A Coruña

Categories: Coastal cities | Municipalities in Spain | Ports and harbours of Spain | Galicia (Spain)

A Coruña (in Galician A Coruña, in Spanish La Coruña, in English historical references often Corunna) is a Galician city, in north-western Spain at 43° 22′ 0″ N, 8° 22′ 60″ W. It is the capital of A Coruña province.

Historical and modern Corunna

As of the 2003 census, the population of the city of Corunna was 243,902, and of the entire urban area estimated at 388,692. It is a busy port on the Atlantic Ocean and provides a distribution point for agricultural goods from the region. The heavy industry of the province is based on the shipyards and metalworks of the neighbour city of Ferrol though there is an oil refinery in Coruña itself, and spread though out the rest of the province there are glass and ceramic plants. The Province is also a centre for ocean-going fishing (in "A Costa da Morte" and "Ferrolterra").

The city is the site of the Roman Tower of Hercules, which is a lighthouse in continuous operation for nearly 2,000 years. It is also well-known for its characteristic glazed window balconies, called galerías.

During the Middle Ages, the city was an important port and center for manufacturing of textiles. In 1588, the Spanish Armada [1] sailed from the bay of the Naval Station of Ferrol [2] (Province of A Coruña). In 1598, the city was sacked by an English fleet under Francis Drake. It was the site of battle during the Peninsular War, on 16 January 1809, to cover embarkation of British troops after their retreat and in which Sir John Moore was killed. During the 19th century, the city was the centre of antimonarchist sentiment. See also: Battle of Corunna.

There have been various changes in the city's structure over the last few decades — it now shares some administrative functions as always as opposed to the nearby city and naval station of Ferrol (The capital of the maritime province of the north of Spain). Companies have grown, especially in subsectors such as finance, communication, planning and sales, manufacturing, technical services and the port itself (the province ports are the largest in Europe in terms of fresh fish unloaded), with the increase in other port activities like crude oil and solid bulk, making up 75% of Galician port traffic.

The city has been relaunched over the last few years with better access, an improved cultural, sporting, leisure and scientific infrastructure, a better framework, the recovery of the shoreline and the strengthening of the tourist sector. All this has reaffirmed the city's existing character as a centre for administration, sales, port activities, culture and tourism.

The bay of the city was the site of a spectacular oil spill that caught fire, was captured on video, and subsequently made the rounds of reality-TV shows during the 1990s. The effects of the spill can still be seen on the coastline.

The city has a football club in Spain's top division, Deportivo de La Coruña (note that the club name uses the Spanish spelling).

Etymology and linguistic issues

The toponym derives from Caronium, the name of a Roman oppidum. At the time of Ferdinand II of Leon (12th century) the name Crunia appeared for the first time. The use of the article (La Crunia) is noted from 1262 onwards. At a later point, a vowel after the C reappeared and the ni cluster naturally evolved into the sound /ɲ/, written nn, or abbreviated to ñ. This left the name as La Corunna. At this point the name Corunna entered English (with the Gallicized spelling Corrugna also appearing in the 18th century), although this name is now being forgotten, and tends to be replaced with the local names, which as noted above are La Coruña in Spanish and A Coruña in Galician. In Portuguese, the name is Corunha and this style of spelling (A Corunha) is sometimes used by Portugal-oriented Galicians. There is also a rare, archaic Galician form A Cruña.

As with other places in Spain since the end of Francoism, the issue of what to call the town in Spanish is a little controversial. The Galician version of the name is the official one, even in Spanish, and is the only one used by the Xunta de Galicia and the Spanish government. In a vote on 2 November 2004), the Town Council of A Coruña decided to go back to the Spanish name in Spanish texts, but it will take a separate vote to apply this change at higher administrative levels. At the popular level, local residents often take the time to add an "L" to traffic and other public signs which follow the Galician "A Coruña"; others scratch out the "L" when signs are in Castillian. These linguistic battles often go on unabated and for extended periods of time so that signage with the city's name becomes a palimpsest of added and scratched-out "L's."

External links

• Reign of Charles III of Spain: El Ferrol + Puente D'Eume and La Corrugna by Hugh Debbieg Dutch Pilot (1731-1810)
• Study about Ferrol by A Corrugna 2005
• Ferrol, Facts and Fiction an analysis of C.S. Forester's The Devil and the Duchess (Midshipman Hornblower)
• The town council of A Coruña
• Aerial Views of Ferrol in North Western Spain 2004ar:لاكورونيا

ca:La Corunya de:A Coruña es:La Coruña eo:Korunjo fr:La Corogne gl:A Coruña it:La Coruña ja:ラ・コルーニャ mi:A Coruña nl:La Coruña (stad) pl:La Coruña pt:Corunha zh:拉科魯尼亞