Spain Espana

SPAIN

ESPA A

Spain is located, as well as Portugal (in the west of the island), on the Iberian Peninsula, where it is in the northeast part borders France and Andorra. In France, Spain has also an exclave: Ll via. It also are one of Spain s territories: the islands of the Balearics (in the Mediterranean), the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla (northern Africa), the islands Islas Chafarinas, Pe
s s
de V lez de la Gomera, Alhucemas, Albor n, and the Perejil Islands Columbretes (Moroccan coast).

Spain is a social and democratic state. It has the form of government of a parliamentary monarchy, where the king s title is only hereditary. Officially called the country correctly: Kingdom of Spain, which in Spanish means Reino de Espa a .
Since 1986, Spain is a member of the European Union and has introduced the EURO in 1999. The capital is Madrid, and is also the largest city in Spain. After Madrid comes Barcelona and Valencia. The fourth largest city is Seville. This city follow Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca, and as a tenth largest city Bilbao.



In Spain, mostly the official language Spanish is spoken. Furthermore, Catalan, Galician and Basque spoken out in the corresponding Autonomous Communities as an official language. Also Portuguese is encountered. The number of autonomous communities, the Comunidades Aut nomas, are 17, plus the two autonomous cities (ciudades aut nomas) Melilla and Ceuta. The autonomous regions are in turn subdivided into 50 provinces. Each of the autonomous regions have also one capital.

The highest mountain on Spanish territory is on one of the Canary Islands, the Pico del Teide (3,718 meters high), and the Mulhac n in Granada (3,482 meters high). This historic peninsula has many beautiful natural bays. The best known and most important bays are gulfs of Cadiz, Malaga, Almeria and Cartagena (South Coast), the Bay of Alicante and the Gulf of Valencia (East Coast). The first three of the many rivers of Spain are the Duero, the Tajo and the Ebro. The climate in Spain can be very varied. In the center is oceanic, in the north is atlantic, in Catalonia is mediterranean climate, in the Canary Islands is subtropical and in the Pyrenees is largely mountainous climate.

The immigrants in the country are mainly from Morocco, Romania, Great Britain, Italy, Ecuador, Germany, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, Bulgaria, China, Peru and Portugal. As foreign languages are mostly English and French, and partly German spoken.

However, the original inhabitants of this peninsula initially were Celts and Iberians. Spain s name derives from the Roman term Hispania . After a long reign of Arab and the Reconquista (Reconquest) from the 11th Century Spain succeeded the upswing again in the 15th Century, for which the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus contributed.
Today, the economic recovery has strengthened again after the accession into the EU. Textiles (for example: Zara), technology, agriculture (half of the country s total area) and tourism are helping very much. Popular destinations in Spain are: Canary Islands, the Pyrenees, the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Costa Brava, Sierra Nevada, Costa Verde, Salou, Girona, Benidorm, Costa Dorada, Costa de la Luz, Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and many others. The country Spain, which among many famous personalities including M. Cervantes, Picasso, Goya, Dali, Greco, Paco de Lucia, F. G. Lorca, Pedro Almodovar, Paco Rabanne and many others, has a fabulous kitchen and the passionate Flamenko what many attracts.