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Home > Travel Spain > Spain Destinations > Ferrol
Ferrol
Spain, also known as Kingdom of Spain, is one of the oldest inhabited regions on the planet. It is a country which is located in Southern Europe, and politically organized as a parliamentary monarchy. It is the largest sovereign nation of the three nations that make up the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, Spain is divided into 50 provinces, grouped into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities with a high degree of autonomy. The name Spain comes from the Latin name Hispania whose capital is Madrid which is also the largest city of the Country.
Ferrol is an Atlantic-facing city in the province of A Coruna in Galicia in north-western Spain. The city was the birthplace of the Spanish General Francisco Franco in 1892, and was officially known as El Ferrol del Caudillo from 1938 to 1982. Ferrol has a population of 77,859 and its metropolitan area, the urban area plus all the satellite towns known as Ferrolterra has a population of over 213,000.
Ferrol was virtually impossible to blockade in the age of sail, as any strong westerly winds would take the blockading force away along the treacherous north coast of Spain where they had no safe haven. By contrast, British forces blockading Cadiz, a city and Naval Station in southwestern Spain and part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, could seek refuge at Gibraltar, and those blockading the French naval port of Brest could seek refuge in Torbay. The British could then quickly return when the weather changed before too many of the blockaded ships had time to reach open water via the narrow channels.
By contrast, the geography of Ferrol meant that a whole Spanish fleet could slip out on a single tide. By the time the British were able to resume the blockade, the Spanish would be safely away and out to sea. Ferrol, the most important Naval Station in the north of Spain, with its well sheltered harbour and busy port, together with the Navantia shipyards seems to be flourishing once again, and with it, the whole heavily populated district of As Marinas and Ferrolterra.
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