Zaragoza

Zaragoza Saragossa
Municipality
Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar La Seo Aljafería Gran Vía Torre del Agua WTCZ
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  The Florence of Spain[1]
Location of Zaragoza
Zaragoza Show map of Spain Zaragoza Show map of Aragon Zaragoza Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 41°39′N 0°53′W / 41.650°N 0.883°W / 41.650; -0.883
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Aragon
Province	Zaragoza
Comarca	Zaragoza
Districts	Centro, Casco Histórico, Delicias, Universidad, San José, Las Fuentes, La Almozara, Oliver-Valdefierro, Torrero-La Paz, Actur-Rey Fernando, El Rabal, Casablanca, Santa Isabel, Miralbueno, Sur, Distrito Rural
Government
• Type	Ayuntamiento
• Body	Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza [es]
• Mayor	Natalia Chueca [es] (People's Party)
Area
• Total	973.78 km2 (375.98 sq mi)
Elevation	243 m (797 ft)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	675,301
• Density	690/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Zaragozan (Zaragozano) (male) (Zaragozana)(female)
GDP [3]
• Metro	€26.004 billion (2020)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	50001–50022
ISO 3166-2	ES-Z
Website	www.zaragoza.es

Zaragoza (Spanish: [θaɾaˈɣoθa] ^ⓘ) also known in English as Saragossa,^[a][5] is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the Huerva and the Gállego, roughly in the centre of both Aragon and the Ebro basin.

On 1 January 2021, the population of the municipality of Zaragoza was 675,301,^[6] (as of 2023, the fourth or fifth most populous in Spain) on a land area of 973.78 square kilometres (375.98 square miles). It is the 26th most populous municipality in the European Union. The population of the metropolitan area was estimated in 2006 at 783,763 inhabitants. The municipality is home to more than 50 percent of the Aragonese population. The city lies at an elevation of about 208 metres (682 feet) above sea level.

Zaragoza hosted Expo 2008 in the summer of 2008, a world's fair on water and sustainable development. It was also a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2012.

The city is famous for its folklore, local cuisine, and landmarks such as the

The Iberian town that preceded Roman colonisation was called Salduie^[7] or Salduba.^[8] The Romans and Greeks called the ancient city Caesaraugusta (in Greek Καισαραυγοῦστα),^[9][10] from which derive the Arabic name سرقسطة Saraqusṭa (used during the Al-Andalus period), the medieval Çaragoça, and the modern Zaragoza.

History

The

It is thought it might have been the Apostle James who had built a chapel on the site of the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.

On the spot where Saint Engratia and her companions were said to have been martyred on Valerian's^[12] orders was the Church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza. Only the crypt and the doorway survived the Peninsular War. Around the early 20th century it was rebuilt, and is now a functioning parish church.

Middle Ages

Despite the general decline of the last centuries of the Roman empire, Zaragoza suffered little. Capture by the Goths in the fifth century CE was without significant bloodshed or destruction.^[5]

In the eighth century, following the

An outbreak of bubonic plague decimated the city in 1564.^[20] It reportedly killed about 10,000 people out of an estimated population of 25–30,000.^[21]

In the context of the

An important food riot caused by the high price of bread and other necessity goods^[26] took place in the city in April 1766, the so-called motín de los broqueleros, named after the repressive agents, volunteer farmers and craftsmen who wielded swords and bucklers (broqueles).^[27] The repression left about 300 wounded, 200 detainees and 8 deaths and it was followed by 17 public executions, and an indeterminate number of killings at the dungeons of the Aljafería.^[28]

Late Modern history

Zaragoza suffered two famous sieges during the

Railway transport came to Zaragoza on 16 September 1861 with the inauguration of the Barcelona–Zaragoza line with the arrival of a train from the former city to the Estación del Norte.^[30] The Madrid–Zaragoza line was opened a year and a half later, on 16 May 1863.^[30]

The

The rearguard violence committed by the putschists, with at least 12 murders on 19 July, would only go in crescendo along the beginning of the conflict.

The 1953 Accords ensued with the installment of a joint US–Spain air base in Zaragoza.^[38]

Following the declaration of Zaragoza as Polo de Desarrollo Industrial ("Pole for Industrial Development") by the regime in 1964, the city doubled in population in a short time.^[39] The increase in population ran parallel to the rural flight and depopulation in the rest of Aragon.^[38]

In 1979, the Hotel Corona de Aragón fire killed at least 80, this fire is regarded as an accident. The basque nationalist organisation ETA carried out the Zaragoza barracks bombing in 1987 which killed eleven people, including five children, leading to 250,000 people taking part in demonstrations in the city.^[40]

Since 1982, the city has been home to a large factory built by General Motors for the production of Opel cars, some of which are exported to the United Kingdom and sold under the Vauxhall brand. The city took advantage of the entry of Spain into the European Communities (later European Union).^[41]

Geography

Location

Zaragoza lies in the north-east of the

The city enjoys a beneficial location at the geographical centre of the rough hexagon formed by the Spanish cities of Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona and the French cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse.^[41]

The municipality has a surface of 973.78 km² (375.98 sq mi),^[43] making it the ninth largest municipality in Spain.^[44]

While the river banks are largely flat, the territory flanking them can display a rugged terrain, featuring muelas and escarpments.^[45] The surrounding elevations rise up to heights of about 600–750 metres above sea level.^[42] The locations near the meanders of the Ebro feature some sinkholes formed upon the subsidence of the gypsum-rich soil, that can form ponds fed from irrigation water.^[45] There is also an instance of seasonal endorheic lagoon, la Sulfúrica, in the moors located in the southern part of the municipality.^[45]

The Roman core of Caesaraugusta was founded on the right bank of the Ebro, with the north-east corner limiting the confluence of the Ebro with the Huerva river, a modest right-bank tributary of the Ebro.^[46] The Huerva runs through the city buried for much of its lower course.^[47] Zaragoza is also located near the confluence of the Ebro with the Gállego, a more voluminous left-bank tributary born in the Pyrenees.^[48]

Climate

Zaragoza has a

Zaragoza is administratively divided into 15 urban districts and 14 rural neighborhoods:[51]

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Demographics

The population, in thousands, can be seen here:

Religion

According to a survey carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) in 2019 with a sample size of 300, 51.0% of the surveyed people described themselves as non-practising Catholic, 24.0% as practising Catholic, 6.7% as indifferent/non-believer, 5.0% as agnostic, 4.3% as atheist and 2.3% as "other religions", while a 6.7% did not answer.^[52]

Immigration

In 2017, there were 64,003 foreign citizens in Zaragoza,^[53] which represent 9.6% of the total population. From 2010 to 2017 immigration dropped from 87,735 to 64,003 people, a 27% drop. Romanians represent 29.8% of foreigners living in Zaragoza, or 2.9% of the total city population, followed by Moroccans (9.1%) and Chinese (7%).

Foreign Nationals in Zaragoza in 2017[53]
Position	Nationality	People
1st	Romania	19,064
2nd	Morocco	5,804
3rd	China	4,497
4th	Ecuador	3,302
5th	Colombia	2,488
6th	Algeria	2,470
7th	Senegal	2,117
8th	Dominican Republic	1,115
9th	Ukraine	1,030

Economy

The city's economy benefited from projects like the Expo 2008, the official World's Fair, whose theme was water and sustainable development, held between 14 June and 14 September 2008, Plataforma Logística de Zaragoza (PLAZA), and the Parque Tecnológico de Reciclado (PTR). Furthermore, since December 2003, it has been a city through which the AVE high-speed rail travels. Currently, Zaragoza Airport is a major cargo hub in the Iberian Peninsula, behind only Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon.

Zaragoza is home to a

The Aragonese language, in decline for centuries and restricted mostly to northern Aragon, has recently attracted more people in the region. Thus, nowadays, in Zaragoza, up to 7,000 people speak Aragonese.^[57]

Festivals

The annual Fiestas del Pilar lasts for nine days, with its main day on 12 October. This date also coincides with Spain's national holiday, El Día de la Hispanidad (Day of Hispanicity), which celebrates Spain's cultural and historical ties with Hispanic America.^[58] October 12 also corresponds to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas.

There are many activities during the festival, from the massively attended pregon (opening speech) to the final fireworks display over the Ebro; they also include marching bands, dances such as jota aragonesa (the most popular folk music dance), a procession of

Holy Week in Zaragoza, although not as elaborate an affair as its Andalusian or Bajo Aragón counterparts, has several processions passing through the city centre every day with dramatic sculptures, black-dressed praying women and hundreds of hooded people playing drums. It has been a Festival of International Tourist Interest since 2014.^[59]

Education

The University of Zaragoza is based in the city. As one of the oldest universities in Spain and a major research and development centre, this public university awards all the highest academic degrees in dozens of fields. Zaragoza is also home to the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program, a unique partnership between MIT, the Government of Aragon and the University of Zaragoza.

There is a French international primary and secondary school, Lycée Français Molière de Saragosse.

Transport

Roads

The city is connected by

The city has a network of buses which is controlled by the Urban Buses of Zaragoza (AUZSA). The network consists of 31 regular lines (two of them circle lines), two scheduled routes, six shuttle buses (one free), and seven night buses operating on Fridays, Saturdays and other festivities.[61] Zaragoza also has an interurban bus network operated by Transport Consortium Zaragoza Area (CTAZ) that operates 17 regular lines.^[62]

Bicycle

Zaragoza's bicycle lanes facilitate non-motorised travel and help cyclists to avoid running into pedestrians and motor vehicles. The city council also has a public bicycle-hire scheme, the bizi zaragoza, which has an annual charge.

Tram

The first line of the Zaragoza tram (Valdespartera-Parque Goya) is fully operational.

Railway

Zaragoza is a part of the

Zaragoza Airport is located in the Garrapinillos neighbourhood, 10 kilometres from the city centre.

It is a major commercial airport, its freight traffic surpassing that of

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Zaragoza, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 48 minutes. 9% of public transit riders ride for more than two hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 11 minutes, while 12% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 4.2 km (2.6 mi), while 5% travel over 12 km (7.5 mi) in a single direction.[64]

Sports

Football

Zaragoza's main football team, Real Zaragoza, plays in the Segunda División. Founded on 18 March 1932, its home games are played at La Romareda, which seats 34,596 spectators. The club has spent the majority of its history in La Liga. One of the most remarkable events in the team's recent history is the winning of the former UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1995. The team has also won the Spanish National Cup, Copa del Rey, six times: 1965, 1966, 1986, 1994, 2001 and 2004 and an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1964). A government survey in 2007 found that 2.7% of the Spanish population support the club, making them the seventh-most supported in the country.

Zaragoza's second football team is CD Ebro. Founded in 1942, it plays in Segunda División B – Group 2, holding home games at Campo Municipal de Fútbol La Almozara, which has a capacity of 1,000 seats.

Zaragoza was one of the Spanish cities which hosted the

The main basketball team,

Futsal

The main futsal team, is Dlink Zaragoza, plays in the LNFS Primera División. They play at the Pabellón Siglo XXI with a capacity of 2,600.

Other sports

Zaragoza's handball team, BM Aragón, plays in the Liga ASOBAL.

The

Zaragoza was strongly associated with Jaca in its failed bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

There are three Rugby Union teams playing in the regional league:

1. Ibero Club de Rugby Zaragoza
2. Fénix Club de Rugby
3. Club Deportivo Universitario de Rugby

A permanent feature built for Expo 2008 is the pump-powered artificial whitewater course El Canal de Aguas Bravas.

Main sights

Near the

Also in the city centre, there is the palace of the

• 
  The Roman walls
• 
  Interior of the Aljafería
• 
  Ebro River
• 
  View from the Cathedral

Other important sights are the stately houses and palaces in the city, mainly of the 16th century: palaces of the count of Morata or Luna (Audiencia), Deán, Torrero (colegio de Arquitectos), Don Lope or Real Maestranza, count of Sástago, count of Argillo (today the Pablo Gargallo museum), archbishop, etc. On 14 June 2008, the site of Expo 2008 opened its doors to the public. The exhibition ran until 14 September.

Other sights

• Puente de Piedra
• San Ildefonso church
• Santa Engracia Monastery
• Fuente de la Hispanidad

Museums^[67] in Zaragoza are:

• Museum of Fine Arts Zaragoza, with paintings by early Aragonese artists, 15th century, and by El Greco, Ribera and Goya.^[68]
• Museo Goya - Colección Ibercaja - Museo Camón Aznar with works by Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Velazquez and Goya to Renoir, Manet and Sorolla.

Twin towns and sister cities

Zaragoza is

• St. Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), Christian proto-martyr of Spain
• Al-Saraqusti (died 1143), twelfth century Andalusi lexicographer, poet, philologist
• Félix Anaut (born 1944), painter^[72]
• Avempace (1085–1138), polymath
• Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (1050–1120), the author of Chovot HaLevavot
• Sebastián Pozas (1876–1946), military officer
• Abraham Abulafia (1240–1291), founder of the school of "Prophetic Kabbalah"
• Amaral (band) (established 1992), popular musical band in Spain and America.
• Alonso Fernández de Heredia (died March 19, 1782), Captain General and governor of Honduras (1747), Florida (1751–1758), Yucatán (in modern-day Mexico; 1758–?), the Captaincy General of Guatemala (1761–1771) and Nicaragua (1761–1771).
• Ramón Ferreñac (1763–1832), composer
• academic member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
• José Luis Gil (born 1957), actor
• Luis de Horruytiner (? – ?), governor of Spanish Florida (1633 – 1638), and viceroy of Sardinia
• Mapi León (born 1995), footballer for the Spain national team
• Rafael Navarro (born 8 October 1940), photographer
• Salma Paralluelo (born 2003), footballer for the Spain national team
• María del Pilar Sinués de Marco
  (1835-1893), prolific 19th-century writer
• Dino Valls (born 1959), painter.
• José María Vigil (born 1946), theologian
• Irene Vallejo, writer

See also

• Crown of Aragon
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zaragoza
• Third Millennium Bridge
• Caesaraugusta

References

Informational notes

Citations

Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of the history of Zaragoza

• Adiego Adiego, Elvira (2002). "Visión histórica y urbana de los ríos en Zaragoza" (PDF). In Cal Nicolás, Pablo de la; Pellicer Corellano, Francisco (eds.). Ríos y ciudades: aportaciones para la recuperación de los ríos y riberas de Zaragoza. pp. 251–272.
  ISBN 84-7820-606-X
  .
• Alcalde Fernández, Ángel (2010). Lazos de Sangre. Los apoyos sociales a la sublevación militar en Zaragoza. La Junta Recaudatoria Civil (1936-1939) (PDF). Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico.
  ISBN 978-84-9911-039-4
  .
• Armillas Vicente, José Antonio (1989). "De los Decretos de la Nueva Planta a la Guerra de la Independencia" (PDF). Historia de Aragón. Vol. I. pp. 237–246.
  ISBN 84-7820-046-0
  .
• Armillas, José A.; Pérez, Mª Berta (2004). "La nueva planta borbónica en Aragón". Felipe V y su tiempo. Congreso internacional (PDF). Vol. II. Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico. pp. 257–292.
  ISBN 84-7820-672-8
  .
• Barcelo Gresa, Amadeo (2016). "La capital roja. El Consejo de Aragón en el 80º aniversario de su constitución, a través de una ruta urbana por Caspe" (PDF). Anuario del Centro de la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia en Calatayud (22): 111–136.
  ISSN 1133-9950
  .
• Biescas, José Antonio (1989). "La economía aragonesa durante el franquismo" (PDF). Historia de Aragón. Vol. II. Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico. pp. 223–234.
  ISBN 84-7820-316-8
  .
• Bonell Colmenero (2010). "Los decretos de Nueva Planta". Saberes. 8. Villanueva de la Cañada:
  ISSN 1695-6311
  .
• ISBN 84-7820-046-0
  .
• Corral Lafuente, José Luis (2008). "El diseño urbano de la Zaragoza islámica" (PDF). Revista del Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos. XXXVI. Madrid: Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos: 191–213.
  ISSN 1132-3485
  .
• Fernández Maldonado, Ana María; Romein, Arie (1 April 2012). "The sustainability of knowledge-related policies in technology based cities in the Netherlands". In Van Geenhuizen, Marina; Nijkamp, Peter (eds.). Creative Knowledge Cities: Myths, Visions and Realities. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 53–83.
  ISBN 978-0-85793-285-3. Archived
  from the original on 2 May 2018.
• Martínez de Baños Carrillo, Fernando (2010). Metalurgia de guerra. Los talleres Mercier de Zaragoza (1936-1939) (PDF).
• Miguel González, Rafael de (2015). "Transformación urbana y procesos territoriales recientes en Zaragoza y su espacio metropolitano". Estudios Geográficos. 76 (278). Madrid:
  ISSN 0014-1496
  .
• Monreal Casamayor, Manuel (2017). "La Guerra de Sucesión Española (1702-1715) y su repercusión en la Heráldica Municipal Aragonesa" (PDF). Cuadernos de Aragón (67). Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico: 7–315.
  ISSN 0590-1626
  .
• Monterde Albiac, Cristina (1999). "Una merced de hidalguía concedida por Carlos III a un labrador de la parroquia de San Pablo de Zaragoza en 1767" (PDF). Emblemata. Revista Aragonesa de Emblemática. 5: 221–256.
  ISSN 1137-1056
  .
• Sotelo Pérez, María; Sotelo Navalpotro, José Antonio (2016). "Cambios y transformaciones urbanas en Zaragoza, tras la "Expo" del 2008". Observatorio Medioambiental. 19. Madrid:
  ISSN 1139-1987
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zaragoza.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Zaragoza.

• Council of Zaragoza
• Zaragoza Tourism Board Official Website Archived 2008-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
• Demographics in 2015: Zaragoza City council