Santa Cruz de la Palma (; literally Holy Cross of La Palma) is a city and a municipality on the east coast of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second-largest city (after Los Llanos de Aridane) and is the capital of the island. It is along an old lava flow coming from the Caldereta (small caldera), a volcano just south of the city. Santa Cruz de La Palma has the privilege of having the first democratically elected town hall in Spain.
The population of the municipality is 16,330 (2013),Instituto Canario de Estadística , population its area is 43.38 km2. Around 13,000 people live within the city limits, with the remaining population residing in other settlements.
History The city was founded by Alonso Fernández de Lugo on May 3, 1493. It was located between a river which is situated by a cave named Tedote (now Cueva de Carías, located north of the city). The city, originally called Villa del Apurón, served as a port that connected routes to the Americas, exporting goods from the island such as sugarcane. The city was sacked by pirates and was later reconstructed and fortified against future pirate attacks. Famous fortifications include the Castillo de Santa Catalina and Castillo de la Virgen. The economic crisis that affected the agriculture sector brought the greatest loss of population in the city's history, which limited its expansion and caused the population to stabilize and drop to 11,000. The population did not approach its original 18,000 again for the next hundred years.
Climate Santa Cruz de la Palma has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) featuring very warm, almost rainless summers from April to September, and warm, rainier winters from October to March.
Culture The main Catholic church is the Iglesia de El Salvador, founded in 1500.
Tourism Santa Cruz de la Palma has the only major port in the island, serving ferry routes to Cádiz in Spain, as well as to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The main ferry operators in the port are Naviera Armas, Fred. Olsen Express, and Trasmediterránea. Many cruise line firms visit the port. Air travel to and from the island is served by La Palma Airport which provides flights to mainland Spain and other European destinations.
In Las Nieves is the Real Santuario Insular de las Virgen de las Nieves, the patron saint of the island of La Palma.
Media El Apurón : elapuron.com
Sport The football SD Tenisca rivalry with CD Mensajero is the most important derby of the island of La Palma. One of these games, played in 1983, was considered one of the most violent in the history of Spanish football.
Demographics
Population breakdown according to the Continuous Registry by Population Unit of the INE.
Núcleos Inhabitants (2012) Barranco de la Madera 84 Barranco del Río 39 Candelaria 54 Cuesta del Llano de la Cruz 199 El Dorador 11 El Frontón 5 El Morro 59 El Planto 121 El Pocito 109 Juan Mayor 180 La Portada 67 La Verada 62 Las Lajitas 9 Las Nieves 14 Las Tierritas 118 Las Toscas 67 Llano Grande 98 Lomo de los Gomeros 9 Lomo del Centro 231 Lomo Espanta 136 Los Álamos 149 1040 Roque de Arriba 84 Santa Cruz de La Palma 13608 152
Historical population Year Population Late-19th century around 18,000 1900 11,000 1991 17,205 1996 17,265 2001 17,265 2002 18,228 2003 18,201 2004 17,857 2008 17,132 2013 16,330202315,441
People Manolo Blahnik, shoemaker
See also Holy Week in Santa Cruz de La Palma List of municipalities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
References
External links
Official website