The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The municipality has an area of 367.19 km2, and stretches all the way down to the Mediterranean coast, west ofTorrevieja, and had a total population of 92,000 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. This includes not only the city of Orihuela, but also the coastal tourist development hub (urbanización turística) ofDehesa de Campoamor with 33,277 inhabitants (2013) and a few other villages.[1]
Theriver Segura flows through Orihuela. The city was settled byRomans who called itOrcelis and subsequentlyAurariola (Latin: "breeze").
History
Orihuela is the capital of the region of theVega Baja del Segura (floodplain of theSegura River), located near its mouth;[5] it has been the capital of a province and even of a kingdom. The city was named the first city of the province ofAlicante, 11 September 1437.
In 576 Orihuela was the capital of theVisigothic province ofAurariola, to which it gave its name. In 713 (5 April) the military man and Count Teodomiro, proclaimed himself King ofTudmir.
At the end of the 9th century, the city was attacked by the Vikings in the first Viking wave across the Mediterranean (858-861).[6]
In 825 theKingdom of Tudmir became a dependent kingdom underUmayyad control, and the capital was moved to Murcia. In 910 the Kingdom of Tudmir passed to theEmirate of Cordova.
In 1053 the principality of Murcia, part of theKingdom of Denia, was created. In 1086 it become 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 thekingdom of Valencia.
In the Middle Ages, aJewish community was present in Orihuela until itsexpulsion in 1492.[7]
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 1873, during theCantonal Rebellion, it became an independent canton after theBattle of Orihuela.[8] 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, folklore, musical celebrations, instruments, language, burial customs, gastronomy andvarieties.
In recent years, there has been growing support for the "independence" of Orihuela Costa (Dehesa de Campoamor) from Orihuela itself. This is due to the perception among the largely foreign born population of Orihuela Costa that they are being unfairly treated by the local government. For example, the Orihuela Costa's share in the 2010-2014 municipal budget was 6x less than that for the city itself, or 4,2% of the 295 million € budget, even though the Costa creates around 30% of municipal tax income.[9][10]
In the cathedral
City and suburbs
Orihuela coast.
The municipality had a total population of 92,000 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013, of which the city of Orihuela accommodated 33,943. Another major locality within the municipality is the tourist centre ofDehesa de Campoamor, also known as Orihuela Costa, located on the coast, more than 20 km from Orihuela. It had 33,277 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013.
Only 59.6% of the local population are Spanish; the British account for almost 20%, followed by the Irish, Bulgarians and Moroccans, with around 3% each. In total there were people of 106 different nationalities living in Orihuela as of 2013.[11]
The metropolitan area of Orihuela is also part of the largerMurcia-Orihuelaconurbation, with a total population of 727,741 inhabitants (2006) and an area of 1,743.5 km2.[1]
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 ofsilk,wool andpreserved food.The tourism industry is today the single most important sector in the economy, and has been the main engine of growth for Orihuela in the 21st century.
The medieval town center houses five National Monuments and an urban layout that is the result of its former rank as a University Centre and Episcopal See.
The holiday celebrations: the processions of Holy Week, and the parades of Moors and Christians, in July, are well-known celebrations.
In September 2012 the shopping mall La Zenia Boulevard opened and became the largest shopping mall in the Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida region with 150 stores and 20 restaurants and bars.[12]
The city is home to theFranciscan convent of Santa Ana.[13]
Dehesa de Campoamor One of the best beaches of Spain. White and fine sand beaches on the Mediterranean coast.
ocmdigital.comArchived 2009-10-25 at theWayback Machine English language edition of ocmdigital.com Digital newspaper in the English language. Local news from Orihuela Costa, Orihuela and surrounding areas, updated daily.
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