Interesting facts about Spain: history, description and reviews

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Spain is one of the oldest countries in Europe, which occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula and, together with several islands, is located on the border between Europe and Africa. Here is a short overview of interesting facts and events about Spain.

Spain tourism

Although the most visited city in Europe is the capital of France, Paris, the most visited country in Europe is Spain.

Spain is truly loved by the sun - almost 280 days a year there are no clouds and rains. This is a very attractive factor for tourists, but local farmers have to work hard to water their crops and protect their magnificent vegetables and fruits from the scorching heat.

Spain is spread not only on several nearby islands - the Canary and Balearic Islands - but also on the African continent. The cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Africa belong to the Spanish royal court and are only 35 minutes away from Europe by ferry across Gibr altar.

Beaches, deserts and rocks

Also, for some tourists, facts about Spain and Spanish beaches will become interesting and unusual, where on any beach it is allowedsunbathing nude, and there are no special places for nudists. However, this entertainment is not very popular in the resorts, and lovers of solid tan still try to retire somewhere.

Spain is amazing with its variety of natural areas. Here are the huge mountain ranges of the Pyrenees with the famous ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada and the extinct volcanoes of Gran Canaria, Calatrava and La Palma.

If climbers are also fans of diving, they can find "2 in 1" in the Costa Brava resort, where steep cliffs coexist with beautiful sandy beaches and coves.

And those who want to ride camels and find out what the Sahara looks like, can visit Maspalomas Park on the island of Gran Canaria, where there is a real piece of arid desert.

And, of course, who would not want to visit Ibiza with its famous places of entertainment, which all respectable young people of the world crave to visit.

Festival of Giants

Every year in March, Valencia hosts one of the most incendiary Las Fallas festivals. Fireworks, dances, spectacular shows, the main of which is a review of giant figures made of wood and papier-mâché - this is the hallmark of Valencia. Each district comes up with incredible scenes so that its sculpture will win the competition, but even the most luxurious paper gullivers have the same fate - at the height of the holiday they are burned on a grandiose festive fire.

These are not all the most interesting facts about Spain and Spanish carnivals. Each province has its own unique customs and holidays, and it is worth seeing it with your own eyes or participating in competitions to experience the excitement and the best emotions.

Historical interesting and unusual facts about Spain

• Translated from ancient Roman, the name of the country is consonant with the "coast of rabbits", since it was these animals that the ancient Romans saw in abundance on the coast, who, while traveling, reached the coast of the neighboring peninsula.

• Spain is the only country in Europe that was virtually unaffected by the last ice age due to its location in the southern latitudes. It was from here that the re-population of Europe began after the glaciers disappeared. Of the 9,000 plant species native to Europe, more than 8,000 can be found in Spain, with more than a quarter of them growing only in this country.

  

• In 711, almost all of Spain was captured by the Arabs, and only in 1492 the Moors were expelled from the kingdom. However, over the 8 centuries of their domination, the Arabs made many progressive structures in the cities of Spain, such as lanterns and running water, left the astrolabe, devices for determining the location and studying the planets to Europeans. Then, in 1209, Europe's first Muslim university was established in Valencia.
• Spanish women keep their surname by joiningmarriage, and traditionally Spaniards use two surnames in their name - both mother and father.

Christopher Columbus - the Italian who glorified Spain

In 1492, the rulers of Spain, King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella, gave Christopher Columbus funds to explore new sea routes to India. By mistake, Columbus reached the Bahamas, then during three more expeditions mapped Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Antilles and South America, but until the end of his life he was sure that he had discovered the long-awaited path to Asia.

Depleted by the war with the Moors, the Spanish treasury suddenly receives a huge source of income, and for a long time Spain remains the richest country in the world.

Columbus did not receive the promised titles and titles for his merits, one small country in Central America was named after him, and his colleague Amerigo Vespucci, after several trips to the New World that took place after the death of Columbus, received all the glory of the discoverer of America.

The most interesting facts about ancient Spain could be told by the Spaniards, who few people remember, but who were also the first. The Spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano took command of the flotilla in 1522 after the death of Magellan, who led the expedition, and became the first captain to circumnavigate the world. In 1603, the sailor Gabriel de Castilla, a Spaniard, was the first to see Antarctica, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa, also a Spanish navigator, was the first to see the Pacific Ocean.

Worldmeaning of spanish

• Spain has left another deep progressive mark on world culture - more than 400 million people in 23 countries now speak Spanish, of which 40 million live in the United States. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world after Chinese.

• Only 74% of the Spanish population speaks Spanish, the rest speak Catalan, Galician and Basque.

  

• The expression "blue blood" was given to the world by the Spanish nobility, who had traced their genealogy for many centuries and were very proud of the purity of blood. A distinctive feature of the offspring of royal blood was thin pale skin, through which vessels and veins were perfectly visible, giving it an "aristocratic blue".

Schools in Spain - interesting facts

• Spain is the country with the most decentralized democracy in Europe. Each autonomous community and province establishes its own procedure for financing and operating public institutions - schools, universities, hospitals. This is not reflected in the growing popularity of education in Spain, as the prevalence of the Spanish language attracts a huge number of students and students here.

• In recent years, the Spanish government has carried out a profound reform of primary and secondary education, which made it possible to organically combine historical traditions and modern standards of education and quickly integrate into the system of the Europeaneducation.

  

• More women study at universities in Spain than men.
• Most of the educational institutions in Spain are public. In different areas, their number ranges from 65% to 70%. Higher education institutions are 75% under the jurisdiction of the state.
• Children aged 4 to 15 attend 100% pre-school and school. Only 30% of young people over the age of 20 study, after 25 years only less than 8% continue their education.
• Only 4.5% of Spain's GDP is spent on education, the lowest in the European Union.

15 interesting facts about gastronomic Spain

• Spain is not only the most visited country in the world by tourists, but also holds the first place in the world in terms of the number of different clubs, pubs, bars, cafes and other entertainment venues.

  

• It is not customary to get up early in the morning in Spain, they sit down to breakfast there no earlier than one in the afternoon, and dinner at 10 pm is a common occurrence. The reason for this is not only the scorching daytime sun, but also the special character of the Spaniards, who are reputed to be the most carefree nation in the world. It is customary to have breakfast in a nearby cafe, where free morning newspapers are always waiting for visitors on the tables.

• In Spain, it is as unrealistic to die of hunger as it is to freeze in the cold: in every bar as a snackfree "tapas" is offered, usually consisting of french fries, mini burgers and fancy sliced ham.

  

• Jamón is a Spanish national meat product made from pork ham according to old recipes. There are two varieties of jamon - Iberico and Serrano. The first is usually an order of magnitude more expensive than the second and its cost can reach up to 300 euros per 1 kg. The average ham is prepared in about 10 days. You can buy ham almost everywhere - from butcher shops to large supermarkets, but the cheapest, but no less high-quality ham can be purchased directly from the manufacturing shops. There are even tourist tours where you can see the entire cooking cycle and taste the product.

  

• Spain is practically the only country in Europe where bananas are grown.
• Together with America, the Spaniards gave Europe such wonderful products as tomatoes, tobacco, cocoa, potatoes and avocados.
• National Spanish cuisine is replete with various options for dishes and potato cakes, but wheat and corn pastries are not at all popular here.

Olives and wine

• Spain produces over 45% of the world's olive oil. In addition, it is the largest exporter of olives - more than 250 thousand tons of fruits are exported from the country annually, of which more than 25% are shipped to the United States and 11% to Russia.

  

• Excellent grape wines are produced and sold in every province in Spain. Even small villages have their own wine museums and tasting rooms, where you can always taste excellent noble wines. In terms of wine production, Spain ranks third in the world after France and Italy. The hotel Marques de Riscal, which was built near the municipality of Elciego in the Basque Country, is considered to be an elite center for wine cruises.

• The cost of a bottle of wine can vary from 3 to 300 euros depending on the area where it is grown and prepared, but they will always be great - light and rich, soaking up the sun and vitality of Spain.

  

• Chorizo is another national Spanish pork dish - a fragrant sausage with lots of spices and paprika. A lot of dishes and tapas are prepared from chorizo, they cook broth and make delicious bocadillos - sandwiches with cheese, figs or olives.
• Turron is a Spanish sweet made from nuts, honey, egg white and sugar. Turron was already known in the 15th century, as its recipes were found in the records of medieval Gijon in the province of Alicante.

Frying pans and volcanoes

• Paella sets are very popular in Spain - a hearty but light rice dish with vegetables and pieces of meat, poultry or seafood. The set includes special rice, broth and…frying pan! Despite the low cost - from 10 to 25 euros - the frying pans are of good quality and serve the cook for many years.

  

• The most prestigious restaurant in the world is also in Spain - it's El Bulli in the city of Roses in Catalonia. The cost of dishes starts here from 250 euros, but this does not stop true gourmets - tables in the restaurant are booked on the opening day for the entire season, which here lasts only six months.

  

• In the Canary Islands there is a restaurant El Diablo, famous for its "Devil's steaks", which are fried right on the mouth of a small volcano.

  

  These are just some of the most interesting facts about Spain. The generosity of this country, the incredible beauty of nature, ancient castles and delicious dishes imbued with s alt and aromas of spices - these are the main attractions of Spain. And everyone will find their lucky grape here.