Ferrol (, ) is a city in the

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

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

in Galicia, Spain, located in the Rías Altas, in the vicinity of

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

's Cape Nerium (modern-day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city had a population of 64,785, making it the seventh-largest settlement in Galicia. With Eume to the south and Ortegal to the north, Ferrol forms the ''comarca'' of Ferrolterra. Around a hundred years ago, and earlier, the

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

, with its depth, capacity and overall safety, had few equals in Europe; its entrance was very narrow, commanded by forts, and could even be shut by a boom. Ferrol has been a major naval

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

centre for most of its history, being the capital of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

's Maritime Department of the North since the time of the early Bourbons. In the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

, Ferrol held the largest

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in Europe. Today, the city contains several major shipbuilding yards belonging to the

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

Group. Ferrol was the birthplace of the dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in 1892. The

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' ...

was officially named after him as "El Ferrol del

Caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

" from September 1938 to December 1982. It was also the birthplace of the founder of the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

(PSOE), Pablo Iglesias, in 1850. Ferrol is one of the starting points of the English Way of the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

. Due to the modern requirement that pilgrims must travel 100 km (approx. 62 mi) by foot in order to be officially recognised, the city is a preferential starting point for those traversing the English Way.

Toponym and etymology

The first historical mention of this settlement, then called ''Burum'' or ''Arotebrarum Portum'', appears in the history of

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...

, a Roman historian who in the year AD 43 detailing a description of the ''Portus Magnus Artabrorum'', the "great port of the Artabri". The current toponym Ferrol, though, can only be traced back to the Middle Ages; a document from 1087'' ''mentions sancto Iuliano de Ferrol, near the monastery of San Martín de Jubia (12th century, in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

), where Ferrol is probably the local evolution of the

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

form of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name Ferreolus; Ferrol was probably, in origin, the estate of one Ferreolus. In 1982 the government of Spain officially adopted the name Ferrol in accordance with its long history and tradition. Another theory about the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the name Ferrol posits some relation to the Latin word ''ferro'' (

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

), as the area has long been rich in metals, especially iron and tin, but also

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

. It is possible, since the bay of Ferrol was such a well guarded port, that the old

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

was named after the metal by traders reaching the enclave. Alternatively, the name may derive from the legend of a Breton saint, Ferreol, who supposedly arrived there on a ship amid a chorus of seven sirens. Another tradition says that Ferrol comes from farol, alluding to the heraldic figure that appears on the coat of arms of the city. However, according to experts, the coat of arms of Ferrol dates back only to the eighteenth century.

History

The existence of prehistoric human settlements in the area that would later become Ferrol is suggested by the abundance of burial chambers and megalithic monuments, as well as

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s and other archaeological findings. The

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

ns established in this area several dried and salted cod stations and their presence, together with that of the

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

, is well documented by such classical historians as

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

. In Roman times, in the 1st century BC, a fishing port existed which also traded in metals (like silver, gold, tin and iron), and wild horses. Near Ferrol there is a place called Naraío (famous for its medieval castle), whose name bears a

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

resemblance Strabo's Nerium,'' ''modern day Cape Prior. In ancient

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

, these parts of the

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

were dominated by the Artabri (or Arrotrebae), who gave their name to the Portus Magnus Artabrorum ("Great Port of the Artabri"), formed not only by the bay of Ferrol but the three rias of Ferrol, Betanzos and A Coruña. Ferrol was then, as it is today, a first class natural harbour in the treacherous waters of the Atlantic, and very well guarded. Historically, it has often been described as the best natural port in Europe. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

the whole

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, including Ferrol, was raided by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

and incorporated in 411 to the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia; their kingdom was incorporated in 584 by

Leovigild Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' ( Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic king of Hispania and Septimania from 569 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between t ...

to the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

. Following the collapse of the Suebic-Visigothic state, these

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

parts of Iberia saw very little change in comparison with other parts of the peninsula, becoming part of the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the nobleman Pelagius who traditionally has been described as being of Visigothic stock. Modern research is leaning towards the view that Pelagius was of Hispano-Roman ...

as early as 750AD. Over time, the Kingdom of Asturias would split into further Christian kingdoms, causing the area to change hands several times between Galicia, Leon, and finally Castile. Ferrol served as a strategic safe port during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

and sided with the House of Trastamara during the Castilian Civil War. As a personal reward to Fernan Perez de Andrade, in 1371,

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

gave the town to the powerful Andrade family. In 1568 a fire reduced the old medieval town to rubble; in the same period some parts of the existing fortifications at the entrance of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

were built. The town was considered more important as a royal arsenal at this time than as a harbour. With the arrival of the Bourbons in the 18th century, Ferrol became a leading naval centre. Ferrol was made capital of the Maritime Department of the North, formed under

Ferdinand VI Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

and

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

for the defence of the Spanish Colonial Empire in America. Rapid improvements followed, notably under the leadership of the Marquis of Ensenada, and the position of Ferrol was made almost unassailable from the sea, the difficulties of disembarking troops on its precipitous coast being strengthened by a renewed line of fortresses and newly built castles, including that of San Carlos. Ferrol-Iglesia de San Francisco 02

The Royal Dockyards of A Graña and Ferrol, built between 1726 and 1783, produced ships protected with copper sheets from the rolling mills of Xubia. In 1772, The Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers of Ferrol, the first such academy in Spain, was created. For the most laborious work, six hundred galley slaves were employed in the harbour. Ferrol is famous in the history of the struggle between the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

for being one of the only enclaves in the world, together with

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past ...

, that always resisted occupation successfully; Ferrol was virtually impossible to

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

in the

age of sail The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the int ...

, as strong westerly winds would take any blockading force away along the treacherous north coast of Spain towards the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), where they had no safe haven. The geography of Ferrol meant that an entire Spanish fleet could slip out on a single tide. By the time the British were able to resume the blockade, the Spanish would be safely away and out to sea. Despite these advantages, a decline set in during the reign of Charles IV, and in 1800, during the Ferrol Expedition, after the defences had been reduced, a British fleet of 109 vessels landed troops on the beach of Doniños to take the Castle of San Felipe. Although only equipped with meagre artillery, the castle's small defence force under the command Count Donadio, together with a sizable number of volunteer citizens of Ferrol, successfully resisted the attack and the fleet withdrew. The alliance with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

of 1808–1814 failed to prevent the deterioration in the town's fortunes. The arsenals and fortresses were abandoned and they were easily occupied by the French in 1809. When the war with

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

was over, many of the South American colonies chose to pursue independence from Spain and the shipyards of Ferrol went into a serious decline, losing most of their civilian, clergy and military population. By 1824, Ferrol had a population of just 10,000 civilians and about 6,000 military personnel (stationed locally, if not permanently, at least during most of the year). Its mathematical school for marine artillerists, the pilot school, and the Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers were almost completely empty, in stark contrast to the glorious years of abundance before the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

in 1805.

Ferrol built only two

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

between 1794 and 1845, although nine frigates and a considerable number of smaller warships were also constructed in this period. After half a century of decreased activity, it lost its title of capital under

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

. However, there was a massive renovation during the leadership of Cardinal Alberoni and in just a few years fourteen great line-of-battle-ships were launched. New activities sprang up and Ferrol was employing 2,000 workmen in its foundries, now in full operation. A School of Naval Engineers was established where 40 students were taught the scientific principles of their profession by competent instructors educated in England and France. So successful in bringing the world's most advanced technologies was the administration of the Marquis de Molina, the Spanish Minister for Naval affairs, that by 1858 the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol were launching Spain's first steam propelled ship, which was also its first iron-hulled sailing ship. The second half of the 19th century brought to the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol not only employment, but also concomitant social and political tensions, which culminated in the failed republican uprising of 1872. Steamers between Ferrol and the port of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Spanish Cuba were in frequent operation at the time, such that shipyard workers who got into trouble with the local authorities in Ferrol often fled to the

Spanish Main During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main was the collective term used by English speakers for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of ...

From the days of the Armada to the present, the Bay of Ferrol has attracted numerous ships seeking repairs or refuge after meeting with disaster or rough waters trying to cross the Bay of Biscay in bad weather. Such was the case of ''Cleopatra,'' carrying one of the two Cleopatra Needles, which stands today on the Thames Embankment in London, UK. It arrived in Ferrol on 19 October 1877 after almost sinking off the west coast of France five days earlier. A plaque commemorating the event and those who died can be seen at the base of the Needle in London. Ten years after the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

of 1898, in which Spain lost

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, the

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma de Mallorca, Palma, on the island of Mallorca, he was the seventh child in a family of t ...

government, in an attempt to restore the Spanish Navy and Spanish shipbuilding industry, hired the Spanish Society for Naval Construction, whose major investors were a British-Spanish conglomerate taking contracts In the following proportions: 40% Vickers Sons and Maxim, 30% Marquis of Comillas of the Spanish Transatlantic Company, and 30% Biscay Furnace Company. All the previously state-owned

yards,

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and

dry docks Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Rain#Deserts, Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Drynes ...

at Ferrol were handed over to the technical expertise of some of the finest British shipbuilders; John Brown,

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

and Armstrong were now in charge of building the new Spanish fleet. For a period of sixteen years, the technicians were exclusively British, and the situation was not altered till 1925, when management was taken over by Spanish engineers. This was one of the new policies introduced by the newly installed government of the dictator

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

(1923–1930). The arrival of the British coincided with the construction of a local

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

system (1924–1961). In view of the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, and due to the fear of social unrest in the naval station, the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

in London organized a ship to repatriate all the remaining British citizens. On 22 July 1936, HMS ''Witch'' left Ferrol bound for Britain. At the beginning of the war, the shipbuilding yards, workshops, foundries and dry docks in Ferrol were taken over by the state. They were fully nationalized in 1945 under the name "Bazán", later renamed "IZAR", and, from January 2005,

. The town was the birthplace of

, after whom the city was officially known as ''El Ferrol del Caudillo'' from 1938 to 1982. The end of the

Spanish State Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

and the arrival of democracy in 1978 did little to arrest Ferrol's economic decline, and from 1982 to the early 1990s, the city faced numerous problems due to the waning of the naval sector. The beginning of the new millennium, however, has been a time of economic expansion and prosperity in general. A new motorway and an outer-port have been built, as have numerous arcades and shopping centres, mostly in the outskirts of the city between Ferrol and Naron. Young shoppers and their families frequent the stores and enjoy weekend days out with amenities like bowling, cafeterias, fast food outlets, cinemas and sports facilities. The Spanish Navy Spanish Squadron still takes part in naval demonstrations and in June 2008 Ferrol hosted the large

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Maritime Exercise Loyal Mariner ( RN). The Ferrol Terminus railway station, connecting

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

to Ferrol, branching off from the line from

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to nearby A Coruña, was sanctioned by the Cortes in Madrid as early as 1865 but was not finally inaugurated until 1904. A century later, the High Speed

AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...

Railway suffered similar delays, eventually opening in 2013. In September 2017, a new local railway branch serving the outer port of Ferrol (known as the Canelinas-Ferrol container port), the inside of the bay docks and the Ferrol Terminus railway station was given the green light to begin construction, and aims to move large numbers modern containers in and out of Ferrol, distributing goods throughout Galicia and the rest of Spain and Europe. A small railway local branch operated here in the early years of the 20th century. At that time, Ferrol itself and its ports were intended solely for the Royal Navy and its shipyards, and hence were not open to the general commerce per se. Historically, however, there have been many exceptions, with local businesses including PEMSA (

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

), PYSBE (

dried and salted cod Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export of ...

) and HISPANIA (

pencils A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion (mechanical), abrasi ...

), in addition to manufacturers of hats,

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

and

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

, plus naval and hardware stores. Items such as

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

, pilchards and

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

s (and other produce from Ferrol's own fisheries) have also been exported.

Climate

Like much of Galicia, Ferrol has a humid

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

, characterised by year-long mild temperatures, rainy winters, and relatively dry summers, although it is slightly wetter than the typical Spanish

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

during the summer season.

Demographics

Economy

# Primary Industries –

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(

Horse Breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

Aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

(

Fish Farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

( Specializing in the Atlantic Shoals), Important Mines (

ENDESA Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

), NTFPs (

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

Quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

and

Timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

. # Secondary Industries –

Shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

, Ship Engines,

Turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

(Wind Mills and Ships),

Electrical Equipment Electrical devices or electric devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to operate their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contraste ...

Ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...

, Fashion (

Textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

), Food (

Canned Fish Canned or tinned fish are food fish which have been processed, sealed in an airtight container such as a sealed tin can, and subjected to heat. Canning is a method of preserving food, and provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five ...

) and Wood-Made Products. # Tertiary Industries –

Mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

and Military Ports,

Restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

News Media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

(Ferrol TV/ Diario de Ferrol),

Hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

(Barceló Almirante/Pazo Libunca),

Leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

and

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

( World Surf Competitions, Popular Transatlantic Steamships Stop),

Consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

Health Care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

Hospitals A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...

(Arquitecto Marcide Hospital Complex),

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

(

Schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

Colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

/ ESENGRA and

Universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

/ UNED/ PERITOS) and

Public Utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

Franchises Franchise may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Media franchise, a collection of related creative works, such as films, video games, books, etc., particularly in North American usage * "Franchise" (short story), a 1955 short story ...

( main brand names and designer label's shops),

Wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

(Navy Suppliers/ Anton-Martin) and Retail Industries (

El Corte Inglés El Corte Inglés S.A. is a Spanish department store chain founded in 1940 by Ramón Areces and César Rodríguez. It is the last such remaining in Spain and Portugal, and has been a member of the International Association of Department Stores s ...

Alcampo Alcampo is the 2nd biggest hypermarket chain in Spain. History The first store opened in 1981 in Utebo (Zaragoza) and it was Auchan's first establishment outside French territory. In August 2022, an agreement was announced with Dia for the pu ...

). # Quaternary Sector Industries – Naval, Electrical and Mechanical Equipment together with New Technologies.

Festivals

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Ferrol is twinned with: *

Águeda Águeda () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. According to the Portuguese 2011 census, the municipality of Águeda had 47,729 inhabitants, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 14,504 (2001 data), while the remainder is distri ...

, Portugal (1999) * Mondoñedo, Galicia, Spain (2004) *

, Galicia, Spain (2000) *

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km2. The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of ...

, Portugal (1973)

Notable people

* Alonso Pita da Veiga *

Andrés Suárez Andrés Suárez ( Ferrol, 16 April 1983) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. Biography At 14 years of age, Suárez started his first band in his hometown, Ferrol ( Galicia, Spain). Since then, he was involved in many different pop and rock bands ...

, singer-songwriter * Ángeles Alvariño González (1916–2005), biologist and oceanographer * Benito Vicetto Pérez (1824–1878), writer * Carlos Jean (born 1973), electronic musician and music producer * Concepción Arenal (1820–1893), writer, feminist activist * Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor y Zaragoza (1875–1960), painter *

(1892–1975), dictator of Spain from the

(1936–1939) to his death * Frederick H. Shaw (1864–1924) * Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (1910–1999), writer * Ignacio Fernández Toxo (born 1952), ex general secretary of the national union

CCOO The Workers' Commissions () since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), which is ...

and President of the ETUC *

Jenaro Pérez Villaamil Jenaro Pérez de Villaamil y d'Huguet (3 February 1807 – 5 June 1854) was a Spanish painter in the Romantic style who specialized in landscapes with figures and architectural scenes. He often inflated the scale of the buildings relative ...

(1807–1854), painter * Jesús Vázquez Martínez (born 1965), TV presenter * José Canalejas Méndez (1854–1912), former

Spanish Prime Minister The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers. In this sense, the prime minister establishes the Gove ...

died in office * María Isabel Rivera Torres (born 1952), actress * Marquis of Amboage (1823–1892), multimillionaire and politician * Nacho Novo (born 1979), professional footballer *

Pablo Iglesias Posse Pablo Iglesias Posse (17 October 1850 – 9 December 1925) was a Spanish socialist and Marxist labour leader. He is regarded as the father of Spanish socialism, having founded the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in 1879 and the Sp ...

(1850–1925), politician and founder of Spanish socialist party

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

* Paloma Pérez-Lago González (born 1967), fashion model and TV presenter * Patricio Montojo y Pasarón (1839–1917), Spanish admiral during the

who was defeated at the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay (; ), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squad ...

* Aurora Rodríguez Carballeira (1879–1955), woman who murdered her teenage daughter, conceived as a eugenics experiment * Paula Vázquez Picallo (born 1973), TV presenter and model *

Ramón Franco Ramón Franco Bahamonde (2 February 1896 – 28 October 1938) was a Spanish pioneer of aviation, a political figure and brother of later caudillo Francisco Franco. Well before the Spanish Civil War, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, both brot ...

(1896–1938), aviator and brother of Francisco Franco * Ricardo Carvalho Calero (1910–1990), academic at the University of Santiago de Compostela and the first ever professor of

Galician language Galician ( , ), also known as Galego (), is a Iberian Romance languages, Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, an Autonomo ...

and Galician literature * Ignacio Cabezón (1954-2021), politician

Notes

External links

*
Green Tourism in Northern Spain 2005

When I Was a Child in Ferrol, Spain (1953–65)
{{Authority control Municipalities in the Province of A Coruña Port cities and towns on the Spanish Atlantic coast Populated coastal places in Spain Spanish Navy