The Region of Murcia is a uniprovincial autonomous community of
Spain, located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering
Andalusia (Granada and Almería), Castilla-La Mancha (Albacete), the
Valencian Community (Alicante) and the Mediterranean Sea to the
south and east. Its capital is the city of Murcia, headquarters of
the regional institutional bodies, with the exception of the
Regional Assembly, which is located in the city of Cartagena, which
is why it is called "legislative capital" in the preamble of law 5.
/2005.
The total population of the Region of Murcia is
1,531,878 inhabitants (INE 2022), of which just under a third live
in the capital and half in the municipalities of Murcia, Cartagena
and Lorca. A uniprovincial community, it is nevertheless the 9th in
Spain in area and the 10th in population ahead of Aragon or
Asturias. As a province it is the 7th most populated of the 50 that
the country has.
The region is one of the largest producers
of fruits, vegetables and flowers in Europe, with important
vineyards in the municipalities of Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla, which
produce wines with Designation of Origin. It also has an important
tourism sector, concentrated on a coast with numerous virgin spaces
(many of them threatened) and which has the coastal salt lagoon of
the Mar Menor. Its industry stands out for the petrochemical and
energy sector, centered in Cartagena, and the food industry. The
highest peak in the region is in the Revolcadores Massif, 2015 m
above sea level.
Of its extensive heritage, it is worth
highlighting the 72 rock groups belonging to the Rock Art of the
Mediterranean arc of the Iberian Peninsula declared World Heritage
Sites, as well as the Council of Good Men of the Huerta de Murcia,
declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity , in the same way
as the Tamboradas of Moratalla and Mula and the Caballos del Vino of
Caravaca de la Cruz, a town that is a reference place for the
worship of the Catholic Church by having the privilege of
celebrating the Jubilee Year in perpetuity every seven years around
the Vera Cruz de Caravaca.
The Region of Murcia is a
historical region in the southeast of Spain, heir to the old Kingdom
of Murcia, which has traditionally included the provinces of
Albacete and Murcia as a biprovincial region. During the Transition,
Albacete passed to the new Castilla-La Mancha, forming the
uniprovincial autonomy of the Region of Murcia.
1 Murcia
2 Caravaca de la Cruz
3 Cartagena
4 La Manga
5
Lorca
The cathedral has elements from different centuries. It was built
between 1394 and 1465 in the Castilian-Gothic style. Its tower was
completed in 1792 and also shows a combination of different
architectural styles: the first two floors were built in the Renaissance
style (1521 to 1546), the third in the Baroque style. The bell tower
contains both rococo and neoclassical influences. The main facade (1736
to 1754) is considered a masterpiece of Spanish Baroque.
Another
building in the Cathedral Square, Plaza Cardinal Belluga, is the
colorful 18th-century Bishop's Palace. Built in the same century, the
Glorieta Square, on the banks of the Segura River, is the traditional
center of the city. The town hall is also located here.
A large
part of the old town is designated as a pedestrian zone, it is
characterized in its center by the streets Trapería and Platería. On the
Trapería is the Casino, an 1847 club with a Moorish courtyard modeled on
the Alhambra near Granada. The name Platería goes back to plata
(silver), since this street was the main trading point for raw materials
for the Jewish population in Murcia's history. Trapería derives from the
word trapos (clothes).
Several bridges span the Segura, including
the Puente de los Peligros (Bridge of Dangers), an 18th-century stone
bridge with a Lady Chapel on one side, modern bridges designed by
Santiago Calatrava and Javier Manterola, and the steel bridge Puente
Nuevo from the early 20th century.
More Attractions:
On the
Monteagudo mountain there is a Roman fort, remains of an Arab castle and
a statue of Christ similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro. Two more Arab
castles can be found in the immediate vicinity: the Castillo de Larache
and the palace of Ibn Mardanīsch.
Important remains of the Alcazar
Seguir Arab palace can be seen in the central courtyard of the Santa
Clara Convent.
In the Jardín de San Estebán, an Arab quarter was
excavated in the late 2000s when a multi-storey car park was to be built
on the site. The project was stopped in December 2009 after citizen
protests and a legal enactment.
The 18th century Los Jerónimos
Monastery.
The Romea Theater from the 19th century.
The Almudí
Palace, a historical building from the 17th century. Inside are Tuscan
columns. Since 1985 it has housed the city's archive and regular
exhibitions.
The Salzillo Museum.
Many churches, some of which
survived the civil war relatively unscathed.
The patron saint of the city is María de la Fuensanta. The most
important festival in the city is the Bando de la Huerta, which
introduces the Fiestas de Primavera and ends with the Entierro de la
Sardina. These festivals take place shortly after Semana Santa (Holy
Week), which is celebrated with numerous processions. These are
characterized by the fact that most of them give small gifts (sweets and
typical baked goods, the monas). In addition, the so-called Saetas -
religious prayers - are sung on Palm Sunday and Good Friday.
In
May, the Murcia Tres Culturas festival is held to commemorate the three
formerly dominant religions in the city - Christianity, Islam and
Judaism. Carlos Saura's 1997 film Pajarico is set in Murcia in the
1970s. Murcia has an active music scene, particularly in rock music;
among others, the bands M Clan and Second are at home here. The Spanish
painter Jorge Fin lives and works in Murcia.
Via plane
Murcia San Javier Airport is located approximately 4 km
as the crow flies from the city center of San Javier or San Pedro del
Pinatar and lies directly on the western shore of the Mar Menor.
International Airport of the Region of Murcia (IATA: RMU ). A small
airport where easyJet and Ryanair airlines fly from airports in the
United Kingdom and Ireland, while Norwegian Air Shuttle operates
seasonal flights from various Norwegian hubs. modification
Another
nearby airport is Alicante, where Ryanair also operates flights from
Italian airports.
By car
The A-7 highway, also called the
Mediterranean highway, from Barcelona to Algeciraz crosses the region
through the capital. There are no tolls.
The Autopista del
Mediterráneo or AP-7, on the other hand, is a toll coastal highway that
runs from the border with France to Algeciraz.
The traditional foods of the Murcia region will surprise you.
Buy traditional objects from the region of Murcia and its garden.
Despite not being as well known as others, Murcian gastronomy is rich and diverse, ranging from typical products from the Murcian Orchard, lemons, ñoras (a type of pepper), tápenas (capers), etc., going through rice dishes such as rice and vegetables, something worth savoring as well as the Murcian cauldron and alioli, using the well-known "bomba" rice from Calasparra, its sheep cheeses in wine or paprika. Its renowned lemons are used as seasonings for many fish (sea bass on the back) and meat. But in its sweet and savory pastry is where Murcia demonstrates its gastronomic culture, an example are the meat pies (tasty puff pastry stuffed with meat, egg, sausage, or brains and within these the doe pies, which contrary to the ue their name indicates, they are made for sweet palates) or also paparajotes, (lemon leaf breaded in xu paste and fried) without forgetting the famous yolks from Caravaca or the marzipan from Moratalla. Even in this way, it is difficult to talk about the rich gastronomy of this region, leaving the lake without mentioning it.
It has vineyards in the municipalities of Jumilla and Yecla, with its
own denomination of origin.
Wines from the Bullas area and the
Ricote Valley are also important.
The Murcian climate is hot and extremely dry for most of the year,
producing very little rainfall per year, which makes this Community have
characteristic and even desert landscapes in a large part of its
geography, the deserts of Murcia will serve as clear examples for the
traveler. Mahoya in the town of Abanilla or the one around Fortuna, a
town that has one of the most renowned hot springs in the region.
Summers in the Region of Murcia are extremely hot, reaching
temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Autumn and winter are mild, and
certain areas of the interior and north are cold and there may be
precipitation in the form of snow. The rest of the year the temperature
is pleasant and dry, except in coastal areas such as Cartagena, La Manga
del Mar Menor or Águilas.
Hotel Servigroup Galua , Gran Vía km 3, Exit nº 30 / 30380 La Manga
del Mar Menor · (Murcia) Spain. Telephone (+34) 96 856 32 00 -
Email:galua@servigroup.es Located in La Manga del Mar Menor, on the
beachfront, with spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea.
Hotel
Puerto Juan Montiel SPA Águilas Av. del Puerto Deportivo, 1, 30889
Águilas. Four-star hotel in the marina.
Hotel Traiña in San Pedro del
Pinatar Avenida Generalísimo, 84. 4-star hotel located on the coast of
the Mar Menor (San Pedro del Pinatar)
The Murcian dialect is the natural and historical Romance dialect of
the territory that once covered the Kingdom of Murcia and has its
origins in the 13th and 14th centuries when, on an essentially
Spanish-Latin-Arabic linguistic basis, various linguistic variants found
there were mixed ( Mozarabic, Aragonese, Castilian, Catalan, cultured
Arabic, dialectal Arabic, etc.) giving rise to the Murcian linguistic
pidgin.
The first regional documents are written in a Romance
variety in which a number of linguistic peculiarities that are later
found in the Murcian dialect begin to be glimpsed.
In academic
linguistic discourse, Murcian is considered a dialect of Spanish, on the
other hand the RAE until recently considered Murcian as a dialect of
Aragonese.
At the end of the 19th century, local authors began to
use the Murcian dialect for their poetic or dramatic compositions,
imbued by the rise of costumbrismo and Murcian regionalism, highlighting
the figures of Vicente Medina, Díaz Cassou, Martínez Tornel and Frutos
Baeza among others.
A study carried out by the University of
Murcia determined that speech was the regional cultural aspect with
which Murcians felt most identified.
In the Carche area there
are districts in which, after the arrival of a few dozen families from
the neighboring province of Alicante at the end of the 19th century and
beginning of the 20th century, part of the population speaks Valencian.
Even so, Valencian It does not have official recognition in the Region
of Murcia.
According to the study carried out by C.I.S. In 2019116 the
religious affiliation in the Region of Murcia is as follows:
Catholic: 78.7% (36.2% practicing and 42.5% non-practicing)
Agnostic:
6.2%
Non-believer: 7.5%
Atheist: 7.5%
Among the numerous existing monuments the following could be mentioned:
The Region of Murcia has hardly any samples of Paleolithic art, but
instead it is part of the territory where the Rock Art of the
Mediterranean arc of the Iberian Peninsula was developed, declared a
World Heritage Site, and which developed between the Paleolithic and the
Neolithic ago. about 12,000 years. The most interesting samples of this
art are located mainly in areas in the interior of the region, such as
the Cueva del Buen Aire, the Peliciego and the Calesica (Jumilla); the
Shelter of the Noon and the Songs of the Visera (Yecla); the Serreta and
the Barranco de los Grajos (Cieza); or the Risca and the Calar de la
Santa (Moratalla). In this last municipality is the Interpretation
Center of Rock Art in the Region of Murcia, in the old Convent of Casa
Cristo.
Within megalithism, in the Region of Murcia a type of
circular supulture with a central chamber covered by a tumulus and
delimited by stone rings was developed, as in the necropolis of El
Capitan (Lorca); or the later ones of Bajil (Moratalla).
During
the Bronze Age, with the rise of the Argar Culture, a multitude of
fortified towns appeared with important sets of weapons and high-quality
bronze utensils, such as the Los Cipreses Archaeological Park and the
Cerro de Las Viñas in Lorca, or the important La Bastida de Totana site.
La Bastida is considered the largest settlement in continental Europe in
the Bronze Age discovered so far. Equally important are the excavations
in La Almoloya (Pliego), where the remains have been located. of a
palace complex that is one of the oldest enclosures specialized in the
exercise of government in Western Europe.
Of the presence of the ancient peoples of the Mediterranean, the
underwater site of the Phoenician Ships of Mazarrón from the 7th century
BC stands out fundamentally. C., whose wreck is partially exposed in the
National Museum of Underwater Archeology of Cartagena.
Of the
native Iberian culture, led by Contestans, Bastetans and Mastienos, the
sites of El Cigarralejo (5th and 6th centuries BC) stand out among many
others, which has a monographic Museum in Mula, and Coimbra del Barranco
Ancho (originally from the 6th century BC) in Jumilla.
From the
arrival of the Carthaginians, whose presence was of special importance
in the area, only the Punic wall of Cartagena (3rd century BC) remains,
which was their main settlement, the city of Qart Hadasht.
With
Romanization, a multitude of sites of Iberian origin were developed,
such as Verdolay (Murcia), or the group of temples of La Encarnación
(Caravaca). Already under the empire, the city of Cartagena (Cartago
Nova) underwent a process of monumentalization with the amphitheater,
the theater (1st century BC) and the Roman forum (among others). There
was also a boom in rural constructions such as the Roman Villa of
Paturro in Portmán (La Unión), the Roman Villa of La Quintilla (Lorca),
Villaricos (Mula), Los Cirpeses (Jumilla) or Los Torrejones (Yecla), as
well as factories garum coastal areas such as Águilas or Puerto de
Mazarrón. We should also highlight the thermal complexes of Isla Plana,
Alhama de Murcia (later reused by the Muslims) and Fortuna.
From
the later Paleo-Christian era we find the Casón de Jumilla (4th
century), the Martyrium of La Alberca and the later Basilica of Llano
del Olivar in Algezares.
Of the Germanic peoples who invaded the
peninsula, ending the Ancient Age, above all is the important late-Roman
Visigothic site of Begastri (Cehegín) (4th-7th centuries).
Within the art developed during the five centuries of Muslim
domination, the castles or fortresses spread throughout almost the
entire territory are those that have most marked the Murcian landscape,
with examples such as the Monteagudo Castle (Murcia), the Aledo Castle,
the Nogalte Castle (Puerto Lumbreras), the Blanca Castle, the Pliego
Castle, the Torre de los Moros de Alguazas or the castles that with
better or worse conservation are found in Alhama de Murcia or Puebla de
Mula among others.
Remains of the defensive walls of important
cities or towns are also preserved, such as the Arab Wall of Murcia
(12th century) or that of Hisn Mulina (Molina de Segura).
As far
as palace complexes are concerned, those developed in the city of
Mursiyya (Murcia) and its surroundings stand out. From the Taifa period
(12th century) the Castillejo de Monteagudo and the oratory of the
Alcázar Mayor appear. While the transition between Almohad and Nasrid
art highlights the Alcázar Menor (13th century).
The
consequences of the reconquest in the area brought with it the
abandonment of numerous locations, today there are some depopulated
areas that allow us to contemplate intact the Muslim urban planning of
the time, such as the important Medina Siyasa (Cieza), the Hisn Yakka
(Yecla) or the Muslim site of Villa Vieja de Calasparra. The Arrabal de
la Arrixaca found in the city of Murcia also stands out.
Within the Gothic style developed after the Christian conquest, the
oldest buildings are those of different castles and fortresses necessary
for a border kingdom like Murcia. Important examples are the Alfonsina
and Espolón towers of the Lorca castle, the Concepción castle in
Cartagena, the Moratalla castle or the origin of the Caravaca castle.
Later are the castles of Xiquena and Jumilla.
As for religious
buildings, the most notable of all is the Murcia Cathedral (14th-15th
centuries), mixing elements of Castilian Gothic with others of Valencian
Gothic, which gives it uniqueness. Other religious constructions of this
style are the central nave of the church of Santiago de Jumilla (15th
century), the old church of Yecla, or the remains of the church of Santa
María and the church of San Pedro de Lorca.
From the late Gothic
they are the Chapel of the Vélez of the Cathedral of Murcia, or the
cloister and high choir of the Monastery of Santa Clara la Real of
Murcia, as well as the Noria de Alcantarilla (15th century).
Renaissance
In the subsequent Renaissance, important works were
carried out on buildings from the previous period such as the Murcia
cathedral (with its bell tower, the Puerta de las Cadenas, or the
Junterón chapel), the church of Santiago de Jumilla with the transept
and the main altarpiece or the tower of the old church of Yecla.
Also new constructions, such as the beginnings of the collegiate church
of San Patricio de Lorca, the school of San Esteban de Murcia or the
parish church of El Salvador de Caravaca along with other churches in
the Northwest region of Murcia, some of which have of Mudejar coffered
ceiling, in the same way as the church of San Onofre de Alguazas, or the
church of Santiago and the sanctuary of the Saint of Totana.
Within the civil architecture are the old council palaces of Jumilla and
Yecla or the Pósito de los Panaderos of Lorca, while of the nobility we
must highlight the Casa Honda of Jumilla, the Pacheco Palace of Murcia,
the Casa Irurita and the Palace of the Salazar-Rosso de Lorca. We must
also highlight the defensive architecture of the Castillo de los Vélez
(Mula), that of Mazarrón, or the different coastal surveillance towers,
such as the Cope tower or the Santa Elena tower.
Regarding the baroque, it is necessary to differentiate between the
works of the 17th century and those that were developed during the 18th
century within the canons of the so-called Murcian baroque.
From
the first stage is the interior of the Basilica of Vera Cruz in Caravaca
(with a later 18th century façade) or the cloister of the Convent of La
Merced in Murcia, with the main façade of the Collegiate Church of San
Patricio in Lorca already dating from the end of the century. or the
Church of San Miguel de Murcia.
Already fully in the 18th
century, the Monastery of the Jerónimos in Guadalupe, called El Escorial
in Murcia, the Convent of the Anas in Murcia, the Church of the
Assumption of Molina de Segura or the church of the Concepción of
Fortuna stand out.
From the Murcian Baroque of the 18th century,
already imbued with Rococo influences, the main façade of the Murcia
Cathedral, built between 1737 and 1754 by the architect Jaime Bort,
influenced San Nicolás de Bari, the Church of Santa Eulalia or San Juan
of God in Murcia, in addition to the Church of the Savior of Jumilla.
Also notable in that chronology is the continuation of the Bell Tower of
the Cathedral of Murcia.
Within the civil architecture of the
17th century we must mention the Almudí Palace in Murcia from the
beginning of the century, and the Guevara Palace, in Lorca, from the end
of the century. From the 18th century there is the Episcopal Palace of
Murcia, or the Fontes Palace of the same city, the town halls of
Caravaca, Totana or Abanilla, the completion of that of Lorca (begun in
the 17th century) or the new defensive system of Cartagena, in addition
to the Castle of San Juan de las Águilas (Águilas) or the Bridge of
Dangers of Murcia.
Regarding painting and sculpture, during the
17th century the great Murcian painter Pedro Orrente developed his work,
while in the 18th century the great Murcian school of sculpture emerged
from the hand of the famous image maker Francisco Salzillo.
Neoclassicism in the Murcian region is mainly represented, within the
religious typology, by the basilica of La Purísima de Yecla, the church
of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Villanueva, the church of San Juan
Bautista or the church of San Lorenzo, both in Murcia, all built between
the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th
century, with the later Basilica de la Caridad, in Cartagena. Also
noteworthy is the completion of the bell tower of the Murcia Cathedral
with the neoclassical dome by Ventura Rodríguez from 1793.
In the
civil typology we find the Cartagena Midshipmen School, the work of Juan
de Villanueva, and the Floridablanca Palace and the City Hall in Murcia.
Within the evolution between neoclassicism and romanticism in
painting, the work of Rafael Tejeo from Caravaca stands out.
The explosion of modernist architecture in Cartagena and La Unión has
its explanation in the coincidence of the destruction of the center of
Cartagena after the bombings of the cantonal revolution in 1873, with an
extraordinary boom in the exploitation of the Sierra Minera, which
attracted a powerful wealthy bourgeoisie eager to show their strength
and economic power through architecture.
Among the most notable
modernist buildings are: the Town Hall Palace, the Casino, the Cervantes
House, the Aguirre Palace, the Zapata House, the Gran Hotel, the
Llagostera House, the Maestre House, the Riquelme Palace, the old Club
de Regattas, the Graduate Schools or the Casa de Misericordia, in
Cartagena, and the public market or the Casa del Piñón in La Unión. The
most important architects were Víctor Beltrí, Tomás Rico, Carlos Mancha,
Mario Spottorno, Pedro Cerdán and José Antonio Rodríguez.
Modernism occurred to a lesser extent in the rest of the region,
highlighting the Verónicas Market and the Díaz-Cassou House in the
capital or the Agricultural Chamber of Lorca.
The most
conservative eclecticism occurred to a greater extent in the city of
Murcia, highlighting the Casino, the Romea Theater, the La Condomina
bullring, the façade and the central nave of the Church of San Bartolomé
and the Casa Cerdá among others. Also in Cartagena is the Pedreño
Palace, in Lorca the Huerto Ruano Palace and in Archena the Archena Spa
construction complex.
The Region of Murcia has a state-owned museum, the National Museum of
Underwater Archeology (ARQUA), located in Cartagena.
Within the
Regional System of Museums, those with archaeological content stand out
such as the Archaeological Museum of Murcia, the Santa Clara Museum of
Murcia, the San Juan de Dios Monumental Complex of Murcia, the Municipal
Archaeological Museum of Cartagena, the Roman Theater Museum of
Cartagena, the neighborhood and museum of the Roman forum of Cartagena,
the Municipal Archaeological Museum of Lorca, the Municipal
Archaeological Museum of Jumilla, the Municipal Archaeological Museum of
Cehegín, the Roman Salazones Factory of Mazarrón, the El Cigarralejo
Museum of Iberian Art in Mula , the Los Baños de Alhama Archaeological
Museum, the Municipal Archaeological Museum of Caravaca, the Siyasa
Museum of Cieza, the Museum of the Wall Enclave (MUDEM) of Molina de
Segura, the Municipal Archaeological Museum of Yecla and the
Archaeological Museum and Center of Interpretation of the Sea of
Águilas.
The Regional Museum System also has museum spaces with
artistic content such as the Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia (MURAM), the
Salzillo Museum of Murcia, the Ramón Gaya Museum of Murcia, the San Juan
de Dios Monumental Complex of Murcia, the Museum of Santa Clara de
Murcia, the Cathedral Museum of Murcia, the Regional Museum of Modern
Art (MURAM) of Cartagena, the Paso Azul Museum (MASS) of Lorca, the Paso
Blanco Embroidery Museum (MUBBLA) of Lorca, the Pedro Cano Foundation
Museum in Blanca or the Museum of Sacred Art of Vera Cruz in Caravaca.
There are also ethnographic ones, such as the Huerta de Murcia
Ethnological Museum in Alcantarilla or the Barranda Ethnic Music Museum;
on economic activities, such as the Hydraulic Museum of the Río Segura
Mills in Murcia, the Bullas Wine Museum and the La Unión Mining Museum;
on scientific content, such as the Museum of Science and Water of
Murcia, the Alfonso of Murcia, the Local Museum of Archena, Museum of
the City of Mula or the Barón de Benifayó Museum of San Pedro del
Pinatar.
Other notable museums are the Military Historical
Museum of Cartagena, the Naval Museum of Cartagena or the Encomienda
Museum of Calasparra.
Murcian cuisine has influences from the neighboring cuisine of La
Mancha, Valencia and Granada. However, the region of Murcia belongs to
the Spanish east and this can be seen in the seafaring character of some
dishes, its characteristic ingredient being rice (with the cauldron as
the maximum exponent) and some salted fish preparations: mojamas, among
many others.
An abundant weight of the garden in the interior is
evident (representing riverside and garden cuisine), an attachment to
pork products identified with the slaughter of pigs, and an abundant
cuisine of fish and seafood. It should be noted that the basic elements
of Murcian cuisine are pepper and tomato (present in another fundamental
dish such as rice with rabbit and snails). Some of the most unique
preparations are the Murcian meat pie ("a gift from rich people and a
help from poor people") and crespillos, typical of Cartagena, Lorca and
La Unión.
In addition to the notable Muslim heritage in the production of water
and fire pottery, and an estimable production of jars to cover the local
market, the Murcian potter has developed since the 18th century an
important industry dedicated to the crafts of figurines. of Bethlehem.
The largest pottery centers that survive today are centered in the
Guadalentín valley area, in Totana, Aledo and Lorca. The crafts of the
Nativity scene occur mainly in various districts of the city of Murcia,
such as Puente Tocinos.
The traditional music of the Region of Murcia stands out for having
various compositions that are its own, among which stands out the
religious chant of uncertain origin called Canto de Auroros, which is
still preserved in various towns in the Huerta de Murcia, as well as in
Lorca. , Bullas, Abanilla, Yecla and some towns in the Vega Baja of
Alicante.
Other festive musical varieties also stand out, such as
fandangos, malagueñas, jotas, parrandas, aguilandos, etc. These last
pieces are sung on special festivities, especially Easter, by the
typical musical group of Southeastern Spain, the Cuadrilla de Ánimas.
The trovo is another of the most important manifestations of
folklore. The tradition of Murcian trovo had taken on its own character
starting in 1880, leaving the mines and taverns socially, and replacing
the traditional limerick of this poetry with another type of literary
stanzas, the tenth and the gloss. It was declared a Bien de Intangible
Cultural Interest in 2014.
The region is also the origin of some
of the most prominent indie rock groups on the national scene, such as
Second, Viva Sweden and Arde Bogotá.
International Singing Festival of the Minas de La Unión
San Javier
International Jazz Festival
The Sea of Music of Cartagena
Cartagena Jazz Festival
Murcia International Folklore Festival
Murcia Warm Up Festival
Cartagena Film Festival (FICC)
University of Murcia (UM)
Founded in 1914. It is made up of six
campuses: La Merced, Espinardo and Health Sciences in El Palmar, in the
municipality of Murcia; that of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences in
the coastal municipality of San Javier; the one in Cartagena (ISEN
University Center and School of Nursing) and the most recent of all in
Lorca. Almost 35,000 students study at the institution.
Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT)
It is one of the four
polytechnic universities in Spain. It has four campuses: Campus Muralla
del Mar (next to the Carlos III section of the port wall), Alfonso XIII
Campus (on the avenue of the same name), the CIM Campus (in the port,
next to the Military Arsenal) and the Fuente Álamo Technological Campus.
More than 7,000 students study at this institution. The first School was
the School of Mining (current School of Civil Engineering, Canals and
Ports and Mines), which taught classes since 1871, and was formally born
by decree on September 4, 1883, being the oldest in the Region that
continues to operate today.
San Antonio Catholic University
(UCAM)
Private university founded in 1996. It is spread over two
campuses, one in Murcia, and the other in Cartagena. The Murcian campus
is located next to the Jerónimos Monastery in the district of Guadalupe,
while the Cartagena campus is located in the old Los Dolores barracks, a
neighborhood to the north of the city. Approximately 14,000 students
study at this institution.
National University of Distance
Education (UNED)
The headquarters of the UNED Associated Center in
the Region of Murcia is located in Cartagena (Cl. Ingeniero de la
Cierva, s/n.)
On June 9, the Day of the Region of Murcia is celebrated,
commemorating the anniversary of the promulgation of the Organic Law of
the Statute of Autonomy. But there are also various local festivals.
Among the most characteristic festivities of the Region of Murcia,
the group meetings that are held at the beginning of the year in
Barranda (of National Tourist Interest), Patiño and Aledo (among many
others) stand out. As for the Carnival celebrations, the best known are
the Águilas Carnivals (declared of International Tourist Interest), also
highlighting those of Cartagena, Cabezo de Torres or Beniaján. Holy Week
has a great tradition in the Region of Murcia, with four main ones, Holy
Week in Cartagena, Holy Week in Lorca, Holy Week in Murcia and Holy Week
in Jumilla (declared of International Tourist Interest), and Equally
relevant is that of Cieza (of National Tourist Interest). As a
distinctive feature, the Tamboradas are also typical, such as those of
Moratalla and Mula, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in
2018.
Regarding spring celebrations, the Murcia Spring Festival
stands out, with the Bando de la Huerta and the Burial of the Sardine,
both declared of International Tourist Interest. The celebrations of
exaltation of orchard traditions have expanded to other towns in the
region on the occasion of their respective patron saint festivals, such
as Santomera, Mula, Cehegín or Bullas among many others.
In May
the festivities of exaltation of the cross take place, with the
traditional celebration of Los Mayos, in addition to the Patron Saint
Festivities of the Santísima and Vera Cruz de Caravaca (declared of
International Tourist Interest) as the main exponent, as well as those
of Abanilla and Ulea. In Caravaca and Abanilla, Moors and Christians
parades take place, a typically Levantine celebration that also takes
place in other towns on the occasion of their patron saint festivities,
such as in Murcia, Lorca, Cieza, Jumilla, Archena, Santomera and Molina
de Segura. Other celebrations have also been developed that have adapted
the same scheme of historical festival to other times, such as the
Carthaginians and Romans of Cartagena, celebrated during the second half
of September (of International Tourist Interest), the Ibero-Roman
Sodales of Fortuna, with occasion of its patron saint festivities, like
the Trinitarios and Berberiscos of Torre-Pacheco.
During the
summer, the Grape Harvest Festivals in Jumilla, the maritime pilgrimages
in many coastal towns, or the running of the bulls in Moratalla, Blanca
or Calasparra stand out. While in September and October a good part of
the patron saint festivities and fairs take place in many towns in the
region, the Murcia Fair and those in Lorca being the most important.
Come December, shortly before the Christmas holidays, the
Festivities of the Virgin of Yecla take place, with the traditional
firing of muskets, declared of National Tourist Interest. Related to the
celebration of Christmas, in January various Cars of the Three Wise Men
are represented, such as the one in Aledo.
The place name Murcia has a controversial origin. According to
Francisco Cascales, this toponym could refer to the Roman goddess Venus
Murcia, related to the murtas or myrtle trees that were on the banks of
the Segura River; hypothesis that has been discussed in this regard.
Historical studies conclude that, like the aforementioned divinity,
Murcia is a place name of Latin origin that most likely derives from
Myrtea or Murtea ("place of myrtle trees" or "place where myrtle trees
grow") and that in this way Mursiya ( first documented name already in
Islamic times for the city of Murcia) was the Arab adaptation of the
pre-existing Latin term. According to Bienvenido Mascaray, the name
would come from the Iberian language in the form m-ur-zia, meaning "the
water that soaks or moisten."
The use of this term to also define
the current region has its origin in the Taifa kingdom of Murcia that
existed at different times in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, a
political entity that served as the basis for after the conquest (which
occurred in this area between 1243 and 1266) the Christian Kingdom of
Murcia also emerged, a territorial jurisdiction that came to have its
own institutions and existed until 1833.
After the provincial
administrative reform of that year, an original Region of Murcia began
to exist, made up of the provinces of Albacete and Murcia. In the first
decentralizing attempt in the history of Spain during the First
Republic, this region was one of the 17 member states contemplated by
the Draft Federal Constitution of 1873, and during that year the
so-called Canton of Murciano was proclaimed as an attempted canton.
regional in the context of the Cantonal Revolution.
In 1978, the
Regional Council of Murcia was created as a pre-autonomous entity until
the Statute of Autonomy of the Region of Murcia was approved in 1982,
where the province of Murcia exclusively gained autonomy with the
official name of the Autonomous Community of the Region. of Murcia
within the framework of the political process experienced during the
Spanish transition.
The flag of the region is rectangular and contains four castles
crenellated in gold, in the upper left corner, distributed two by two
(symbolizing the border character of the ancient Kingdom of Murcia and
the four borders that it had at some point in its history), and seven
royal crowns in the lower right corner (these being the historical coat
of arms of the Kingdom of Murcia), arranged in four rows, with one,
three, two and one elements, respectively; all of this on a crimson or
Cartagena red background.
Its origin dates back to the Spanish
Transition, when the president of the Regional Council of Murcia,
Antonio Pérez Crespo, commissioned a commission in 1978 to study the
future flag of the Region of Murcia. Commission formed by historians
Juan Torres Fontes and José María Jover Zamora and senators Ricardo de
la Cierva y Hoces and Antonio López Pina. Its project was approved on
March 26, 1979, and raised for the first time on May 5, 1979 on a
balcony of the Regional Council building, former Provincial Council of
Murcia (current Ministry of Finance).
The same committee established that the coat of arms of the Region of Murcia had the same symbols and distribution as the flag, with the royal crown. Flag and shield were included in the fourth article of the Statute of Autonomy of the Region of Murcia, approved by organic law in 1982.
The day of the region is celebrated on June 9, commemorating the promulgation of the Statute of Autonomy.
The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in
the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, on the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. With 11,313 km², it is the ninth region in Spain by
area and represents 2.9% of the national area. The Community extends
over most of the Segura hydrographic basin, thus having a defined
geographical unit, except for the regions of the Sierra de Segura and
the Campos de Hellín that remained in the province of Albacete, Los
Vélez in Almería and the Vega Baja in the province of Alicante, all
still belonging to the same basin.
Its geographical position is
38° 45' at the northern end, 37° 23' at the southern end, 0° 41' at the
eastern end and 2° 21' at the western end.
The Region of Murcia is located at the eastern end of the Baetic
mountain ranges, being affected climatologically by an orography that
isolates it from the Atlantic influence. These mountain ranges are
further divided from north to south into:
Prebetic Mountain Range:
the northernmost, where the Sierra del Carche stands out among others.
Subbética Mountain Range: It is made up of numerous thrusts superimposed
on each other or on the materials of the Prebético. The Revolcadores
Massif, the highest in the region at 2015 meters, belongs to this
system.
Penibética Mountain Range: with three differentiated
lithological complexes from north to south (Nevado-Filabride,
Alpujárride and Maláguide). They are highly fractured, although there is
a predominance of thrusts and reverse faults between these complexes.
Sierra Espuña is one of the fundamental Penibetic mountain ranges.
Approximately 27% of the Murcian territory corresponds to
mountainous reliefs, 38% to intramontane depressions and corridor
valleys, and the remaining 35% to plains and plateaus.
Some of
these valleys and plains are the coastal depression of Campo de
Cartagena-Mar Menor, a little further inland is the Guadalentín valley
(also called Murcian pre-coastal depression), a tectonic trench that
runs through a good part of Murcia's geography in a SW-NE direction. ,
the plains of the Segura that have been available since said river
enters the region (one of the most famous being the so-called Ricote
valley), and other interior valleys formed by tributaries of the Segura
such as the Mula basin. Among the plateaus are the Campo de San Juan and
the Murcian Altiplano.
As an explanation for such a complex
relief, we must highlight the existence of important faults throughout
the area, such as the Alhama de Murcia fault, the Bullas-Archena fault
or the Nor-Bética Scar, which together with the intersection with other
minor faults generate numerous earth movements, such as the Lorca
earthquake of 2011.
The predominant soils are calcareous
fluvisol, calcareous regosol and calcium xerosol (which has the B
horizon [third layer of soil] with a thickness of calcium carbonate
formed from deposits of at least 15 cm and containing at least one CaCO3
percentage of 15% among other characteristics). According to the Global
Atlas of the Region of Murcia, approximately one fifth of the surface is
composed of regosols (soils formed from unconsolidated materials and
that are very poorly developed) and calcium horizons are present in
almost half of the Region.
The Region of Murcia generally enjoys a dry Mediterranean climate
that corresponds in the Köppen climate classification to the BS code,
that of dry semi-arid climates, although the variable topography of its
territory, and the distance to the sea, causes a diversity of nuances
and generates important thermal and rainfall differences between the
coast and the interior.
With mild winters and hot summers, the
average annual temperature in the lowest areas is around 18 °C, and
decreases as altitude is gained. The regions of the Altiplano,
Northwest, highlands of Lorca, or the highest mountainous areas already
have a continentalized Mediterranean climate in their thermal behavior.
Thus, while on the coast the average monthly temperatures rarely fall
below 10 °C in the coldest months, there are areas in the inland regions
where they do not usually exceed 6 °C, and the average annual
temperatures are located in the around 15 °C, or even lower than 12 °C
in the highest areas. As for extreme values, these are more moderate in
coastal areas, while they can exceed 40 °C in summer and drop below 0 °C
in winter in inland areas. And even exceed the −10 °C barrier in the
Altiplano, Northwest and higher areas.
Regarding rainfall, the
annual accumulated rainfall is around 300 mm per year in most of the
territory, due to the fact that its orographic layout (east of the
Baetic mountain ranges) makes it difficult for Atlantic storms to arrive
due to the Föhn effect. . The rains are normally concentrated in a few
days, mainly in winter, spring and especially autumn, and can be
torrential in cold drop situations, with values over 100 mm in less
than 24 hours, which can cause flash floods and significant flooding.
The annual accumulations are greater than 400 mm in the most
northwestern part of the Northwest region, Sierra Espuña and nearby
areas, or the northern face of some mountain ranges, such as Carrascoy
or Carche, reaching the rainfall values of the Mediterranean climate.
typical. And they can even exceed 650 mm on average in the most humid
mountain ranges of the Northwest. These mountain ranges, which enjoy a
sub-humid Mediterranean mountain climate, contrast with the arid climate
of the southern coast (Águilas, coast of Lorca and Mazarrón ) or some
specific areas of the interior, where there are values close to 200 mm
per year, and are differentiated from the regional group by their low
rainfall.
Finally, snow can fall on the summits and high mountain
areas in episodes of cold spells in winter, and more occasionally, on
the middle elevations of the regions of the Altiplano, Northwest, and
highlands of Lorca, being extraordinarily rare in low levels, and on the
coast. As an example, in the capital of the Region, located in the
pre-coastal depression at 43 m above sea level. n. m. (meters above sea
level), it has snowed twice in the last forty years.
The hydrographic network of the Region of Murcia is fundamentally
made up of the Segura River and its basin; which constitutes the main
axis of the Murcian drainage network. In addition to the Segura River,
we must add some secondary axes structured around its tributaries:
Alhárabe River: Which runs through the Moratalla mountains and has
perennial waters. The following rivers, however, suffer prolonged dry
periods.
Argos River: Which borders the urban centers of Caravaca,
Cehegín and Calasparra.
Quípar River: It joins the Segura in the
famous area of the Almadenes canyon.
Mula River: Generates one of the
most fertile interior meadows, the Mula orchard.
Guadalentín or
Sangonera River: Which passes through the urban area of Lorca and
constitutes the axis of the wide Guadalentín valley (the also called
Murcian pre-coastal depression). Its irregular nature has generated a
multitude of tragedies as consequences of its floods.
This water
system channels 95% of the water collected in the Region of Murcia, the
rest is discharged towards the Mediterranean or the Mar Menor through a
multitude of boulevards that are arranged between the precoastal
mountains and the coast (such as the Rambla del Albujón, Rambla de
Benipila, Rambla de las Moreras or Rambla de Ramonete).
Practically the entire territory of the Region of Murcia is located
under the hydrological unit of the Segura Basin, except for a small part
of the north of the municipality of Yecla that belongs to the Júcar
basin, and the westernmost end of the municipalities of Moratalla and
Caravaca that pour into the Guadalquivir.
The deficit of water
resources suffered by the Segura basin; Motivated by being a basin with
a Levantine Mediterranean rainfall regime, it has promoted various
government initiatives over time that sought to solve or at least
alleviate said deficit. Some of the most significant are:
The
Tajo-Segura transfer, completed in 1979 and in service.
Association
of Taibilla channels.
The AGUA Program, currently underway, was
proposed as an alternative to the transfers provided for in the National
Hydrological Plan and includes, among other actions, the construction of
desalination plants.
In the Region of Murcia is the largest natural lagoon in Spain, the
Mar Menor lagoon. It is a saltwater lagoon located next to the
Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the largest in Europe. Its special
ecological and natural characteristics make the Mar Menor a unique
natural area. Semicircular in shape, it is separated from the
Mediterranean Sea by a strip of sand 22 km long and between 100 and
1,200 m wide, called La Manga del Mar Menor, with both "seas"
communicating through two natural passages and one artificial one. The
lagoon has been designated by the United Nations as a Specially
Protected Area of Importance for the Mediterranean. In its coastal
perimeter it has 73 km of coastline on which there are beaches with
transparent and shallow waters (the maximum depth is not more than 7 m),
and with a surface area of 170 km².
The Murcian Mediterranean
coast, from a geomorphological point of view, presents a great wealth of
forms. The rugged puzzle of reliefs and depressions of the area in
question, under the action of the modeling processes that have acted
over time, has given rise to the different types of coasts that can
currently be seen. Of the 258 km of coastline, 26.19% (67.6 km) is high
cliff (more than 20 m high), 11.82% (30.5 km) is medium cliff (between 2
and 20 m high), 6.55% (16.9 km) is low rocky coast (less than 2 m high)
and 32.62% (84.2 km) is beaches.
The coast of the Region of Murcia has various islands, all of them small and uninhabited, many of which are of volcanic origin, highlighting the group of islands that are found within the Mar Menor (Isla Mayor, Isla Perdiguera, Isla del Ciervo, Isla del Subject and Isla Rondella), and the islands that are in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea (Isla Grosa, Islas Hormigas, Isla de Escombreras, Isla de Mazarrón, Isla del Fraile, etc.).
The climatic condition of the Region of Murcia already described
forms a diverse and largely differentiated panorama in terms of its
flora. In the mountainous areas of the interior, with greater rainfall,
the vegetation cover present is comparable to any of the areas of the
Betic or Castilian phytobiological regions, with the pine in its
subspecies Aleppo, Nigra, Rodeno (the last two in the mountain areas
highest), the holm oak both in its tree and shrub form (holm oak),
patches of juniper (as in the Campo de San Juan in Moratalla),
strawberry tree (as in the Sierra de la Pila) or even relict specimens
of cork oak from the ancient Mediterranean forest present in the Sierra
del Puerto (Carrascoy). In the most humid mountain ranges of the
Northwest region, examples of Mediterranean deciduous forest are also
found, adding the presence of rowan and ash, in addition to the
marcescent gall oak.
Many of the mountain ranges in the interior
suffered deforestation processes over the centuries, leading, in the
absence of vegetation cover, to flood processes in the valleys due to
the cyclical Cold Drops. This led to an enormous and innovative process
of reforestation in some of these mountain ranges, the first of which
was carried out in Sierra Espuña at the end of the 19th century,
producing from then on a commendable recovery of the forest mass in
various areas of the Region of Murcia, mainly in its central zone.
In the southern area of the region, with a lower altitude gradient
and a low rainfall index, is the phytobiological zone known as
Murcia-Almeria. Despite its semi-arid character, it has numerous
endemisms, some of them turn out to be Ibero-Africanisms of great
importance. Among these endemic species, the Sabina mora or Cartagena
Cypress, the Palmito, the Arto, the Manzanilla de Escombreras, the
Cantueso Murciano, the Cornical or the very rare Garbancillo de Tallante
stand out. The scrub par excellence of these areas is the Esparto.
In the wetlands associated with boulevards the Tarays appear, or in
permanent water courses (in the most inland area) there are some
riverside forests (Chopo and Sauce). A characteristic species of areas
with water and orchards is the introduced Date Palm.
Among birds, the Region of Murcia has important colonies in mountain
areas of golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, booted eagle, short-toed eagle,
peregrine falcon or eagle owl; In some mountain ranges - such as
Carrascoy and El Valle - the colony of this raptor is one of the most
numerous in Spain and the highest density in the world. In the highest
mountain ranges in the western area (Sierra de Mojantes and Sierra del
Gigante) there are also griffon vulture colonies.
As for mammals,
the presence in the Northwestern mountains of the mountain goat and the
recovered presence of the deer in numerous inland mountains stands out.
In the 1970s, the ruí was introduced for hunting purposes in Sierra
Espuña, a species that has been spread across other mountains in the
central sector of the region. Likewise, a species that had become
extinct in the Murcian mountains has recently been reintroduced and
that, unlike the ruí, is not an exotic invasive, such as the roe deer.
Also notable are the wild boar, the wild cat, the badger, the fox or
endemic subspecies such as the Espuña squirrel. In practically the
entire course of the Segura River (up to the city of Murcia itself) and
some of its tributaries (Alhárabe River) the otter has recently
reappeared.
In the southern arid areas, other species stand out,
such as the Moorish turtle, and in the coastal and pre-coastal wetland
areas, an Iberian endemism, the small fish known as fartet, as well as
migratory birds such as the flamingo, the heron, the avocet, among
others. many. Audouin's gull appears on some of the coastal islands; the
colony on Grosa Island is the third largest in the world.
Experts have pointed out the importance of the biodiversity of the
Region of Murcia, motivated by its special geographical and
climatological conditions in a relatively small territory. The existing
vegetation cover is estimated at between 50 and 70 species per km², in
addition to having a high density of local endemisms, including
Ibero-Africanisms, something that motivated the Natura 2000 Network to
declare 72 Murcian areas of high ecological value protected, of a total
of 276 existing in Spain.
The Mediterranean coast and the Mar
Menor center a large part of the protected spaces, the objective is to
preserve the natural values of one of the Mediterranean coasts least
affected by urban clogging in Spain, although there are also important
protected spaces in the interior. Urban pressure or intensive
agricultural exploitation are the main dangers that loom over the
Murcian environment. These practices constitute a risk considering that
we are facing a region of great contrasts that provide it with
considerable biological and environmental wealth.
Natural areas
on the coast
The main protection is dedicated to the surroundings of
the Mar Menor, the coastal area of the Bay of Mazarrón and the coastal
mountain range habitats.
The Mar Menor is RAMSAR wetland number 706
Salinas y Arenales Park of San Pedro del Pinatar
Protected landscape
of open spaces and islands of the Mar Menor
Protected landscape of
Cabezo Gordo
Calblanque Park, Monte de las Cenizas and Peña del
Águila
Sierra de la Muela, Cabo Tiñoso and Roldán
Protected
landscape of the Sierra de las Moreras
Cabo Cope and Puntas de
Calnegre Regional Park
Protected landscape of the Cuatro Calas
Islands and Islets of the Mediterranean Coast
Cape Palos and Hormigas
Islands
Natural spaces inside
Groves and forest on the banks
of Cañaverosa
Almadenes Canyon
Guadalentín Salt Flats
Gebas
ravines
Ajauque Wetland and Rambla Salada
Sierra Espuña
Carrascoy and El Valle Regional Park
Sierra de la Pila Park
Sierra
de Salinas
Sierra del Carche Regional Park
In addition, there
are various areas declared SPAs, such as the Yecla Steppes; Sierra de La
Fausilla; Sierra de Ricote and La Navela; Sierra de Mojantes; Sierra de
la Almenara, Moreras and Cabo Cope; Sierras de Burete, Lavia and
Cambrón; Sierra del Molino, Embalse del Quípar and Llanos del Cagitán;
Sierra de Moratalla; Sierras de Altaona and Escalona; Llano de las
Cabras; Sierra del Gigante-Pericay, Lomas del Buitre-Río Luchena and
Sierra de La Torrecilla.
As well as Places of Community
Importance (LIC): Sierras and Vega Alta del Segura; Alhárabe and
Moratalla Rivers, Revolcadores; Sierra de Villafuerte; Sierra del
Gavilán; Casa Alta-Las Salinas; Sierra de la Lavia; Sierra del Gigante;
Sierra de La Tercia; Roland's head Sierra de La Fausilla; Sierra de
Ricote-La Navela; Sierra de Abanilla; Chícamo River. La Celia Mines; Las
Yeseras Cave; Lomas del Buitre and Río Luchena; Sierra de la Almenara,
Moreras and Cabo Cope; Sierra del Buey; Sierra del Serral; Serrata Rope;
Cabezo de la Jara and Rambla de Nogalte; Cabezos del Pericón; Rambla de
la Rogativa; Ulea plasters; Quipar River; Sierra de las Victorias; Mula
River and Pliego River; Sierra de Enmedio; and Sierra de La Torrecilla.
In addition, the following protected marine spaces have been
proposed: Marine Environment and Submerged Coastal Strip of the Region
of Murcia.
The oldest human remains found in the current territory of the Region
of Murcia are located in the Strait of Encarnación (Caravaca), in what
is known as Cueva Negra, where experts were certain that they were in
front of one of the oldest stations. from Europe with an age close to a
million years (Lower Paleolithic), with fossil remains of the
pre-Neanderthal type (Homo Heidelbergensis).
Also very notable is
the Cueva Victoria del Cabezo site in San Ginés de Cartagena, where
fossils of abundant fauna were found, although its most significant
remains are small fossils that Professor Josep Gibert i Clols identified
as human remains and which he dated to 1 200,000 years, contemporary
with those of the Orce man from the paleontological site of Venta Micena
(Granada).
However, the most important human remains in the
region come from the Mousterian or Middle Paleolithic, where Neanderthal
man predominated, with sites such as the Sima de las Palomas del Cabezo
Gordo (in Torre Pacheco); with materials ranging from 150,000 to 35,000
BC.
Already entering the Neolithic, as an integral part of the
Mediterranean area, the schematic art or Rock Art of the Mediterranean
arc was developed in the area, typical of this period, having a great
representation in the Region of Murcia.
To talk about the Bronze
Age in the Iberian southeast is to talk about the important Argaric
culture. Up to 220 villages of the same culture have been recorded in
the Region of Murcia, dated between 2000 and 1100 BC.
To the important presence of the Iberian culture in the area,
dominated by the Bastetans to the west, the Mastienos to the south and
the Contestans to the east, we must add the powerful Phoenician
influence through intense commercial networks and coastal settlements
such as Punta of the Gavilanes in Mazarrón.
The Carthaginians
later developed their most important area of peninsular action in the
Iberian southeast. In 227 BC Hasdrúbal the Beautiful founded a
commercial settlement in current Cartagena, calling it Qart Hadasht (New
City in Phoenician) like its African counterpart, being conquered in 209
BC by Scipio Africanus in the context of the Second Punic War, renaming
it Carthago Nova to differentiate it from African Carthago.
Under
Roman rule, the territory of the current Region of Murcia was part,
first of the province of Hispania Citerior, later of the Tarraconense
province, forming the Carthaginense Province in the Lower Roman Empire.
At this time Carthago Nova was one of the main Roman cities in Hispania.
Throughout the 5th century, the invasion of various barbarian peoples
took place, with the Visigoths settling in in the last quarter of the
century. However, in 552 the Hispanic southeast fell into the power of
Justinian's Byzantines, creating the province of Spania, whose capital
was Carthago Spartaria (Cartagena). Later the Visigoths recovered the
inland areas, developing the cities of Orihuela and Begastri under their
control.
In the 8th century, the Visigoth Doge Teodomiro agreed
with the Muslims of Abd el Aziz the so-called Pact of Teodomiro (713),
by which the area would remain a semi-autonomous region, becoming known
as Cora de Tudmir. The Cora de Tudmir had its capital in Orihuela, later
moving to Lorca. Starting in 825 Córdoba decided to become more present
in the choir, so Abderramán II ordered the founding of Múrsiyya (the
current city of Murcia) as the new administrative capital of the Tudmir
Choir.
In the 11th century, during the first Taifa kingdoms, the
Taifa of Murcia emerged, one of the territories into which the Caliphate
of Córdoba was divided with the decline of the Umayyad Caliphate,
founded by Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Tahir. Taken by the Sevillian taifa in
1078, was the epicenter of the conflicts between Al-Mutamid and Ibn
Ammar. Crisis that favored the Christian takeover of the Aledo castle,
one of the reasons why the Almoravid dynasty intervened in Al-Andalus,
producing the siege of Aledo.
In the 12th century, the second
taifa of Murcia arose during the uprising against the Almoravids that
marked the end of its peninsular empire. Ibn Mardanis (the Wolf King),
in his fight against the new African dominator (the Almohads) controlled
a territory from Jaén to Albarracín. During his reign, Murcia became one
of the main cities in all of Al-Andalus. In 1172, his kingdom was
completely conquered by the Almohads. However, in 1228, taking advantage
of the Almohad weakness after the defeat of Las Navas de Tolosa, Ibn Hud
revolted in the Ricote Valley, giving rise to the third taifa of Murcia,
putting under his control all the territories that remained under Muslim
rule. in the Peninsula, except Valencia and the Strait. After his
assassination in 1238, and with a kingdom in recession, Ibn Hud's
successors proposed to Ferdinand III the Saint the vassalage of the
Muslim kingdom of Murcia in 1243.
Through the Treaty of Alcaraz,
the taifa of Murcia became a protectorate of Castile. However, various
nuclei of the taifa did not abide by the agreement, so the infante
Alfonso (future Alfonso X) applied the right of conquest over Mula
(1244) and Cartagena (1245). The rest of the taifa remained under Muslim
autonomy. However, in 1250 Castilla decided to create the diocese of
Cartagena, in 1257 it carried out the first repartimiento and in 1258 it
established the major advance of the kingdom of Murcia. The successive
breaches of what was agreed in Alcaraz led to the Mudejar revolt of
1264. The rebellion was definitively put down by the troops of Jaime I
the Conqueror between 1265 and 1266, leaving a significant contingent of
settlers from the Crown of Aragon despite returning the kingdom to the
jurisdiction of Castile in under the Treaty of Almizra.
Starting
in 1266, Alfonso kingdom in the Castilian Cortes.
In 1296, in the
context of the dynastic conflict due to the minority of Ferdinand IV of
Castile, Alfonso de la Cerda offered the Kingdom of Murcia to James II
of Aragon in exchange for his collaboration. Jaime conquered the kingdom
between 1296 and 1300, articulating it as another territory of the Crown
of Aragon by granting it the privileges of the Constitutiones Regni
Murcie of 1301. In 1304, by the Arbitration Sentence of Torrellas, Don
Jaime "the Just" returned to the Crown of Castile the Kingdom of Murcia,
with the exception of the Vinalopó valley, Campo de Alicante, and Vega
Baja, which passed to the Kingdom of Valencia.
During the 14th
century there was a deep economic and population crisis due to
epidemics, dangerous Granada incursions, and conflicts with Aragon such
as the War of the Two Pedros.
At the end of the 15th century, the Kingdom of Murcia lost its border
character when the eastern area of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada was
conquered in 1488, in which Murcian troops actively participated. The
end of the frontier allowed significant economic and population growth
throughout the 16th century.
The Spanish turn-of-the-century
crisis of the 16th century would not reach the Kingdom of Murcia until
well into the 17th century, after the expulsion of the Murcian Moors in
1613 (the last to be expelled from Spain), the collapse of the important
sericulture sector in 1630, the subsequent epidemics of 1648 and the
floods of 1651 and 1653.
The 18th century began with the War of
Succession, in which the kingdom of Murcia played an important role in
the Bourbon victory. However, three important battles took place in its
territory: the battle of Huerto de las Bombas, the battle of Albujón and
the battle of Almansa; in which the action of Cardinal Belluga stood
out, who was appointed viceroy of Murcia by Philip V. During this
century the kingdom lived a true golden century with a significant
increase in population (the city of Murcia reached 70,000 inhabitants
and Cartagena quintupled its population at the beginning of the century,
exceeding 50,000), agriculture and the silk industry developed, there
was artistic splendor (with the sculptor Francisco Salzillo) and
Cartagena became the capital of the Maritime Department of the
Mediterranean, with the Navy Arsenal being installed there.
In
1799, the maritime province of Cartagena was created, a demarcation that
existed until 1805.
Already in the 19th century, after the harsh
War of Independence that had disastrous consequences in the region, the
liberal reform of Javier de Burgos made the Kingdom of Murcia disappear,
giving rise to the province of Murcia and a large part of the province
of Albacete in 1833, creating the so-called bi-provincial Murcia Region,
which would last until the Transition.
Starting in 1840, mining
and its parallel industry began to develop, mainly in the coastal
mountains, which led to a significant population boom on the previously
sparsely populated Murcian coast (with immigration from eastern
Andalusia) and the appearance of labor movements. Despite the
development of conflicts such as the cantonal revolution during the
First Spanish Republic (with great repercussions in the area), the
mining boom would continue until the beginning of the 20th century, when
its decline began. At this time, the Murcian interior (which had
remained on the sidelines with its agricultural preponderance - although
with a production increasingly tending towards export) took over with
the development of the food industry, mainly preserves and paprika (in
Las Vegas). del Segura), esparto grass (in Cieza) or viticulture (in the
highlands), among others.
During the Spanish Civil War, the
Murcia Region remained faithful to the Second Republic during
practically the entire conflict, with Cartagena being the headquarters
of the Republican navy. The most important war events that took place in
Murcia were the naval battle of Cabo de Palos in 1938 and the Cartagena
uprising in 1939. During the Franco regime, from the 50s-60s, after the
hard postwar years and the consequent autarky, the Spanish economic
miracle arrived (1959-1973) and there was a recovery of the food
industry in the Segura plains, a rebound in mining activity in La Unión,
an important state investment in the industrial hub of Cartagena and the
beginning of tourism (mainly in La Manga), despite which a large
population would emigrate to Catalonia and Europe, coming especially
from the less dynamic regions, a trend that stopped from the 70s, at the
end of which decade it would arrive the water from the Tajo-Segura
Transfer. This important migratory flow was compensated by a high birth
rate that generated always positive population growth.
After the
advent of democracy, the province of Murcia (without Albacete) became a
single-provincial autonomous community, with notable development and
becoming one of the largest recipients of immigration in the country,
after the harsh industrial reconversion at the beginning of the 1990s.
The Region of Murcia had a population in 2020 of 1,518,486
inhabitants, of which almost a third (30.3%) live in the municipality of
Murcia. This figure represented 3.18% of the Spanish population.
The density (134.22 inhabitants/km² in 2021) is widely higher than the
country's average (93.67 inhabitants/km²). The internal distribution of
the population is uneven, with the population concentration being
greater in the coastal and pre-coastal regions (urban area of the city
of Murcia, Campo de Cartagena-Mar Menor, Alto and Bajo Guadalentín),
than in the more interior regions such as the Northwest or the Murcian
Altiplano.
In the period 1991-2006, the Murcian population grew
by +29.32%, compared to the +13.38% growth of the national population as
a whole.
The economy of the Region of Murcia has, like all the Spanish autonomies, a preponderance of employment in the service sector with respect to the industrial and agricultural sector. Even so, the latter continues to have great weight in the Murcian productive fabric.
Agriculture and livestock (and the associated derivative industries)
continue to be an important driver of development in the Region, even
more so after the collapse of the construction sector and the housing
business during the economic crisis of 2008-2013. The Murcian primary
sector is characterized by its intensive and industrial production,
historically dedicated to export.
From Calasparra to Beniel,
along the axis of the Segura River, most of the traditional orchards of
the Region of Murcia extend, progressively expanded outside the river
valley with underground flows or transferred from the Tagus River,
throughout the century. xx. Stone fruit trees, table grapes and citrus
fruits are currently the predominant crops from the entrance of said
river to the Region, where a small but interesting sector of rice fields
is located.
The southern sector of the Region shows three clearly
different groups. On the one hand, large dryland sectors, especially
located in the interior, dedicated to cereal and almond trees in a basic
way; the wide Guadalentín Depression where irrigation with water from
the Tagus is dedicated to vegetables, industrial crops and fruit trees,
particularly citrus fruits. Finally, on the coast, the large irrigable
sectors of the Transfer are located in the Campo de Cartagena and the
smaller ones of the coastal plains of Mazarrón and Águilas dedicated to
vegetables and, to a lesser extent, fruit and citrus trees.
In
very general terms, it is possible to distinguish in the Region of
Murcia a distribution of crop masses that, from the interior to the
coast, draw a northern strip above 400 m of altitude with a predominance
of woody crops, especially stone fruit trees. and vineyard and a
southern strip below 200 m of predominance of herbaceous crops, such as
vegetables, and presence of citrus fruits. In this context there are
various products with designation of origin such as the Jumilla Pear,
Calasparra rice or the wines from Jumilla, Yecla and Bullas.
The
majority of companies in the sector are local, such as the El Ciruelo
group, although there are also foreign companies, such as Florette, and
there are also numerous auxiliaries, such as Syngenta.
Murcian
agricultural activity was in the hands of 12.9% of the regional active
population in 2004, a percentage much higher than that of Spain as a
whole (5.8%) on the same date, but lower than that corresponding to any
other element of the sectoral structure of employment in the Region.
Exports in this sector have established themselves as one of the
main drivers of the economy of the Region of Murcia and the main driver
of many companies that thus compensate for the low internal demand due
to the crisis. Murcian exports have increased by 60% in 2012 compared to
the previous year. Adding for the first time 8,000 million euros in
exported products, thus raising the amount of sales abroad to almost 30%
of the regional GDP.
In 2012, Europe represented 75% of the
Murcia international market and after the EU was the African continent,
with 10%; the Asian continent, with 8%, and America, which stood at 7%.
However, its derivative industry and the powerful energy industrial
sector also participate in these amounts of the agri-food sector.
In the export sector, industry is also relevant, such as energy and
petrochemicals, specifically in the industrial hub of the Escombreras
valley, in Cartagena; which has plants from the companies Repsol,
Enagás, Iberdrola, Engie, Naturgy and Química del Estroncio, with the
Repsol refinery (inaugurated in 1950) being the subject of the largest
industrial investment in the history of Spain thanks to the expansion
carried out in 2012. The companies of the Escombreras Valley are the
main industrial hub of the region, generating 7.1% of the GVA (Gross
Added Value) in 2019 and 39.2% of the entire regional industrial
economic sector. The 14% of the gas that entered Spain in 2022 did so
through Cartagena; Likewise, 20% of the gas from all regasification
plants in Spain is produced in Cartagena.
Also of utmost
importance is the food industry, which has a strong historical
tradition, with important local firms such as the various brands of
Grupo Fuertes (such as ElPozo, Fripozo or Palancares), Don Simón-García
Carrión, AMC, Estrella de Levante, Grupo Zamora, Desserts Reina, Vidal,
Fini, or international ones like Hero and Pepsico (owner of Alvalle).
Likewise, we should highlight the furniture industry (mainly in Yecla),
the pharmaceutical industry (Hefame, Bayer, Grifols), the chemical
industry (with the local firm Francisco Aragón and the Saudi Sabic) or
the naval industry (centered in the Navantia shipyards). in Cartagena).
The current industrial fabric of Murcia is the result of the
concurrence of various factors and its evolution after the serious
crisis of 1992. On the one hand, the evolution followed by the
endogenous industry, located essentially along the Vega del Segura, with
a predominance of industrial linked to the supply of plant raw
materials, capital and indigenous initiative, canning companies and a
series of companies induced by the presence of the above oriented to the
production of final consumer goods or light products; and on the other
hand, the exogenous industry, located in Cartagena and its surroundings,
industries of free geographical location, whose origin is due to foreign
capital and initiative, and are essentially oriented towards the
production of basic or heavy products. These are large companies, linked
to the petrochemical, naval and electrical sectors, whose development is
not based so much on the potential of their resources as on the
importance of political-economic interests for the location of large
companies.
After the droughts of the 1990s and with the explosion of the real
estate sector, construction and tourism became one of the bases of the
Murcian economy (already started in the 1960s with the construction of
La Manga del Mar Menor) with companies such as Polaris World, being a
sector strongly promoted by the Regional Government as demonstrated by
the controversial Marina de Cope megaproject, struck down by the courts
in 2013, and which was going to be located in part of the Cabo Cope and
Puntas de Calnegre regional park. In recent years, the economic crisis
has seriously reduced the residential construction sector, its business
fabric and the level of occupancy therein.
Currently, the sector
that employs the most population is the tertiary sector. Tourism has
established itself as one of the pillars of the regional economy and
generates a large number of jobs. The tourism sector is led by the
municipality of Cartagena, which contributes 50% of the regional GDP in
this sector, and almost 30% of all hotel beds in the region. According
to the Exceltur study carried out in 2022, "Atlas of the municipal
contribution of tourism in Spain", Cartagena, in position 42, is the
only municipality in the region among the top 100 destinations in Spain
for its tourist relevance and social contribution.71 Other coastal
municipalities such as San Javier also stand out ( with which Cartagena
shares La Manga del Mar Menor), Águilas, Mazarrón, Los Alcázares, or San
Pedro del Pinatar. The main source of tourism in the Region of Murcia is
sun and beach tourism, mainly residential, although in recent years
congress tourism has increased considerably, highlighting the IFEPA
fairgrounds in Torre Pacheco, the Auditorium and Congress Center of the
Region of Murcia Víctor Villegas (in Murcia) and the El Batel Auditorium
and Congress Palace in Cartagena. Holiday and festival tourism has also
increased. Regarding cruise tourism, the arrival of cruise passengers to
Cartagena, which has grown by 150% in ten years, broke its record for
stops and passengers in 2019 with the arrival of 167 ships and 250,000
visitors, respectively. This volume represents 63 .8% of the total
movement of cruise passengers in the ports of the southeastern peninsula
(Ports of Cartagena, Alicante and Almería).
Cities like Murcia
are authentic points of exchange and commercial attraction not only for
the rest of the Region of Murcia, but also for important areas of the
neighboring provinces of Alicante, Albacete and Almería. Cartagena
exerts its influence on the Campo de Cartagena region and part of the
southern coast of Alicante, while Lorca influences the population of
Alto Guadalentín and Bajo Guadalentín and also attracts people from the
area of the Almanzora Valley and Los Vélez in the province of Almeria.
In business terms, the Region of Murcia has three chambers of
commerce, born at the time in order to replace the trade associations.
Currently, the chambers of commerce of the Region of Murcia are
configured as consultative and collaborative bodies between companies
and Public Administrations, and are: the Chamber of Commerce, Industry
and Navigation of Cartagena, born in 1886; the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry of Lorca, born in 1889, and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry
and Navigation of Murcia, born in 1899.
The climate and beaches of the Region of Murcia make it prone to
so-called sun and beach tourism. The Murcian coast, called Costa Cálida,
has a length of 170 km, where large white sand beaches alternate with
smaller ones and coves with cliffs. In addition, it has the Mar Menor, a
coastal lagoon with multiple tourist possibilities. As a separation
between this salt lake and the Mediterranean Sea, stands La Manga del
Mar Menor.
Of the 192 beaches classified in the Region, 21 are
qualified with a blue flag and another 19 have the Q seal for Tourist
Quality awarded by the Institute for Spanish Tourist Quality (ICTE), an
organization dependent on the General Secretariat of Tourism of the
Ministry of Tourism. Economy, which makes it the third autonomous
community with the most beaches certified with this title, with
Cartagena, with 10, being the Spanish municipality with the most beaches
that have this qualification.
The tourist possibilities are
complemented by a growing interest in cultural and city tourism,
concentrated in the four main historical centers: Caravaca de la Cruz,
Cartagena, Lorca and Murcia. The Roman theater of Cartagena is the most
visited monument and museum space in the region, reaching 251,633
visitors in 2019 and concentrating more than 40% of the visits of all
regional museums.
The Murcian landscape is more varied than it
may seem, and offers a wide range of sports and adventure activities
such as hiking, caving, thermal flights (hang gliding, paragliding),
climbing, cycle tourism, horseback riding, river descents (rafting,
canoes, kayaks), hunting and fishing. The majority are concentrated in
Sierra Espuña, Valle de Ricote, Cieza and Calasparra and the northeast
of the Region. Rural tourism is also booming, mainly in the surroundings
of Caravaca de la Cruz, Totana, Moratalla, Cieza, Cehegín, as well as
wine tourism, mainly in Jumilla, but also in Bullas and Yecla.
The International Airport of the Region of Murcia (IATA: RMU, ICAO:
LEMI), also known as Corvera Airport, is located between the Murcian
districts of Corvera and Valladolises, 26 km from Murcia and 28 km from
Cartagena. Since January 2019, the date of its inauguration, it is the
only one in the Region of Murcia that operates civil flights after the
Murcia-San Javier airport, which was operational for fifty years, was
left for exclusively military use.
The aerodrome has several
international routes with various European countries, both on regular
flights (whether seasonal or annual) and charter flights, with seven
national routes.
The port of Cartagena currently occupies fourth place nationally in
merchandise traffic after Algeciras, Valencia and Barcelona and ahead of
Tarragona, Bilbao or Huelva. 60% of exports and 80% of imports of the
Region of Murcia are carried out through the port of Cartagena.
The ports of the Region of Murcia are included within the maritime
province of Cartagena, and are in turn subdivided into the districts of
Águilas, Mazarrón, Cartagena and San Pedro del Pinatar.
Within
each district there are different sports and fishing ports, also
including commercial ports, the most important being the Port of
Cartagena, although the Port of Águilas or the Port of San Pedro del
Pinatar should also be highlighted.
The region has its own roads and highways included within the Highway
Network of the Region of Murcia.
As for those that are the
responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works, the main communication
axes are the Mediterranean Highway (A-7), which runs in an east-west
direction through the Murcian pre-coastal depression; the Mediterranean
Highway (AP-7), a toll road that runs along the coast; the Murcia
Highway (A-30), which in a south-north direction connects Cartagena with
Albacete passing through the city of Murcia, and the Cieza-Fuente la
Higuera Highway (A-33), which connects the Region of Murcia with the
province from Valencia in the interior, crossing the Altiplano region.
Also noteworthy are both the ring road of the city of Murcia, the MU-30,
and the southwest link of Murcia, the MU-31. The eastern and western
accesses to Cartagena depend in the same way on the Ministry, CT-31 and
CT-32.
Regarding national roads, sections of the N-301, N-332,
N-340 and N-344 run through Murcia.
International width
In December 2022, the Beniel-Murcia section of
the Madrid-Levante high-speed line was inaugurated.
Currently, it
provides the following services:
AVE: Four daily services in each
direction between Murcia and Madrid
Avant: Eight daily services
between Murcia and Alicante
Iberian wide
The railway network
of the Region of Murcia is extensive but very old-fashioned; based on
single track without electrification in all its sections with the
exception of the 10 km of double track between the Murcia-Mercancías
station and the end of the Murcia-El Reguerón variant. All services are
offered by Renfe Operadora, while the infrastructure is managed by Adif.
The Region of Murcia saw its railway network decrease when between
the 70s and mid-80s the Ministry of Public Works decided to close all
those sections that it considered unprofitable, abandoning hundreds of
kilometers and dozens of stations; among them the Murcia-Caravaca
railway; The Murcia-Zaraiche terminus station, and the Almendricos-Baza
section of the Almanzora Railway, were left without railway use, leaving
the Spanish east and Andalusia cut off by direct rail.
Currently,
the following lines remain in service:
Chinchilla-Cartagena line,
non-electrified single track, which passes through the stations of
Cieza, Archena-Fortuna, Murcia del Carmen, Balsicas-Mar Menor,
Torre-Pacheco and Cartagena. It has a branch that connects Cartagena
with the Port of Escombreras, for the transportation of goods.
Murcia-Alicante line, non-electrified single track, which passes through
Beniel station.
Murcia-Águilas line, non-electrified single track,
which passes through the stations of Alcantarilla-Los Romanos, Librilla,
Alhama de Murcia, Totana, La Hoya, Lorca-San Diego, Lorca-Sutullena,
Puerto Lumbreras, Almendricos, Águilas-El Labradorcico and Águilas.
The following services are offered on these sections:
Long
distance
Alvia: they connect Cartagena and Murcia with Madrid-Puerta
de Atocha through the high-speed network from Albacete-Los Llanos with a
daily trip in each direction.
Intercity: Two daily services in each
direction with Barcelona and one weekly service in each direction
between Águilas and Madrid
Middle distance
MD: there are
connections that connect Cartagena with Valencia and Zaragoza, both
passing through Murcia
Proximity: daily services that connect Murcia
and Cartagena
Murcia/Alicante commuter trains
Line C-1: Murcia
del Carmen-Alicante
Line C-2: Murcia del Carmen-Lorca and Águilas
There is a freight transport service from the industrial hub of the
Escombreras valley and the port of Cartagena to the interior of the
peninsula.
narrow gauge
The Region of Murcia has a narrow
gauge commuter railway service operated by Renfe Cercanías AM. This is
the Cartagena-Los Nietos Line, which connects the city of Cartagena with
the coastal town of Los Nietos passing through the municipality of La
Unión and other centers of the Sierra Minera such as El Estrecho de San
Ginés and Llano del Beal.
Several reform projects weigh on this
line in which Renfe Cercanías AM and the Cartagena City Council are
studying its transformation to tram mode, expanding its coverage to more
towns in the Mar Menor, including La Manga del Mar Menor and Cabo de
Palos.
In 2002, the Murcia City Council proposed the reestablishment of the
tram in the city, with an experimental section inaugurated in 2007.
Since May 2011, line 1 of the Murcia Tram has been in service,
linking the Circular plaza of Murcia with the Espinardo university
campus, as well as the campus of the San Antonio Catholic University in
Guadalupe and the shopping centers in the northern area where it is
located. the Nueva Condomina stadium. Line 2 is in the pipeline that
will connect Murcia with Alcantarilla, while line 3 will go from Murcia
to the Sanitary City in El Palmar, Sangonera la Verde and the Industrial
Estate West of Murcia.
In November 2009, the Cartagena city
council signed an agreement with the Autonomous Community and with the
president of FEVE (previous name of Renfe Cercanías AM) to promote the
implementation of a tram in the municipality that would also border the
towns of the Mar Menor using as base on the current Renfe Cercanías AM
line between Cartagena and Los Nietos.
When the project is
completed, the Cartagena tram would have 55 km of tracks, which will
serve as both an urban and commuter tram. The urban tram will surround
the city, and passing through La Unión it will reach Los Nietos using
the aforementioned Renfe Cercanías AM route. The suburban train would
consist of two train-tram lines, one would depart to San Pedro del
Pinatar, passing through Los Urrutias, Los Alcázares, the San Javier
airport and San Javier; the other would reach Cabo de Palos, passing
through Los Belones.
Iberdrola is the company that provides the electricity distribution
service in the Region of Murcia.
DEGESCO is the regional
association that brings together seventy independent gas stations.
Electricity obtained by renewable means
In Spain, renewable
production sources provide 40 percent of electricity.
The Region
of Murcia is one of the communities most vulnerable to problems due to
the poor development of its renewable energy network, according to Red
Eléctrica Española (REE):
The community generates little wind
energy. It has a power of 140 megawatts in the six wind farms installed
in the Altiplano, owned by Iberdrola Renovables. It has 140 MW of power
distributed among six wind farms, these are Buey (19.6 MW), Gavilanes
(22.5 MW), Gavilanes II, (15.3 MW), Almendros (20 MW), Almendros II (28
MW ) and Reventones (34 MW).
With 280 photovoltaic solar
installations, it is among the first places in the regional ranking,
which is headed by Castilla-La Mancha with 791 installations. They are
followed by Andalusia, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Murcia.
Electricity obtained from thermal power plants
The Region of Murcia
has the combined cycle power plants of El Fangal, of 1,200 MW (owned by
Engie), the Cartagena combined cycle power plant (of 1,200 MW, owned by
Naturgy) and Escombreras, of 815 MW, which is owned by Iberdrola. All of
them are located in the Escombreras valley, in the municipality of
Cartagena.
In accordance with the statute of autonomy, the institutional bodies
of the Region of Murcia are the Regional Assembly, the president and the
Government Council.
The Regional Assembly of Murcia is the
regional parliament and represents the Murcian people. It holds
legislative power, approves budgets, and promotes, guides and controls
the action of the autonomous executive bodies. It is made up of 45
deputies elected for a period of four years through universal, free,
equal, direct and secret suffrage, with a single constituency since
2019. It has its headquarters in the city of Cartagena.
The
president of the autonomous community is elected by the Regional
Assembly of Murcia from among its members. Among his functions are the
supreme representation of the Region of Murcia and the ordinary
representation of the State in its territory, the presidency of the
Government Council, and the direction and coordination of the autonomous
executive power. It has its headquarters in the San Esteban Palace in
the city of Murcia.
The Government Council is the collegiate body
that directs regional policy. It is responsible for the executive
function, the government and administration of the Autonomous Community
and the exercise of regulatory power. It is made up of the president,
the vice president if applicable, and the advisors, who the president
freely appoints and removes. It is also based in the San Esteban Palace
in the city of Murcia, as are different departments into which the
regional general administration is divided, with the exception of the
Department of Tourism, located in Cartagena.
The Superior Court
of Justice of the Region of Murcia is the jurisdictional body in which
the judicial organization culminates in the territorial scope of the
Autonomous Community. It has its headquarters in the Palace of Justice
on Paseo de Garay in Murcia.
Other autonomous institutions are:
the Ombudsman of the Region of Murcia and the Legal Council of the
Region of Murcia, both of which have their headquarters on Alejandro
Seiquer Street in Murcia. The Economic and Social Council of the Region
of Murcia has its headquarters in the same city, next to the Malecón
Footbridge.
The execution of the powers of administration and
management of health services, benefits and programs corresponds to the
Murcian Health Service.
Article 3.2 of the autonomy statute establishes that "the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia is organized territorially into municipalities and regions."
The autonomous community of the Region of Murcia (CARM) is divided
into only 45 municipalities. This number of municipalities is the lowest
among the autonomous communities and the second lowest among the
provinces, above only Las Palmas and tied with Cádiz, which have 34 and
45 municipalities respectively.
Some of these municipalities are
among the most populated in Spain: Murcia is the seventh municipality in
Spain by population, Cartagena is the 24th and Lorca is the 70th. There
are also two metropolitan areas among the most populated in Spain:
Murcia is the 10th and Cartagena is the 27th.
Several
municipalities are close to or even exceed 1000 km² in area, with five
of them being among the twenty largest in Spain: Lorca with 1676 km² is
the second; Jumilla with 972 km² is tenth; Moratalla with 955 km² is
twelfth; Murcia with 886 km² is the sixteenth and Caravaca de la Cruz
with 858 km² is the twentieth.
Due to the large size of many
municipalities, it is common to divide them into districts, called
deputations in some areas of the Region. Thus, the municipality of
Murcia is organized into 54 districts and the municipality of Cartagena
into 24 councils. In the Region of Murcia there are 66 councils
belonging to the municipalities of Cartagena, Lorca and Totana and 295
districts distributed among the rest of the municipalities. Albudeite
and Pliego do not have districts or councils.
In contrast to the
large municipalities usual in the Region, the municipalities of Archena
(16.40 km²), Alcantarilla (16.24 km²), Lorquí (15.0 km²), Villanueva del
Río Segura (13.18 km²), Ceutí (10.34 km²) and Beniel (10.06 km²), have
less than 17 km² in area.
In the Region of Murcia there are usually 12 regions, although they
are neither recognized nor officially delimited. The Statute of Autonomy
of the Region of Murcia configures the region as one of the elements of
its territorial organization, but the Regional Assembly of Murcia has
not enacted any regionalization law, so, for the moment, such regions
lack legal personality.
Plateau
Alto Guadalentín
Under
Guadalentín
Cartagena Field
Orchard of Murcia
Mar Menor
Northwest
Eastern Region
Mula River
Ricote Valley
Vega Alta
del Segura
Vega Media del Segura
Metropolitan areas
In the
Region of Murcia, the main urban area or metropolitan area is the
capital. Although it is not administratively delimited, it is recognized
as an urban area by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda
of Spain. The extension and population of this area depend on each study
carried out in this regard, but the Ministry's study includes within it
the municipalities of Alcantarilla, Alguazas, Archena, Beniel, Ceutí,
Lorquí, Molina de Segura, Santomera and Las Torres de Cotillas. , in
addition to that of Murcia. This area would be made up of 10
municipalities, with a population of 672,773 inhabitants in 2020 (being
the tenth most populated in Spain), distributed over an area of 1,230.9
km² and with a density of 547 inhabitants/km².
However, the
Region of Murcia would also have a supraregional metropolitan area such
as the Murcia-Orihuela conurbation, with a total population of 776,784
inhabitants (INE 2009), an area of 1,787 km² and a density of 445.54
inhabitants./ km², so it would be the seventh in Spain.
Cartagenerism is a social, political and ideological movement in
Spain that seeks the recognition of a province centered on Cartagena and
its region (Campo de Cartagena), which includes the municipalities of La
Unión, Los Alcázares, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar, Torre Pacheco,
Fuente Álamo and some districts in the south of the municipality of
Murcia, such as Lobosillo, which form its metropolitan area, in addition
to Mazarrón, as well as the defense of the Cartagena identity and its
surroundings.
The resulting territory would have an extension
similar to the province of Guipúzcoa, a population of 409,586
inhabitants, greater than that of 15 Spanish provinces and the
Autonomous Community of La Rioja, and its capital, Cartagena, has more
population than 33 provincial capitals.
The groups that propose
biprovinciality argue that the Region of Murcia would increase its
representation in the Spanish Cortes, with 4 more seats in the Congress
of Deputies and 2 more in the Senate, matching that of other communities
that, with a smaller population, have more representatives in the
Cortes.
According to the Murcia-electoral demographic company,
86% of the people of Cartagena are in favor of a new province, although
it is rejected by the rest of the municipalities in the region in
addition to Mazarrón, except in La Unión. At the regional level, 39.85 %
would be in favor of biprovincial autonomy compared to 60.15% who reject
it.
The Region of Murcia has two daily paper newspapers, La Verdad and La
Opinión, and the regional editions of other national media, such as La
Razón or the Murcia edition of the digital eldiario.es.
As for
digital terrestrial television, there are five channels that broadcast
from the region:
7 Region of Murcia (Radiotelevision of the Region of
Murcia)
Murcia Television (TVM)
Popular Television of the Region
of Murcia (Popular TV)
Channel 8
There is a public radio
station in the Region of Murcia: Onda Regional, belonging to the
Radiotelevisión group of the Region of Murcia.
Illustrious Murcians are: Isidore of Seville (560-636); Ibn Arabi
(1165-1240), Sufi mystic, poet, philosopher, traveler and wise man,
world-class figure in the field of mysticism; Hazim al-Qartayanni
(1211-1284), Andalusian poet; Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi (1219-1287), Sufi
master after whom the most important mosque in Alexandria (Egypt) is
named; Ibn Razin al-Tuyibi (1227-1293), poet and gastronome; Juan
Fernández (1528-1599), sailor and explorer of the Pacific Ocean and
Polynesia, and discoverer of New Zealand; Ginés Pérez de Hita
(1544-1619), novelist; Pedro Orrente (1580-1645), baroque painter who
spread Italian naturalism in Spain, Diego de Saavedra Fajardo
(1584-1648), writer and diplomat of Philip IV; Pedro Fajardo de Zúñiga y
Requeséns (1602-1647), nobleman and soldier; Francisco Salzillo
(1707-1783), sculptor and image maker, the most representative of the
Spanish 18th century and creator of the Murcian school of sculpture;
José Moñino y Redondo, count of Floridablanca (1728-1808), statesman who
held various positions during the reigns of Carlos III and Carlos IV,
also being the first president of the Supreme Central Board during the
War of Independence; Juan Oliver Astorga (1733-1830), composer; Roque
López (1747-1811), sculptor and image maker, disciple of Salzillo; Diego
Clemencín (1765-1834), writer and liberal politician; Isidoro Máiquez
(1768-1820), actor; Juan Palarea y Blanes (1780-1842), liberal guerrilla
and military man; Rafael Maroto (1783-1853), military man and Carlist
leader; Rafael Tegeo (1798-1856), painter; Julián Romea (1813-1868),
romantic theater actor; José Selgas (1822-1882), writer and journalist;
Federico Balart (1831-1905), poet, journalist and republican deputy,
Manuel Fernández Caballero (1835-1906), composer of zarzuelas; Isaac
Peral (1851-1895), scientist, sailor and military man; Juan de la Cierva
y Peñafiel (1864-1938), politician; Vicente Medina (1866-1937), poet and
playwright; Mariano Ruiz-Funes (1889-1953), jurist and republican
politician; José Pérez Mateos (1884-1956), otorhinolaryngologist and
president of the Collegiate Medical Organization of Spain; and Juan de
la Cierva y Codorníu (1895-1936), engineer and inventor, creator of the
autogyro.
Of those born in the 20th century, the list of
illustrious Murcians is expanded with Juan López Sánchez (1900-1972),
anarchist unionist, minister of the Second Republic during the Civil
War; Ramón Serrano Súñer (1901-2003), Francoist minister; Carmen Conde
(1907-1996), poet and writer, first woman member of the RAE; Juan
González Moreno (1908-1996), sculptor and image maker; Ramón Gaya
(1910-2005), painter and writer, National Prize for Plastic Arts; Manuel
Muñoz Barberán (1921-2007), painter, sculptor and writer; Jaime Campmany
(1925-2005), journalist, novelist and satirical poet; Francisco Rabal
(1926-2001), actor; Narciso Yepes (1927-1997), guitarist; Pedro Cano
(1944-), painter; Mari Trini (1947-2009), singer and composer; Eloy
Sánchez Rosillo (1948-), poet; Luis del Rivero (1950-), businessman and
former president of the Sacyr Vallehermoso group; Bárbara Rey (1950-),
vedette, presenter and actress; Charo (1951-), showgirl and singer based
in the USA; Arturo Pérez-Reverte (1951-), writer; Alejandro Valverde
(1980-), 2018 world champion cyclist, winner of the 2009 Vuelta Ciclista
a España, Luis León Sánchez (1983-) cyclist; Nicolás Almagro (1985-),
professional tennis player, winner of seven ATP tournaments; Miguel
Ángel López (1988-), world champion in the 20 km walk in 2015; Ana
Carrasco (1997-), motorcycle racer, world motorcycle champion in 2018;
Carlos Alcaraz (2003-), tennis player; and Pedro Acosta (2004-),
motorcycle racer. In football, the players Pedro León and the Olympiacos
F C player Alberto Botía stand out among others. Regarding the musical
field, notable groups or bands are M Clan, Presuntos Implicados (two of
its former members), Second, Maldita Nerea or Viva Sweden; and singers
like Ruth Lorenzo and Blas Cantó.
Already in the 20th century,
the recognition of Gold Medals, Distinguished Service diplomas and the
Tie of Honor were established to recognize famous Murcians.
Almost one hundred Murcians died in Nazi concentration camps.
The
Region of Murcia and Cantabria are the only autonomous communities that
do not have any Osborne bulls.
Traditional units of measurement: the
tahúlla which is equivalent to 1118 square meters, shared with the
neighboring province of Alicante.