the Municipality of Arteixo. *

Bergantiños FC Bergantiños Fútbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Carballo, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1923, it plays in Segunda División RFEF - Group 1, playing home matches at '' Estadio As Eiroas'', ...

Spanish Tercera Division team from the Municipality of Carballo. *

SD Negreira Sociedad Deportiva Negreira is a Spanish football team based in Negreira, in the autonomous community of Galicia.Founded in 1964, it plays in Tercera División – Group 1, holding home matches at ''Estadio Xesús García Calvo'', with a capacit ...

Spanish Tercera Division team from the Municipality of Negreira. * Autos Lobelle de Santiago FS Spanish División de Honor of Futsal team from the City of Santiago de Compostela.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A Coruna, Province of