Cantabria Tourist Information
Cantabria is a small autonomous community centered around the port of
Santander on the northern coast of Spain. It is bordered by Asturias to the
west, the Basque Country to the east and Castilla y León to the south.
Geography of Cantabria
The natural boundaries of Cantabria are the Bay of Biscay to the north and
the Cantabrian Mountains and the Picos de Europa to the south. The impressive
mountain range is broken by fast flowing rivers which carve out some spectacular
valleys and form bays and estuaries upon reaching the Bay of Biscay. One river
though, the Ebro – which some say gave its name to the Iberian Peninsula - rises
here and flows south-east to reach the Mediterranean in its delta in southern
Catalonia. The mountains form a natural division between Green Spain of the
north and the more traditional landscape and weather of the remainder of the
country.
History of Cantabria
The famous cave paintings of Altamira show that there were people living here
at least 15,000 years ago and there is other evidence to support this. The
Cantabrians were known to have given fierce resistance to the Roman occupiers of
Hispania; the Romans never being able to do much more than rule the cities they
had captured. When, in 409, Roman influence subsided, Cantabria was able to
assert its independence until the Visigoths, in 574, under the leadership of
King Lievigild, created the Duchy of Cantabria and used it as a frontier zone
for their territory. As with the Roman occupation, though, many Cantabrians fled
outside the controlled areas to continue to live their independent lives. Map of Cantabria
 |
However, when a mixed Berber and Arab invasion force took over the Cantabrian
capital city of Amaya, many local inhabitants joined forces with the
neighbouring Kingdom of Asturias. One of the consequences of this became that,
for many years, Cantabria lost its own political identity – being swallowed up
and looked upon as just the coastal part of Castile. Although references to
Cantabria remained, it was not until 1727 that there was an unsuccessful attempt
to recreate the geographical unity of the region. What had become known as ‘the
nine valleys’ became constituted as the Province of Cantabria in 1778, but there
was still dispute about the official name as Santander, the capital, was
continuing to insist in 1821 that its name should be used for the whole area.
Just when it looked as if the old name of Cantabria was likely to be
re-introduced formally again, the Civil War began, and at its conclusion Franco
insisted that the area was to be known as the Province of Santander.
It was not until 1982 that the autonomous community of Cantabria became fully
recognised as a region.
Language in Cantabria
The only official language of the region is Castilian Spanish although there
are a few people in the areas of the Pas and Soba valleys who still speak a
Mountain Language known as Cantabrian although it has no official recognition at
all.
Economy of Cantabria
Two thirds of Cantabria’s working population is now employed in the service
sector, which underlines the changes in the region during the past half century.
Tourism has developed, along with the growing percentage of the population that
live in and around the urban centres. The traditional cattle rearing and diary
farming, whilst still important, cannot sustain the numbers of employees it once
did. The area also grows a considerable amount of potatoes, corn and other
vegetables and there is a thriving fishing industry.
Cantabria is also a centre for paper production, textiles and the chemical
industry. Flag of Cantabria
Climate of Cantabria
The region’s temperature has often been described as a humid oceanic climate,
characterised by warm summers and mild winters. Some of the mountains in the
Picos de Europa, though, experience an alpine climate, having snow for the major
part of the year. The annual rainfall at the coast is around 1200mm, but, again,
this is higher in the mountain areas. One interesting weather feature,
especially in the autumn and winter months, is the microclimate caused on the
coast by the ábrego wind, which can raise the temperature so that you get very
pleasant warm and dry days throughout the year. |
