'Orihuela' in
Spanish or 'Oriola' in
Valencian is a city and municipality located in the province of
Alicante,
Spain. It has an area of 365.4 km² and, according to the
2005 census, a total population of 75,009 inhabitants. The river
Segura flows through the city.
The city was settled by
Romans who called it ''Orcelis'' and subsequently ''Aurariola''.
History
Orihuela is the capital of the region of the "
Vega Baja del Segura" (natural region of the
Segura River); it has been the capital of a province and even of a kingdom. The city was named the first city of the province of
Alicante, 11 September 1437.
In 576 it was the capital of the
Visigothic province of ''Aurariola'', to which it gave its name. In 713 (5 April) the military man and Count Teodomiro, proclaimed himself King of
Tudmir.
In
825 the
Kingdom of Tudmir, became a dependent kingdom under
Ummayad control, and the capital was moved to Murcia. In 910 the Kingdom of Tudmir passed to the
Emirate of Cordova.
In 1053 the principality of Murcia, part of the
Kingdom of Denia, is created. In 1086 the principality of Murcia becomes independent from Denia. In 1212 the area passed to the Kingdom of Murcia.
In 1304 Orihuela was considered to be on the border between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón. In 1366 it passed to the
kingdom of Aragón.
In 1437, it was declared a city and in 1707,
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor made Orihuela capital of the province of Orihuela. In 1737
Alicante,
Elche,
Monforte,
Jijona,
Villajoyosa,
Agost,
Busot,
San Juan or Muchamiel became independent from the province of Orihuela, forming the one of
Alicante.
1799 Orihuela was part of the province of Alicante. In 1810, Napoleon made Orihuela part of the Department of Segura with the capital at Murcia. In 1822, Orihuela passed to the province of Murcia. 1833 it became part of the province of Alicante. In 1920 nationalistic movements spoke of Orihuela as belonging to the "country of Murcia."
Between 1988 and 2006 various research studies from the Universities of Andalusia, Castile and Murcia demonstrated that Orihuela was more culturally part of Murcia than Valencia in terms of phonetics, lexicon, architecture, agriculture, folclore, musical celebrations, instruments, language, burial customs, gastronomy and ''varieties''.
In the cathedral
Economy
The agriculture of Orihuela is based on lemons, oranges, almonds, olives, palm trees,
pomegranates, cotton,
hemp and vegetables. It also has an important industry of
silk,
wool and
preserved food.
Monuments
The most important architectonic monuments of Orihuela are an
Arabic castle with its towers, a
Catholic cathedral built between the 14th and 16th centuries and the
Baroque church of ''Santo Domingo''.
Famous people
The Spanish poet
Miguel Hernández was born in this city, which shares a campus with the
University Miguel Hernández. It is also important for its festival of ''
Moros y Cristianos''.
See also
★
CLARO (political party)
★
Torrevieja
External links
★
orihueladigital.es Up to date local news, culture and information site in the Spanish language
★
activaorihuela.es Day by day in Orihuela. Website for local newspaper in Spanish language.
★
Orihuela.com News and Guide of the city.
★
Orihuela Spain, Overview of the City of Orihuela including a video with most important sightseeing attractions.
★
Orihuela Official tourism site for the region of Valencia.
★
Pictures Picture gallery from SpanishVida
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