Figueres}

Figueres

by

matthewtaylor

Overview

Figueres town is the capital of Alt Empord district in the Girona province of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain. This place is physically situated in the north east of Catalonia. Its distance from the cities Girona, Barcelona and Perpignan are 40 KM, 140 KM and 60 KM respectively. The distance between this town and the airport at Girona is 50 KM. The population of this town is 40000.

The famous surrealist Catalanpainter, Salvador Dal was born in this town. There is a large Dal Theatre and Museum designed by Dali and many visitors throng this place. The Catalan engineer, Narcs Monturiol i Estarriol, who invented the 1st combustion engine-drivensubmarine was also born in this town. Another famous personality born in this place is Monica Naranjo, the Spanish singer.

History

The origin for the name of the town is the word Ficaris that has Visigoth origins. KingJames I of Aragon had given legal forum (fuero in Spanish) in the year 1267; however, Hugo IV set fire to the town after four years. This town was bombed repetitively by rebels because of its loyalty to the Republican Government during the Spanish civil war. The economic recovery of this town began in 1950s and this was mainly due to tourism.

Climate

The average temperatures in a year are as follows:

Maximum 29 C in the months of July and August

Minimum 3 C in January

Art/ Culture

1.Castle of Sant Ferran was built by the Spanish King Ferdinand VI in the year 1743. The plan of the castle has the shape of a pentagon and its circumference is 5.6 KM.

2.St. Peter Parish church this has Gothic architecture and there is a central part with side chapels.

3.Dali theatre and museum was constructed in the 19th century and was renovated subsequently in the 1960s.

Cuisine

Popular food items in this place are oxtail soup, fuet, butifarra, paella, seafood and gaspatxo. One of the tasty items is ‘patatas de Olot’ wherein a potato is wrapped over ground meat and fried.

Shopping

Since the taxes in this town are lower as compared to France, many Frenchmen visit this place for shopping. In order to cater to such people and also tourists coming to this place because of beaches and museums, many popular shopping malls like Benetton, Zara La Coste, etc. have opened their shops for selling their brands. In addition local shops sell items such as jewelry, chocolate, wines, etc.

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Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com}