Granada is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of southern

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") , ...

, in the eastern part of the autonomous community 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 ...

. It is bordered by the provinces of

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, t ...

, Murcia,

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

, Jaén, Córdoba,

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most po ...

, and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

(along the Costa Tropical). Its capital city is also called Granada. The province covers an area of . Its population was 921,338 , of whom about 30% live in the capital, and its average

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is . It contains 170 municipalities.

Geography

The tallest mountain in 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 ...

, Mulhacén, is located in Granada. It measures . The next highest mountains in the province are Veleta () and Alcazaba (). The river Genil, which rises in Granada, is one of the main tributaries of the Guadalquivir. Other important rivers include the Fardes, Monachil, Guadalfeo, Dílar, Ízbor, Verde and Darro. Granada shares the Sierra Nevada National Park (in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

mountain range) with Almería province. Another important range is the Sierra de Baza. The northern part of the province, comprising the districts of Baza and Huescar is known as the Granada Altiplano.

Important monuments

The Alhambra World Heritage Site, Granada's biggest tourist attraction, showcases one of the very finest architectural legacies of Moorish rule in Spain, which in Granada lasted from 711 until 1492. There are

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

cathedrals at Granada and Guadix. The Royal Chapel of Granada houses the remains of the Catholic Monarchs,

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

(1451–1504) and

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia fro ...

(1452–1516); as well as of their daughter Joanna of Castile (1479-1555) and of her husband Philip the Handsome (1478-1506).

Economy

* Tourism The coast of Granada province is known as the Costa Tropical. It attracts large numbers of both Spanish and foreign holiday-makers. The main resorts are Almuñecar,

Salobreña Salobreña (, < Phoenician ''Salambina Salawbiniya'') is a town on the ''

Costa Tropical

'' in

and

La Herradura La Herradura is a seaside resort on Spain's Costa Tropical, part of the borough of Almuñécar, in the province of Granada, Andalucía. It is on Granada's south-western coast, 70 kilometres east of Málaga. History La Herradura's first settler ...

. The city of Granada brings in tourists from all over the world thanks to its

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The ...

, especially the famous Alhambra palace. In the winter the mountains of the

play host to Europe's most southerly ski resort. Hiking and eco-tourism also attract a number of visitors to areas such as the Alpujarras and Lecrin Valley. * Major employers Puleva: founded in Granada in 1910, the company has been a subsidiary of the

Lactalis Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

group since 2001. It produces a wide range of dairy products, including milk and milkshakes, cream and products for infants. Puleva Biotech S.A. developed the first infant formula to contain nucleotides, and was a pioneer in the use of Omega-3 fatty acids in infant food products. Coviran: supermarket chain which operates on a franchise basis, specialising in small, neighbourhood shops. It has 2,501 supermarkets across the whole of Spain and Portugal. * University and language students The

University of Granada The University of Granada ( es, Universidad de Granada, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Ap ...

is one of the largest universities in Spain, with approximately 56,000 students. Each year the city also attracts over 10,000 foreign students, including over 2,000 European students through the Erasmus programme. As well as providing employment to a large number of people, the university also boosts the local economy by creating demand for rental property. The money spent by students also helps to support shops, restaurants, bars and other services in the city. In recent years the university has also been working to capitalise on the research it does through commercial ventures. * Other Primary industries such as agriculture and fishing play an important role in the local economy. There was previously also a very large construction sector, but as of 2011 it was experiencing a deep downturn. The Granada Health Science Technological Park has created some high-skilled jobs in the biotechnology sector.

Population development

The historical population is given in the following chart: 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:28 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1000 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:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:478 text:478,092 bar:1887 from:0 till:483 text:482,787 bar:1900 from:0 till:494 text:494,449 bar:1910 from:0 till:527 text:526,865 bar:1920 from:0 till:580 text:580,338 bar:1930 from:0 till:656 text:656,396 bar:1940 from:0 till:747 text:747,381 bar:1950 from:0 till:793 text:793,338 bar:1960 from:0 till:777 text:777,112 bar:1970 from:0 till:742 text:741,659 bar:1980 from:0 till:759 text:758,618 bar:1990 from:0 till:791 text:790,515 bar:2000 from:0 till:822 text:821,660 bar:2010 from:0 till:922 text:922,100 bar:2020 from:0 till:921 text:921,338 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Geography

Important monuments

Economy

Population development

See also

Notes and references

External links