Menorca is the easternmost and northernmost island of the Spanish autonomous region of Balearic Islands. Its Catalan name means "the smaller", in contrast to Mallorca, "the larger". 93,397 inhabitants live on Menorca (as of 2019) on 694 square kilometers. In 2006, the proportion of foreigners was 14.2% (12,543 inhabitants), the proportion of German residents 0.8% (683). The main town is Maó (Spanish/Castilian: Mahón).
The island has an area of almost 700 km². From Cape La Mola to the
Bajoli headland, the island is about 50 kilometers long and 16
kilometers wide in a north-south direction.
The north is rocky
and characterized by rugged, rugged, sometimes fjord-like coasts. In
contrast, the south has a gentle relief with some deep gorges, the coast
here is more linear with rocks and long sandy beaches. In the middle of
the island rises the 357 meter high Monte Toro, from which one has a
good panoramic view.
The approx. 285 km long coastline offers the
following variety: cliffs, secluded bays and long beaches as well as
some natural harbours.
Landscape
Outside of the two cities of
Ciutadella and Maó, the island's image is mainly characterized by
peaceful tranquility: many fields lined with stone walls, whitewashed
farms with old cheese traditions (see Mahón-Menorca cheese), idyllic
villages and picturesque fishing villages.
Overall, the island is
very green and wooded and there is a lot of agriculture. The original
north is rocky and characterized by rugged, rugged, partly fjord-like
coasts, the south appears gentler, the coast is less rugged and has
several beaches that can be used by tourists.
As a result of the
late development by tourism, Menorca was largely saved from large hotel
construction and urban sprawl. In 1993 the island was declared a
biosphere reserve. Today almost half of the island is under landscape
and nature protection. Many undeveloped beaches and landscapes have thus
been preserved. The construction of the tourist accommodation is more
spacious compared to the tourist centers on the neighboring islands
(Mallorca, Ibiza). Menorca is therefore a destination for those
interested in nature and culture as well as for bathing enthusiasts.
islands
The following islands belong to Menorca and are under the
administration of the Consell Insular de Menorca. On October 8, 1993,
the islands were declared a biosphere reserve for the protection of
typical landscapes and included in the UNESCO agreements. The focus is
on the protection of individual parts of the landscape: natural
monuments, protected parts of the landscape, protection of species and
biotopes in accordance with Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of
wild bird species and the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive on the creation
of a European Natura 2000 biotope network system .
prehistory
Traces of human settlement can be traced back to the Neolithic period,
i. H. up to 6000 years BC BC, trace back. The first Neolithic settlers
probably came to the Balearic Islands by boat from the French
Mediterranean coast. The oldest reference to the existence of tillers
dates from the 3rd century BC. Christ. The oldest cult building is the
artificial cave, followed by the naveta, the proto-Talayot of the
Talayotic culture and the hypostyle - a room sunk about 1.5 meters into
the ground with side masonry and pilasters, in the center columns of the
"West Mediterranean polylithic type", whose capitals carry the ceiling
panels. The youngest independent cult building unit on the island is the
taula, which may represent an oversized hypostyle.
In 1995 and
1997, extraordinary archaeological discoveries were made in Menorca in
the Es Càrritx and Es Mussol caves in the west of the island. In Es
Càrritx, the speleologists found an intact collective burial from the
Late Bronze Age. The approximately 35,000 human remains, 4000 ceramic
fragments, 170 metal objects, several hundred bone buttons and faience
beads were still in the state they were in after the last burial around
820 BC. Chr. About 90 meters from the entrance, a hiding place was
discovered containing wooden, metal and ceramic objects, among which a
series of previously unknown wooden and horn cylinders with human hair
dyed red caused a stir.
The finds from Es Mussol are similar:
among other things, various wood carvings were discovered in a small
chamber inside the cave, in particular two heads with clearly human
features. The exploration of these legacies poses a particular challenge
for the archaeological theory structure that has been developed so far.
Menorca has been influenced by many peoples: Phoenicians, Greeks,
Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors, Spanish, British and French. The
island's first name was Nura - fire in Phoenician. In Roman times the
island was called Minor - the smaller one, which later became Menorca.
Early Middle Ages
In 425 the Vandals under Gunderic took
possession of the Balearic Islands and with them Menorca. Around 560
they came under the Eastern Roman Empire, from which on the Republic of
Pisa and in 798 into the hands of the Moors and, after a Frankish
intermezzo, then belonged to the Caliphate of Córdoba.
middle
Ages
Menorca was founded in 1287 under Alfonso III. reconquered by
the Moors, the entire Muslim population was enslaved. Menorca, like
Catalonia, now belonged to the Crown of Aragon. At times, together with
parts of Catalonia, they formed an independent state, the Kingdom of
Mallorca, ruled by a branch of the Aragonese royal family. In 1344,
Peter IV of Aragon conquered the Balearic Islands. Now the islands were
united with the ancestral lands of the dynasty. Eventually, by uniting
the crowns of Aragon and Castile, they became part of the Spanish
monarchy.
modern times
In 1708 Maó was conquered by the
British. The Peace of Utrecht (1713), which ended the War of Spanish
Succession, awarded Menorca to the British Empire. During the Seven
Years' War, the island was occupied by France in 1756, but was again
awarded to Great Britain in the Peace of Paris in 1763. After Spain and
France entered the American War of Independence, Spanish-French troops
conquered the island in 1782. In the Treaty of Versailles (1783), Great
Britain had to formally return the island to Spain, but from 1798 to
1802 Menorca was again occupied by the British.
In 1833 the
Spanish province of the Balearic Islands was founded. At the end of the
19th century there were first signs of a regional independence movement.
Autonomy status was proposed for the Balearic Islands in the Second
Spanish Republic as early as 1931, but the outbreak of the Spanish Civil
War prevented further decisions in this direction. As the British
continued to maintain a naval base in Menorca throughout the war, this
protected them from an immediate seizure of power by the coup plotters.
However, with government defeat looming, the island was handed over to
the Franquist on February 7, 1936 by Alan Hilgarth, the British Consul
in Mallorca, aboard HMS Devonshire. Only on March 1, 1983 did the
Statute of Autonomy for the Balearic Islands come into force.
The official languages are Catalan and Spanish (Castilian). The
Catalan dialect spoken on the island is called Menorquí. Catalan has
been an official language with equal rights since 1983. The Catalan
language spread as a result of Alfonso III's conquest of Menorca. in
1287 due to the repopulation of the island with settlers, most of whom
came from Catalonia.
However, numerous words and expressions from
the British occupation period were also adopted in Menorcan. The word
xoc, for example, denotes the chalk (English chalk), mèrvels (English
marbles = marble) or bòtil (English bottle = bottle) were derived from
it.
In 1986, the Law for the Linguistic Normalization of the
Catalan Language came into force, which had the task of promoting the
Catalan language among the general public. As a result, Catalan has
continued to strengthen. On the signs of the island of Menorca you will
find Catalan names such as: port (instead of puerto for harbor), platja
(instead of playa for beach), or camí (instead of camino for the way).