Palos de la Frontera

Palos de la Frontera is a town of the province of Huelva, the autonomous region of Andalusia in Spain. Its distance to provincial level Huelva is 14 km. It lies on the left bank of the Río Tinto, near the mouth of the Río Odiel, where this unites with the Rio Tinto.

Palos de la Frontera describes himself as a " cradle of the discovery of America ." From here, Columbus stood with the two caravels Niña and Pinta and the carrack Santa Maria on August 3, 1492 See, when he wanted to discover the sea route to India. Outstanding personalities of the city - such as the brothers Pinzón - played a central role in the discovery of America by the Europeans.

History of the City

The city's name comes from the Latin word palus back, which in this context means as much as "swamp " or "lake". Until 1642, the city only Palos said. Middle of the 16th century believed the first chroniclers of the discovery of America, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and Francisco López de Gómara, mistakenly, at Palos and Moguer it were one and the same place. They therefore created the denomination Palos de Moguer, which found its way into the encyclopaedias and text books of the time very quickly.

In May 1642 City Council Palos decided to rename the town of Palos de la Frontera. He made use of the fact that the insurgent Marqués de Ayamonte had led Portuguese troops over the border river Guadiana east to the Río Tinto. With the new addition of the names wrong could be displaced, the Palos had as a village of the neighboring town of Moguer make it appear.

Population Development

Economy

In recent years, the economic activity has shifted away from the traditional fishing and towards a modern industrial production. Another important industry is agriculture. To mention here is especially typical for the province of Huelva large-scale cultivation of strawberries.

Attractions

Iglesia de San Jorge, in Mudejar style. Next to the church are the remains of the fort of Palos.
Martín Alonso Pinzón Museo de. Here the visitor can admire nautical instruments, paintings and maps related to the discovery of America. A monument commemorates the Captain Columbus ' citizens Martín Alonso Pinzón and significant.
Franciscan La Rabida ( on the road to Huelva). Here Columbus is said to have had the idea to his discovery voyage to India.
The botanical garden (also on the road to Huelva), José Celestino Mutis created by, with local and American styles.
Muelle de la Carabelas ( " moles of the three caravels "). Here are the replicas of the three caravels Pinta, Santa Maria and Niña, which departed Columbus looking for a sea route to India are ( the replicas were specially made for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America in 1992, at the Expo erected in Seville).
Muelle de la Reina ( " Queen of the Mole "). A monument of Icarus reminds us of the then world -wide attention -grabbing first intercontinental flight the seaplane Plus Ultra from Huelva to Buenos Aires in 1926.

Pope's visit

On 14 June 1993 Pope John Paul II Palos de la Frontera. Among other things, he paid tribute to the outstanding historical significance of the city, both for the character of the modern world as well as in terms of the spread of Christianity.

Twinning

The city has among other partnerships with the cities

In Spain Baiona in Galicia, since 1975
Santa Fe in Andalusia since 1983
San Sebastian de la Gomera, since 1984
Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Andalusia
Santoña in Cantabria, since 1990

As well as with

Assisi in Umbria, Italy, since 1984
Latina in the Lazio, Italy, since 1994
Lagos in the Algarve, Portugal
Ofunato on Honshu, Japan, since 1992
Soyaux in the Charente, France, since 1993

Sons and daughters of the town

Martín Alonso Pinzón (1441-1493), Spanish navigator and participants of the first Columbus trip
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (~ 1460-1523? ), Spanish navigator and explorer, participants of the first Columbus trip
Francisco Martín Pinzón (~ 1445-1502? ), Spanish navigator and explorer
Juan Rodriguez Mafra
Gonzalo Guerrero ( * before 1500, † probably 1536), Spanish sailor, lived after shipwreck among the Maya
Antón de Alaminos (1482-1520? ), Spanish helmsman and explorers

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