Ayamonte (; ) is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

belonging to 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 ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. It is located near the border with Portugal on the mouth of the

Guadiana River The Guadiana River ( , , , ) 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 la Mancha and the ea ...

. According to the 2015

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, the city had a population of 20,357 inhabitants.

History

In the municipality are located parts of the

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic site La Torre-La Janera which is assumed to date back to the 5th millennium BC. The town was seized away from Muslim control in 1240 during the reign of

Sancho II of Portugal Sancho II (; 8 September 1207 – 4 January 1248), nicknamed Afonso the Cowled or Afonso the Capuched (), alternatively, Afonso the Pious (), was King of Portugal from 1223 to 1248. Sancho was born in Coimbra, the eldest son of Afonso II of ...

, and it was donated afterwards to the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

. Ayamonte became part of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

in 1263. Fishing and salting of

tuna A tuna (: tunas or 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 bul ...

and

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

was already practised in Ayamonte since the Middle Ages. The town suffered due to the War with Portugal and the plague pandemics in the 17th century. In the following century, Catalans and other eastern merchants installed in the town and gave impetus to the local canning and salt industry.

Location

The township of Ayamonte preserves its old medieval quarter in the central district of the town, with many very narrow streets and historical buildings; this central area is a designated

car-free zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

. The beach area of Ayamonte is

Isla Canela Isla Canela is a small island located south of the town of Ayamonte, in Andalusia, Spain, in Province of Huelva. The mouth of the Guadiana River is next to the island, and Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a countr ...

and is reached by a causeway across the Marismas del Guadiana; the marismas (salt marshes) are a wildlife reserve, providing a home to many waterfowl, including herons and flamingos. Isla Canela is built along several kilometers of sandy beaches, and provides an area for windsurfing, kitesurfing and sailing. There are a number of golf courses in and around the area, including one built into the Marismas itself.

Transport

The ferry link between Ayamonte and

Vila Real de Santo António Vila Real de Santo António () is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km2. It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without territorial continuity: its ...

was the traditional crossing point between Spain and Portugal. A modern bridge over the

has now been built to the north of the town, linking the motorway systems of both countries, but the ferry still runs and provides an inexpensive mode of transport between the two countries.

Culture

The city is also famous for its local festivities, the "Fiestas de las Angustias", in honor of their patron "Nuestra Señora de las Angustias". The festivities in the beginning of September are a moment of celebration not only from the Ayamontin population, but also for many Andalucians, and Portuguese. The festivities are graced by the local band, "Banda Ciudad de Ayamonte" and the Portuguese "Banda da Sociedade Filarmónica Progresso e Labor Samouquense" from the Portuguese village of Samouco.

Sights

There are several historical monuments in the city, such as the 16th-century fortifications of the Baluarte de las Angustias, the 16th-century church of Nuestra Señora de las Angustias and the 17th-century church of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes. The Plaza de la Laguna, which dates back to the 18th century, is home to many ornate azulejo tiles.

Gallery

File:Ayamonte R02.jpg, Street in Ayamonte File:Ayamonte Street R02.jpg, Street in Ayamonte File:AyamontePaseoRibera.jpg, Paseo de la Ribera File:Ayamonte Paseo de la Ribera R01.jpg, Plaza de la Coronación File:Ayamonte El Salvador R01.jpg, El Salvador church File:Ayamonte Marina R01.jpg, Marina in Ayamonte File:Ayamonte R01.jpg, The bank of the Guadiana River File:Ayamonte by Night R01.jpg, Ayamonte during night

Climate

Ayamonte has a hot summer-mediterranean climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: Csa) with mild, somewhat wet winters and dry, hot summers. Autumn is the wettest season.

Demographics

People

* Antonio León Ortega (1907–1991),

Sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He had his professional education in Madrid and he created a personal style in the Andalusian imagery of the 20th century. *

María Isabel María Isabel López Rodríguez (born 4 January 1995), known professionally as María Isabel, is a Spanish singer. She rose to prominence after she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for with the song " Antes muerta que sencilla". ...

, singer.

References

External links

Ayuntamiento de Ayamonte
** changed to www.ayamonte.es **

- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía {{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Huelva Portugal–Spain border crossings