Moguer
Encyclopedia
Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva
, Andalusia
, Spain. According to the 2007 census
, it has a population of 18,381. Its surface area is 204 square kilometres (78.8 sq mi), and its population density is 90.4 /km2.
The present site of Moguer had been home to many human settlements since antiquity. Nonetheless, the founding of the present municipality is generally dated from the establishment of the Señorío de Moguer ("Seigneury of Moguer") in 1333. The Santa Clara Monastery and a Franciscan convent that later became the Corpus Christi Hospital were founded four years later. From the 1330s, the population grew rapidly, turning Moguer into an important town with a strong, economy based in agriculture, fishing, and trade through the town's river port. Moguer played an important role in the first voyage of Christopher Columbus
, with Columbus receiving important support from the abbess of the Santa Clara Monastery, Inés Enríquez, the cleric Martín Sánchez and the landowner Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo. The Niño brothers played an important role in the voyage, including providing the caravel
Niña
. Upon the returning from the Americas, the first of Columbus's vows was fulfilled by spending a night in the church of the Santa Clara Monastery. Today, Moguer and nearby Palos de la Frontera
are home to the lugares colombinos
, a tourist route of places associated with undertaking that voyage.
Moguer's river port continued to be an important site for seafaring and trade, exporting the local wines and other merchandise to the Americas, Russia and other European countries. Viticulture
remained the economic engine into the early 20th century, when the chemical plant at Huelva
and, above all, the development of the cultivation of the garden strawberry
drove a new period of economic development and demographic growth. As of 2008, 2278 hectares (5,629.1 acre) in the municipality are devoted to growing strawberries, 27.5 percent of the national total of 8296 hectares (20,499.8 acre), making Moguer Spain's leading municipality in this crop.
The municipality of Moguer is formed by the urban centres of Moguer and Mazagón
, the agricultural zones with both irrigated and rain-fed crops, and forest areas composed of the Monte Público of the municipality of Moguer and of protected natural areas
.
Besides being one of the lugares colombinos, Moguer is also known as the birthplace of poet Juan Ramón Jiménez
, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and author of Platero y yo.
, in the so-called Tierra Llana ("Flatland") of the province of Huelva. On the north it is bounded by the Río Tinto, the municipalities of Huelva
, Niebla
and San Juan del Puerto
; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and Palos de la Frontera; on the west by the Río Tinto and Palos de la Frontera; and on the east by Almonte
and Lucena del Puerto
.
The urban centre of Moguer is located at 37º 16' N, 6º 50' W, at an altitude of 51 metres (167.3 ft), 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) from the provincial capital Huelva
, and 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) from the Andalusian capital Seville
. It is very close to Palos de la Frontera
, and 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from the beaches of Mazagón
; all of these are within the mancomunidad
Moguer-Palos de la Frontera and the larger Comarca Metropolitana de Huelva. Its surface area is 204 square kilometres (78.8 sq mi).
A-49/E-1 by way of the autonomic
route. It can also be reached by the national N-422 and the provincial from Palos de la Frontera, the autonomic A-494 from the municipality of Almonte, and the autonomic A-486 from Lucena del Puerto.
The urban centre of Moguer is accessed from the A-494 by the avenues Hermanos Niño, Quinto Centenario, de la Virgen, and de América and from the Carretera de la Marisma by the Calle de la Ribera. The urban centre of Mazagón is accessed from the A-494 by the Avenida de los Conquistadores (west), and the Calle El Dorado, Avenida del Arroyo de la Miel, and Avenida de los Conquistadores (east).
–Quaternary
land. It can be divided into three regions: countryside, wetlands or marsh, and coast. The Río Tinto and its marsh make up the predominant landscape of the northern part of the municipality. On the south are 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of virgin beaches and the sand hills and gullies of the Arenas Gordas. The rest of the territory is the countryside, cut by the streams Galarín and Montemayor, tributaries of the Río Tinto; other streams are the Arroyo de Angorrilla, Arroyo de la Monjas, Cañada del Peral and Arroys de la Grulla in the Domingo Rubio estuary, and the Arroyo de las Madres in the Las Madres lagoon. In some places, lower strata have worn away, leaving curved outcroppings known as cabezos (from the Spanish cabeza, head).
(transitional between subtropical and temperate) with an Atlantic influence. Moguer is among the warmest and sunniest cities in Europe. The temperature regime is maritime, with an annual average of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F), and the city receives 2,984 hours of sun annually.
July is the hottest month with some temperatures exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). January is the coolest, with lows of 7 °C (44.6 °F) and highs of 17 °C (62.6 °F).
Between 1900 and 1970 the population of Moguer remained around 7,000-8,000. Since 1970 there has been a growth to the current 19,569 (2009, INE
), the largest population in Moguer's history. Of the 19,569 habitantes, 9,832 are male (51.28%) and 9.737 female (49.72%).
A detailed analysis of the demgraphics of Moguer can be found in the Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía (S.I.M.A.).
since ancient times, as evidenced by Neolithic
, Phoenicia
n and Roman
archaeological remains. Between the years 150 BCE - 114 BCE Hispano-Romans established industries along the river Urium (Tinto), a natural route for travel and commerce used by various cultures over the course of history. Originally Urium was a Roman town with a tower for defense, built roughly between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE
. Remains of amphora
e, coins, bricks, tegulae
with potter's marks and a fragment of 2nd century CE Terra sigillata
(a type of decorated pottery) confirm the existence of several Roman settlements with the limits of the present-day municipality of Moguer.
of Niebla
. Surviving buildings from this period include the Almohad Castle of Moguer, the underground reservoir which is under the parade ground, the fountain known as the Fuente de Pinete, the Fuente de Montemayor, and archaeological remains of Arab settlements in the rural zones of Rendón, las Cacerías, and Manzote.
During the Reconquista
, Moguer was conquered by the Order of Santiago
around 1239-1240, along with other enclaves of historic Algarve, and annexed to the Castile
.
to Alonso Jofré Tenorio, Staff Admiral (Almirante Mayor) of Castile. Under this nobleman, Moguer became a prosperous town. Besides the existing Almohad castle, Moguer acquired the Monastery of Santa Clara and a Franciscan convent. On his death, the seigneury passed to his daughter María Tenorio, wife of Martín Femández Portocarrero, and later to their son Alonso Femández Portocarrero, to whose lineage it would remain connected. The House of Portocarrero enlarged the town with the construction of the 15th century San Francisco Convent; the old Franciscan convent became the Corpus Christi Hospital, a hospital for the poor.
The House of Portocarrero were Grandee
s, wealthy upper nobility, with close connections to the royal court. In 1375 the Señorío de Moguer became a majorat
. Like any feudal
lords, the lords of Moguer exercised control over the municipal government. Moguer soon became a prominent Andalusian fishing town, thanks mainly to the Portocarrero's policy of attracting additional settlement.
The town of Moguer gained distinction for various services provided to the Crown by its successive lords. In 1369, Henry II of Castilla granted it the title of Muy Leal ("Very Loyal"); in 1642, Philip IV of Spain
designated Moguer a city, and gave its council the right to use the coat of arms
of the Portocarrero; and in 1779, Charles III
distinguished it again with the titles of Muy Noble and Muy Leal ("Very Noble" and "Very Loyal"). Because of this, Moguer is known as the "Very Noble and twice Very Loyal City" of Moguer.
in 1489 the Catholic Monarchs
Isabella
and Ferdinand
granted a seguro (?) to ships arriving at the river port of Moguer from the Canary Islands
, North Africa and Atlantic European countries. Beginning in the 15th century, Moguer had a loading wharf for loading and discharging merchandise, a carriageway, shipyards, and an alota that was, together with Huelva and Palos, among the most active on the Huelva coast.
Toward the end of the 15th century, the town had a population of about 5,000, and a city centre with several arterial roads, dominated by the Paris Church of Our Lady of Granada, the castle, the San Francisco convent and the Santa Clara monastery. There was much economic activity and the many ships visited the port. This was the situation of Moguer when it played a significant role in the first voyage of Christopher Columbus
.
Moguer provided some of the sailors for the voyage, as well as the caravel
, Niña
, built in Moguer around 1488 and apparently owned by the Niño brothers of Moguer. On several occasions, Columbus came to Moguer seeking help. Ultimately, he gained the important support of the Niño brothers; the cleric Martín Sánchez; the landowner Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo (who took custody of Columbus's son Diego
while Columbus went on his first voyage); and Inés Enríquez, abbess of the Santa Clara Monastery and aunt of King Ferdinand.
The Catholic Monarchs had ordere the towns of the Andalusian coasts to provide assistance to Columbus and by means of a commission directed the town of Moguer to comply with this provision. Columbus seized two boats in Moguer in the presence of the notary Moguer Alonso Pardo; these boats were later discarded as unsuitable on the advice of Martín Alonso Pinzón.
Later, upon his arrival from America, Columbus came promptly to the church of the Monastery of Santa Clara to fulfill a vow made when the Niña encountered a severe storm on the return voyage.
, discoverer of the coasts of Paria
(Venezuela
); Bartolome Ruiz, navigator, pilot on the "Famous Thirteen" expedition Francisco Pizarro
and hence co-discoverer and of the Pacific; fray Antonio de Olivares
, founder of the city of San Antonio, Texas
; Alonso Vélez de Mendoza, leader of the group who repopulated the island of Santo Domingo (Hispaniola
); the Franciscan Quintero, who accompanied the expedition of Hernan Cortes
to Mexico; fray Andrés de Moguer, the first chronicler of Mexico; Diego García de Moguer, who took part with Ferdinand Magellan
on the first trip around the world; and Juan Ladrillero, considered an independent discoverer of the Straits of Magellan.
The seventeenth century was a time of hardship for the Spanish monarchy, and Moguer could not escape this situation. The population decreased significantly. Nonetheless, the rise of Moguer in terms of relative importance was recognized in 1642 when Philip IV granted Moguer the title of a "city" (ciudad).
The eighteenth century was characterized by economic, political and technical stability. Land, controlled in large part by the local oligarchy, continued to be much in demand by moguereños, who purchased small tracts. As for commerce, the wine industry grew, supplying Cádiz
and exporting to an expanding market in the Americas, Russia and other countries in Europe, as well as supplying the Spanish Royal Navy.
In 1755 the terrible Lisbon earthquake caused extensive damage in the city, leaving only the strongest buildings standing: part of the castle, the Santa Clara Monastery and the Chapel of the Hospital. Other buildings had to be rebuilt or restored—as was the Convent of San Francisco, rebuilt in the mannerist
style—or built from scratch—as were the city hall, a masterpiece of civil Baroque
, or the or Parish Church of Our Lady of Granada, which retained only its original 14th century tower. Because of the dramatic 18th century increase in the population, this church was enlarged to cathedral proportions, with five nave
s, the highest and widest being the central nave. For wartime services to the Crown against England, in 1779 Charles III granted the City of Moguer the titles of Muy Noble and Muy Leal ("Very Noble" and "Very Loyal").
left a general sense of provisionality and bewilderment. Briefly in the 1822 territorial division of Spain
and then permanently in the 1833 division
, a province was established with Huelva as its capital, despite a long and bitter verbal struggle to make Moguer the capital of the new politico-administrative unit. Moguer remained, however, as head of a new legal district
(partido judicial) and notarial and registrational districts (distritos notorial y registral) having also comarca
l courts, a court of first instance and an examining magistrates court (Juzgados comarcal, de Instancia y de Instrucción). Ecclesiastically, Moguer had been the seat of the vicarage of the same name since the mid-15th century and also core of an archpriesthood (arciprestazgo) whose area was broader than the old vicarage, which only extended as far as Palos de la Frontera.
The end of noble and ecclesiastical territorial privileges had a strong effect on local economic structures, especially with respect to the Church. The First Spanish Republic
(1873–1874) also left its mark with the construction of road and bridge over the Río Tinto, basic infrastructures for the development of the municipality. In 1899 Moguer had 8,523 inhabitants, of whom 99 percent were farmworkers. Wine remained Moguer's fundamental product and the river natural means to export that wine, although traffic to the river port had declined sharply due to silt
ing that decreased the depth of the channel.
On 23 December 1881, poet Juan Ramón Jiménez
—author of Platero y yo and winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize for Literature—was born in the house at number 1, Calle de la Ribera.
The centuries-old strategy of economic prosperity based on the wine industry was frustrated in the early 20th century by the infestation of phylloxera
. The population began to decline unstoppably until the industrial development of Huelva in the 1960s and, most importantly, until the adoption of strawberries as a crop in the 1970s. Moguer is now Spain's principal producer of strawberries, which has led to great population growth in recent decades.
Now, in the early 21st century, the economy of Moguer is largely driven by the growth of strawberries and raspberries
; the construction industry and service sectors are also strong.
In the Low Middle Ages, Moguer experienced economic growth through agricultural development (including the raising of livestock). Moguer thrived thanks to the cultivation of wheat, wine grapes, esparto
, hemp
, and other crops, as well as continued prosperity in fishing.
During the 15th century, this was supplemented by several industries relying on ovens: soap, bread, and bricks. This period also saw the growth of agricultural warehouses and mercantile enterprises for agricultural industries. Moguer also prospered through its role in discovery and trade with the Americas.
Nonetheless, Moguer was significantly affected by Spain's deep 17th century economic crisis. In 18th century economic activity began to grow again, especially the trade in wine. For decades, the largest customer for Moguer's wines was the Spanish Navy.
In the 19th century, wine continued to boom, with a considerable increase in land under cultivation and a spectacular development of vineyards. The arrival in the early 20th century of phylloxera
, a disease affecting vinifera
grapes, was very harmful to Moguer's vineyards, but the industry has since recovered to a significant degree through the use of resistant rootstock
. Moguer now belongs to Denominación de Origen
(DO) Condado de Huelva
.
The loss of the vineyards was partially compensated by a growth in the chemical industry, but was only finally overcome with the cultivation of strawberries in recent decades, which has driven a new period of economic development and demographic growth. At the end of 1970s the "Las Madres" estate of started growing Fragaria x ananassa—the garden strawberry—which spread rapidly through the municipality and the rest of the province. As noted above, Moguer is by far Spain's leading producer of strawberries. More recently, this has been supplemented by the cultivation of Rubus leucodermis
(raspberries), and by a growth in construction, the service sector, and tourism.
The construction sector has benefited from the growth in agriculture, which has impelled a sharp increase in the number of construction companies and real estate firms in the town, which now constitute 15 and 19 percent of non-agricultural economic activity, respectively. The commercial sector has also greatly benefited from the agricultural growth, now constituting 43 percent of non-farm economic activity.
At the same time, recent development of the urban center of Mazagón for tourism has increased the number of hotels and other short-term accommodations to constitute 12 percent of the municipal economy.
s, then later wine grapes, strawberries, and raspberries have long been the basis of the economy. The strong current growth is based on crop irrigation, and primarily on strawberries and, secondarily, raspberries. These have been the economic engine underlying other activities. Other rain-fed farming continues in the traditional growing area near the town of Moguer, but is less profitable.
The irrigation has been made possible by community three groupings of growers: C.R. de Valdemar, C.R. de Palos and C.R. del Fresno.
The businessman Antonio Medina Lama began the first local experiments with growing stawberries on his "La Madre" farm in the late 1970s. Over the years, cultivation techniques were improved to the point of becoming the basis of the local economy. Berries are grown by intensive hydroponic methods in transparent plastic tunnels, on top of a black plastic base, using drip irrigation to supply water and nutrients.
As of 2008, 2278 hectares (5,629.1 acre) in the municipality are devoted to growing strawberries, making Moguer Spain's leading municipality in this crop. Moguer's production is 27.5 percent of the national total of 8296 hectares (20,499.8 acre) and 32.3 percent of the Andalusian total 7060 hectares (17,445.6 acre) nearly all of which (6800 hectares (16,803.2 acre)) is in the province of Huelva.
In the 2000s, production has diversified to include raspberries, Japanese persimmon
and Northern highbush blueberry
.
the Juan José Volante Padilla of the right-of-centre People's Party
(Partido Popular, PP), was reelected to the mayoralty, which he has held since 2003.
The Municipal Corporation comprises 17 councillor
s. In the municipal elections of May 27, 2007, the PP won 9 council seats with 45.73 percent of the votes, while the left-of-centre Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
-Andalusia (Partido Socialista Obrero Español-Andalucía, PSOE-A) won 6 seats with 30.19 percent. The Asociación de Vecinos de Mazagón (AVEMA, the Neighborhood Association of Mazagón) won 2 seats and 13.32 percent of the votes. Two other groupings, the Partido Independiente de Mazagón (PIM, Mazagón Independent Party) and the left-of-centre Andalusian nationalist
Andalusian Party also ran, but did not obtain representation, in the 2007 elections.
If one takes into account the Union of the Democratic Centre (Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD), predecessor to the PP, this is roughly representative of the major parties in local politics in the years since the Spanish transition to democracy
. The United Left
(Izquierda Unida, IU) has also elected councilors on several occasions, as has the Andalusian Party. AVEMA has been a force in local politics since the 1995-1999 legislative session. PIM was newly formed in 2007.
The fourth Thursday of each month, at 20:00, the Council of Moguer holds its plenary sessions, open to the public at large. The sessions of the commission of government are on the first and third Friday of each month. The informative committees "Urban and Internal Regime", "Social Welfare", and "Economy and Development" are held on the first, second and third Thursday, respectively. Other components of local administration are the Municipal Culture Foundation, the Municipal Patronate of Sports and the company housing and land company "Envisur".
(partido judicial) number 6 of the province of Huelva, encompassing the towns of Moguer, Niebla
, Bonares
, Lucena del Puerto
, and Palos de la Frontera
. The court facilities are located on the Calle de San Francisco and consist of two courts of first instance and an examining magistrates court.
(Servicio Andaluz de Salud, SAS):
There are several teams that compete in these facilities. The most notable is the Club Balonmano Pedro Alonso Niño, which plays in the national first division for handball
.
, bobbin lace
, embroidery
, saddle
making, and the making of traditional Andalusian costumes, among other things.
Moguer's cuisine features cuttlefish
(chocos) with beans, skate
in paprika
, school shark
marinated in adobo
, white shrimp
, bean clams
(coquinas) and other species of clam
(almejas), wedge sole, true sole
, and croakers
. Its fruity white wines and a wine made from oranges are produced under the Denominación de Origen
(DO) Condado de Huelva
.
Other characteristic products are a pastry known as "La Victoria", vermouth
from the Sáenz cellars, and, of course, strawberries.
The evening in honor of Our Lady of Montemayor, known in Moguer as Days of Our Lady, has been held on or around September 8 without interruption since the Late Middle Ages
to worship Moguer's patron saint. At the end of August, a solemn novena
begins in her honor in the Parish Church of Our Lady of Granada, to culminate with the Principal Function of the Institute and the procession of the Señora through the city's streets for the day of the Nativity of Mary
, September 8. Meanwhile, for about five days, the festival continues in a more playful for in town fairground, which has more than 250 booths.
The Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Montemayor takes place every second weekend of May in the pine forests surrounding the shrine of the patron. On this weekend, thousands of pilgrims come to the precinct to venerate the "Queen of the Pinares (Pine forests). At present there are eight filial brotherhoods (hermandades) spread over the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Madrid dedicated to the patron saint of Moguer, who also participate in this celebration.
Easter
in Moguer has a special significance, as is evidenced by the various brotherhoods that process from Palm Sunday
until Holy Saturday
. Currently eight confraternities (cofradías) conduct the stations
of penance
: Hermandad de la Borriquita ("Brotherhood of the little donkey") on Palm Sunday, Holy Monday the Hermandad del Cristo de los Remedios ("Brotherhood of Christ of the Remedies"), Holy Tuesday the Hermandad del Cristo de la Sangre ("Brotherhood of Christ of the Blood'), Holy Wednesday the Hermandad del Cristo de la Victoria ("Brotherhood of the Victory"), Holy Thursday the Hermandad de la Oración en el Huerto ("Brotherhood of the prayer in the orchard"), Good Friday in the dawn hours the Hermandad de Padre Jesus ("Brotherhood of Father Jesus) and in the evening the Hermandad de la Veracruz ("Brotherhood of the True Cross"), and on Holy Saturday the Hermandad del Santo Entierro ("Brotherhood of the Holy Tomb").
The Romería del Rocío is a pilgrimage to the village of El Rocío on Pentecost
weekend. It has a deep association with this community. It is believed that the Hermandad filial de Nª Sª del Rocío de Moguer ("Filial brotherhood of Our Lady of El Rocío de Moguer) dates from the end of the 17th century; documents from the 18th century attest to the celebration of this pilgrimage by faithful moguereños. Juan Ramón Jiménez in Platero y yo wrote an entire chapter about the Romería del Rocío:
Corpus Christi
. On this occasion the entire route of the procession is dressed out in sedges
and is filled with pilgrims and altars.
There are, throughout the year, other cultural activities related to the discovery of the Americas and to Juan Ramón Jiménez. On March 16 is the celebration of Columbus's fulfillment of his vow
and the Santa Clara Monastery; Columbus's departure is celebrated on August 3, and the discovery itself on October 12. Juan Ramón is commemorated in several ways by the Fundación Juan Ramón Jiménez. Their highest award, the "Perejil de plata" ("Silver Parsley"), is given out annually, as is the "Premio Hispanoamericano de poesía Juan Ramón Jiménez" ("Juan Ramón Jiménez Prize for Hispano-American Poetry")
There is also an annual Festival de Cante Flamenco de Moguer ("Moguer Festival of Flamenco Singing"), organized by the Peña de Cante Jondo de Moguer on the second weekend in July.
Malgrat de Mar
, Spain Telde, Spain
Huelva (province)
Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva....
, Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, Spain. According to the 2007 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, it has a population of 18,381. Its surface area is 204 square kilometres (78.8 sq mi), and its population density is 90.4 /km2.
The present site of Moguer had been home to many human settlements since antiquity. Nonetheless, the founding of the present municipality is generally dated from the establishment of the Señorío de Moguer ("Seigneury of Moguer") in 1333. The Santa Clara Monastery and a Franciscan convent that later became the Corpus Christi Hospital were founded four years later. From the 1330s, the population grew rapidly, turning Moguer into an important town with a strong, economy based in agriculture, fishing, and trade through the town's river port. Moguer played an important role in the first voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, with Columbus receiving important support from the abbess of the Santa Clara Monastery, Inés Enríquez, the cleric Martín Sánchez and the landowner Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo. The Niño brothers played an important role in the voyage, including providing the caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
Niña
Niña
La Niña was one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage towards the Indies in 1492. The real name of the Niña was Santa Clara. The name Niña was probably a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer...
. Upon the returning from the Americas, the first of Columbus's vows was fulfilled by spending a night in the church of the Santa Clara Monastery. Today, Moguer and nearby Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
are home to the lugares colombinos
Lugares colombinos
The Lugares colombinos is a tourist route in the Spanish province Huelva, which includes several places that have special relevance to the preparation and realization of the first voyage of Cristopher Columbus. That voyage is widely considered to constitute the discovery of the Americas by Europeans...
, a tourist route of places associated with undertaking that voyage.
Moguer's river port continued to be an important site for seafaring and trade, exporting the local wines and other merchandise to the Americas, Russia and other European countries. Viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
remained the economic engine into the early 20th century, when the chemical plant at Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
and, above all, the development of the cultivation of the garden strawberry
Garden Strawberry
The garden strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa, is a hybrid species that is cultivated worldwide for its fruit, the strawberry. The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness...
drove a new period of economic development and demographic growth. As of 2008, 2278 hectares (5,629.1 acre) in the municipality are devoted to growing strawberries, 27.5 percent of the national total of 8296 hectares (20,499.8 acre), making Moguer Spain's leading municipality in this crop.
The municipality of Moguer is formed by the urban centres of Moguer and Mazagón
Mazagón
Mazagón is a beach town in Spain near Huelva....
, the agricultural zones with both irrigated and rain-fed crops, and forest areas composed of the Monte Público of the municipality of Moguer and of protected natural areas
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
.
Besides being one of the lugares colombinos, Moguer is also known as the birthplace of poet Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and author of Platero y yo.
Location
Moguer is in the southwestern part of the Iberian PeninsulaIberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, in the so-called Tierra Llana ("Flatland") of the province of Huelva. On the north it is bounded by the Río Tinto, the municipalities of Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, Niebla
Niebla, Spain
Niebla is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 4,200 inhabitants. A 2-km town wall surrounds the perimeter of the town.-External links:...
and San Juan del Puerto
San Juan del Puerto
San Juan del Puerto was a Spanish Franciscan mission founded before 1587 on Fort George Island, near the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded to served the Saturiwa, a Timucua tribe who lived around the mouth of the St. Johns...
; on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and Palos de la Frontera; on the west by the Río Tinto and Palos de la Frontera; and on the east by Almonte
Almonte
-People:* Carlos Eduardo Almonte, arrested in 2010 on terrorism-related charges* Danny Almonte , former little league baseball player in the United States* Edwin Almonte , baseball player in the United States...
and Lucena del Puerto
Lucena del Puerto
Lucena del Puerto is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, it has a population of 2,283 inhabitants.-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
.
The urban centre of Moguer is located at 37º 16' N, 6º 50' W, at an altitude of 51 metres (167.3 ft), 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) from the provincial capital Huelva
Huelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, and 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) from the Andalusian capital Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. It is very close to Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
, and 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) from the beaches of Mazagón
Mazagón
Mazagón is a beach town in Spain near Huelva....
; all of these are within the mancomunidad
Mancomunidad
In present-day Spain a mancomunidad is a free association or commonwealth of municipalities. A mancomunidad is a legal personality, and can exist either for a particular period of time to achieve a concrete goal or can exist indefinitely....
Moguer-Palos de la Frontera and the larger Comarca Metropolitana de Huelva. Its surface area is 204 square kilometres (78.8 sq mi).
Road access
The main access to Moguer is from the north by means of the AutovíaAutovía
An autovía is one of two classes of major highway in the Spanish road system similar to a motorway. It is akin to the autopista, the other major highway class, but has fewer features and is never a toll road. Some distinguishing features of an autovía are that it must be divided by a median, it...
A-49/E-1 by way of the autonomic
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
route. It can also be reached by the national N-422 and the provincial from Palos de la Frontera, the autonomic A-494 from the municipality of Almonte, and the autonomic A-486 from Lucena del Puerto.
The urban centre of Moguer is accessed from the A-494 by the avenues Hermanos Niño, Quinto Centenario, de la Virgen, and de América and from the Carretera de la Marisma by the Calle de la Ribera. The urban centre of Mazagón is accessed from the A-494 by the Avenida de los Conquistadores (west), and the Calle El Dorado, Avenida del Arroyo de la Miel, and Avenida de los Conquistadores (east).
Terrain
Moguer is located in sandy clay PliocenePliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
–Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
land. It can be divided into three regions: countryside, wetlands or marsh, and coast. The Río Tinto and its marsh make up the predominant landscape of the northern part of the municipality. On the south are 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of virgin beaches and the sand hills and gullies of the Arenas Gordas. The rest of the territory is the countryside, cut by the streams Galarín and Montemayor, tributaries of the Río Tinto; other streams are the Arroyo de Angorrilla, Arroyo de la Monjas, Cañada del Peral and Arroys de la Grulla in the Domingo Rubio estuary, and the Arroyo de las Madres in the Las Madres lagoon. In some places, lower strata have worn away, leaving curved outcroppings known as cabezos (from the Spanish cabeza, head).
Climate
Being located near the coast of the province of Huelva, Moguer has a Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
(transitional between subtropical and temperate) with an Atlantic influence. Moguer is among the warmest and sunniest cities in Europe. The temperature regime is maritime, with an annual average of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F), and the city receives 2,984 hours of sun annually.
July is the hottest month with some temperatures exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). January is the coolest, with lows of 7 °C (44.6 °F) and highs of 17 °C (62.6 °F).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Average | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high temperature (°C) | 17 | 17.9 | 20.9 | 22 | 26.2 | 30 | 34 | 33 | 29.5 | 25 | 20.9 | 18 | 24,3 | |
| Average low temperature (°C) | 6.9 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 11 | 15.2 | 17.9 | 20.5 | 22.2 | 20 | 15.9 | 13.8 | 10.2 | 14.1 | |
| Precipitacion (mm) | 62 | 43 | 72 | 40 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 52 | 62 | 63 | 38 |
Demography
Prior to 1333, the population was distributed among several different places within the current municipality. With the establishment of the seigneury in 1333, the population began to concentrate in the current urban center, rising to 5,000 and fluctuating around that number until the 20th century.Between 1900 and 1970 the population of Moguer remained around 7,000-8,000. Since 1970 there has been a growth to the current 19,569 (2009, INE
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)
The National Institute of Statistics is the official organisation in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society. Every 10 years, this organisation conducts a national census. The last census took place in 2001....
), the largest population in Moguer's history. Of the 19,569 habitantes, 9,832 are male (51.28%) and 9.737 female (49.72%).
A detailed analysis of the demgraphics of Moguer can be found in the Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía (S.I.M.A.).
| Moguer: Population graphic 1900-2009 |
|---|
| Smallest unit: 500 Inhabitants. |
| Source: INE Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) The National Institute of Statistics is the official organisation in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society. Every 10 years, this organisation conducts a national census. The last census took place in 2001.... |
Origins
The origin of human settlement in Moguer is lost in the remoteness of history and is surrounded by legend, as is the case for all the lands near the mouth of the Río Tinto. The current municipality of Moguer was a focus of attraction for the people of the Iberian interior and of the eastern MediterraneanMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
since ancient times, as evidenced by Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n and Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
archaeological remains. Between the years 150 BCE - 114 BCE Hispano-Romans established industries along the river Urium (Tinto), a natural route for travel and commerce used by various cultures over the course of history. Originally Urium was a Roman town with a tower for defense, built roughly between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. Remains of amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
e, coins, bricks, tegulae
Imbrex and tegula
The imbrex and tegula were overlapping roof tiles used in ancient Greek and Roman architecture as a waterproof and durable roof covering. They were made predominantly of fired clay, but also sometimes of marble, bronze or gilt...
with potter's marks and a fragment of 2nd century CE Terra sigillata
Terra sigillata
Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of the Roman Empire; and more recently, as a description...
(a type of decorated pottery) confirm the existence of several Roman settlements with the limits of the present-day municipality of Moguer.
Middle Ages
With the arrival of Muslims the farmstead of Mogauar or Mogur belonged to the TaifaTaifa
In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031.-Rise:The origins of...
of Niebla
Taifa of Niebla
The Taifa of Niebla was a taifa kingdom that existed for three distinct times: from 1023 to 1053, from 1145 to 1150 and from 1234 to 1262 when it was finally conquered by Castile.-Yahsubid dynasty:*Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad: 1023/4-1041/2...
. Surviving buildings from this period include the Almohad Castle of Moguer, the underground reservoir which is under the parade ground, the fountain known as the Fuente de Pinete, the Fuente de Montemayor, and archaeological remains of Arab settlements in the rural zones of Rendón, las Cacerías, and Manzote.
During the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, Moguer was conquered by the Order of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
around 1239-1240, along with other enclaves of historic Algarve, and annexed to the Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
.
Señorío de Moguer
In 1333, the village of Moguer became the first seigneury in the area, granted by Alfonso XI of CastileAlfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
to Alonso Jofré Tenorio, Staff Admiral (Almirante Mayor) of Castile. Under this nobleman, Moguer became a prosperous town. Besides the existing Almohad castle, Moguer acquired the Monastery of Santa Clara and a Franciscan convent. On his death, the seigneury passed to his daughter María Tenorio, wife of Martín Femández Portocarrero, and later to their son Alonso Femández Portocarrero, to whose lineage it would remain connected. The House of Portocarrero enlarged the town with the construction of the 15th century San Francisco Convent; the old Franciscan convent became the Corpus Christi Hospital, a hospital for the poor.
The House of Portocarrero were Grandee
Grandee
Grandee is the word used to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande , used by the Spanish nobility; Portuguese nobility, and Brazilian nobility....
s, wealthy upper nobility, with close connections to the royal court. In 1375 the Señorío de Moguer became a majorat
Majorat
Majorat is the right of succession to property according to age . A majorat would be inherited by the oldest son, or if there was no son, the nearest relative. This law existed in some of the European countries and was designed to prevent the distribution of wealthy estates between many members of...
. Like any feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
lords, the lords of Moguer exercised control over the municipal government. Moguer soon became a prominent Andalusian fishing town, thanks mainly to the Portocarrero's policy of attracting additional settlement.
The town of Moguer gained distinction for various services provided to the Crown by its successive lords. In 1369, Henry II of Castilla granted it the title of Muy Leal ("Very Loyal"); in 1642, Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
designated Moguer a city, and gave its council the right to use the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the Portocarrero; and in 1779, Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
distinguished it again with the titles of Muy Noble and Muy Leal ("Very Noble" and "Very Loyal"). Because of this, Moguer is known as the "Very Noble and twice Very Loyal City" of Moguer.
Moguer and Columbus's first voyage
The economy of Moguer in the 15th century was based in agriculture, fishing, and mercantile activities.in 1489 the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
Isabella
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
and Ferdinand
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
granted a seguro (?) to ships arriving at the river port of Moguer from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, North Africa and Atlantic European countries. Beginning in the 15th century, Moguer had a loading wharf for loading and discharging merchandise, a carriageway, shipyards, and an alota that was, together with Huelva and Palos, among the most active on the Huelva coast.
Toward the end of the 15th century, the town had a population of about 5,000, and a city centre with several arterial roads, dominated by the Paris Church of Our Lady of Granada, the castle, the San Francisco convent and the Santa Clara monastery. There was much economic activity and the many ships visited the port. This was the situation of Moguer when it played a significant role in the first voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
.
Moguer provided some of the sailors for the voyage, as well as the caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
, Niña
Niña
La Niña was one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage towards the Indies in 1492. The real name of the Niña was Santa Clara. The name Niña was probably a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer...
, built in Moguer around 1488 and apparently owned by the Niño brothers of Moguer. On several occasions, Columbus came to Moguer seeking help. Ultimately, he gained the important support of the Niño brothers; the cleric Martín Sánchez; the landowner Juan Rodríguez Cabezudo (who took custody of Columbus's son Diego
Diego Colón
Diego Columbus was the 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indies and 3rd Governor of the Indies. He was the firstborn son of Christopher Columbus and wife Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, and was born in 1479/1480 in Porto Santo, Portugal or 1474 in Lisbon, Portugal. He died February...
while Columbus went on his first voyage); and Inés Enríquez, abbess of the Santa Clara Monastery and aunt of King Ferdinand.
The Catholic Monarchs had ordere the towns of the Andalusian coasts to provide assistance to Columbus and by means of a commission directed the town of Moguer to comply with this provision. Columbus seized two boats in Moguer in the presence of the notary Moguer Alonso Pardo; these boats were later discarded as unsuitable on the advice of Martín Alonso Pinzón.
Later, upon his arrival from America, Columbus came promptly to the church of the Monastery of Santa Clara to fulfill a vow made when the Niña encountered a severe storm on the return voyage.
Early modern era
During the sixteenth century, the village went through an era of commercial prosperity centered on colonization of, and trade with, the Americas. Many moguereños participated in the discovery and evangelization of the new lands, among them Pedro Alonso NiñoPedro Alonso Niño
Pedro Alonso Nino was a Spanish explorer, also known as El Negro .Born in Palos de Moguer, Spain, he explored the coasts of Africa, and accompanied Christopher Columbus during his third voyage that saw the discovery of Trinidad and the mouths of the Orinoco River...
, discoverer of the coasts of Paria
Paria
Paria is a village situated near Vapi in Valsad District, Gujarat. India. The town of Udwada, away from Paria, has a railway station which connects Paria to Mumbai and western Gujarat...
(Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
); Bartolome Ruiz, navigator, pilot on the "Famous Thirteen" expedition Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
and hence co-discoverer and of the Pacific; fray Antonio de Olivares
Antonio de Olivares
Antonio de Olivares was a Spanish Franciscan known by officiate at the first Mass celebrated in Texas, for contributing to the founding of San Antonio and for his exploration in this city.-Biography:...
, founder of the city of San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
; Alonso Vélez de Mendoza, leader of the group who repopulated the island of Santo Domingo (Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
); the Franciscan Quintero, who accompanied the expedition of Hernan Cortes
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
to Mexico; fray Andrés de Moguer, the first chronicler of Mexico; Diego García de Moguer, who took part with Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
on the first trip around the world; and Juan Ladrillero, considered an independent discoverer of the Straits of Magellan.
The seventeenth century was a time of hardship for the Spanish monarchy, and Moguer could not escape this situation. The population decreased significantly. Nonetheless, the rise of Moguer in terms of relative importance was recognized in 1642 when Philip IV granted Moguer the title of a "city" (ciudad).
The eighteenth century was characterized by economic, political and technical stability. Land, controlled in large part by the local oligarchy, continued to be much in demand by moguereños, who purchased small tracts. As for commerce, the wine industry grew, supplying Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
and exporting to an expanding market in the Americas, Russia and other countries in Europe, as well as supplying the Spanish Royal Navy.
In 1755 the terrible Lisbon earthquake caused extensive damage in the city, leaving only the strongest buildings standing: part of the castle, the Santa Clara Monastery and the Chapel of the Hospital. Other buildings had to be rebuilt or restored—as was the Convent of San Francisco, rebuilt in the mannerist
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
style—or built from scratch—as were the city hall, a masterpiece of civil Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
, or the or Parish Church of Our Lady of Granada, which retained only its original 14th century tower. Because of the dramatic 18th century increase in the population, this church was enlarged to cathedral proportions, with five nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
s, the highest and widest being the central nave. For wartime services to the Crown against England, in 1779 Charles III granted the City of Moguer the titles of Muy Noble and Muy Leal ("Very Noble" and "Very Loyal").
Contemporary history
The story of 19th century Moguer is essentially that of 19th century Spain. At the beginning of the century, Moguer was the most populous centre in its part of Spain (7,200 inhabitants) followed by Huelva. The French invasion during the Peninsular WarPeninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
left a general sense of provisionality and bewilderment. Briefly in the 1822 territorial division of Spain
1822 territorial division of Spain
The 1822 territorial division of Spain was a rearrangement of the territory of Spain into various provinces, enacted briefly during the Trienio Liberal of 1820–1823...
and then permanently in the 1833 division
1833 territorial division of Spain
The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided Spain into provinces, classified into "historic regions" . on the official web site of the government of the Canary Islands, accessed 2009-12-31...
, a province was established with Huelva as its capital, despite a long and bitter verbal struggle to make Moguer the capital of the new politico-administrative unit. Moguer remained, however, as head of a new legal district
Legal district
A legal district or judicial district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court has jurisdiction.-Courts in Germany:In Germany, ordinary Gerichtsbarkeit courts are the smallest districts of those courts. There are superior court districts, which usually have several legal districts...
(partido judicial) and notarial and registrational districts (distritos notorial y registral) having also comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
l courts, a court of first instance and an examining magistrates court (Juzgados comarcal, de Instancia y de Instrucción). Ecclesiastically, Moguer had been the seat of the vicarage of the same name since the mid-15th century and also core of an archpriesthood (arciprestazgo) whose area was broader than the old vicarage, which only extended as far as Palos de la Frontera.
The end of noble and ecclesiastical territorial privileges had a strong effect on local economic structures, especially with respect to the Church. The First Spanish Republic
First Spanish Republic
The First Spanish Republic was the political regime that existed in Spain between the parliamentary proclamation on 11 February 1873 and 29 December 1874 when General Arsenio Martínez-Campos's pronunciamento marked the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain...
(1873–1874) also left its mark with the construction of road and bridge over the Río Tinto, basic infrastructures for the development of the municipality. In 1899 Moguer had 8,523 inhabitants, of whom 99 percent were farmworkers. Wine remained Moguer's fundamental product and the river natural means to export that wine, although traffic to the river port had declined sharply due to silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
ing that decreased the depth of the channel.
On 23 December 1881, poet Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
—author of Platero y yo and winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize for Literature—was born in the house at number 1, Calle de la Ribera.
The centuries-old strategy of economic prosperity based on the wine industry was frustrated in the early 20th century by the infestation of phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
. The population began to decline unstoppably until the industrial development of Huelva in the 1960s and, most importantly, until the adoption of strawberries as a crop in the 1970s. Moguer is now Spain's principal producer of strawberries, which has led to great population growth in recent decades.
Now, in the early 21st century, the economy of Moguer is largely driven by the growth of strawberries and raspberries
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
; the construction industry and service sectors are also strong.
Economy
In ancient times, the economoy of Moguer and its region was based in fishing and seafaring. Moguer has been connected since ancient times to the principal ports of the Mediterranean and North African coasts. This activity continued through the Middle Ages.In the Low Middle Ages, Moguer experienced economic growth through agricultural development (including the raising of livestock). Moguer thrived thanks to the cultivation of wheat, wine grapes, esparto
Esparto
Esparto, or esparto grass, also known as "halfah grass" or "needle grass", Macrochloa tenacissima and Stipa tenacissima, is a perennial grass grown in northwest Africa and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula employed for crafts .-Esparto paper:It is also used for fiber production for paper...
, hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
, and other crops, as well as continued prosperity in fishing.
During the 15th century, this was supplemented by several industries relying on ovens: soap, bread, and bricks. This period also saw the growth of agricultural warehouses and mercantile enterprises for agricultural industries. Moguer also prospered through its role in discovery and trade with the Americas.
Nonetheless, Moguer was significantly affected by Spain's deep 17th century economic crisis. In 18th century economic activity began to grow again, especially the trade in wine. For decades, the largest customer for Moguer's wines was the Spanish Navy.
In the 19th century, wine continued to boom, with a considerable increase in land under cultivation and a spectacular development of vineyards. The arrival in the early 20th century of phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
, a disease affecting vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
grapes, was very harmful to Moguer's vineyards, but the industry has since recovered to a significant degree through the use of resistant rootstock
Rootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...
. Moguer now belongs to Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
(DO) Condado de Huelva
Condado de Huelva
Condado de Huelva is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the south-east of the province of Huelva . The wines known as the Wines of the Discovery of America are produced there....
.
The loss of the vineyards was partially compensated by a growth in the chemical industry, but was only finally overcome with the cultivation of strawberries in recent decades, which has driven a new period of economic development and demographic growth. At the end of 1970s the "Las Madres" estate of started growing Fragaria x ananassa—the garden strawberry—which spread rapidly through the municipality and the rest of the province. As noted above, Moguer is by far Spain's leading producer of strawberries. More recently, this has been supplemented by the cultivation of Rubus leucodermis
Rubus leucodermis
Rubus leucodermis is a species of Rubus native to western North America, from British Columbia, Canada south to California, New Mexico and Mexico...
(raspberries), and by a growth in construction, the service sector, and tourism.
The construction sector has benefited from the growth in agriculture, which has impelled a sharp increase in the number of construction companies and real estate firms in the town, which now constitute 15 and 19 percent of non-agricultural economic activity, respectively. The commercial sector has also greatly benefited from the agricultural growth, now constituting 43 percent of non-farm economic activity.
At the same time, recent development of the urban center of Mazagón for tourism has increased the number of hotels and other short-term accommodations to constitute 12 percent of the municipal economy.
Agriculture
The local economy has long been based in seafaring and fishing, but above all in agriculture: cereals and oliveOlive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, then later wine grapes, strawberries, and raspberries have long been the basis of the economy. The strong current growth is based on crop irrigation, and primarily on strawberries and, secondarily, raspberries. These have been the economic engine underlying other activities. Other rain-fed farming continues in the traditional growing area near the town of Moguer, but is less profitable.
The irrigation has been made possible by community three groupings of growers: C.R. de Valdemar, C.R. de Palos and C.R. del Fresno.
The businessman Antonio Medina Lama began the first local experiments with growing stawberries on his "La Madre" farm in the late 1970s. Over the years, cultivation techniques were improved to the point of becoming the basis of the local economy. Berries are grown by intensive hydroponic methods in transparent plastic tunnels, on top of a black plastic base, using drip irrigation to supply water and nutrients.
| Hectares | |
|---|---|
| Spain | 8,296 |
| Andalusia | 7,060 |
| Huelva (province) | 6,800 |
| Moguer | 2,278 |
As of 2008, 2278 hectares (5,629.1 acre) in the municipality are devoted to growing strawberries, making Moguer Spain's leading municipality in this crop. Moguer's production is 27.5 percent of the national total of 8296 hectares (20,499.8 acre) and 32.3 percent of the Andalusian total 7060 hectares (17,445.6 acre) nearly all of which (6800 hectares (16,803.2 acre)) is in the province of Huelva.
In the 2000s, production has diversified to include raspberries, Japanese persimmon
Japanese persimmon
Diospyros kaki, better known as the Japanese Persimmon, Kaki Persimmon or Asian Persimmon in North America, is the most widely cultivated species of the Diospyros genus...
and Northern highbush blueberry
Northern highbush blueberry
Northern highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, is a species of blueberry native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Ontario south to Alabama, and west to Wisconsin...
.
Municipal buildings
The municipal hall , known as the Casa Consistorial, is located in the Plaza del Cabildo, in the historic center of Moguer. Expansion of local government in recent years has been accommodated by new buildings, rather than by adding onto this small historic building. Social Affairs (Asuntos Sociales) is located on Calle Daniel Vázquez Díaz and Urban Planning (Urbanismo) on Calle Andalucía. The municipal archive also has a new facility, opened in 1994 in a portion of the San Francisco Convent. The most recent archives remain on the upper floor of the municipal hall.Municipal politics
In the municipal and regional elections of 2007Spanish regional elections, 2007
A number of elections were held in Spain on 27 May 2007:* municipal elections;* local elections of various types like the elections to the Cabildo on the Canary Islands;* elections to the Assembly of Ceuta and Melilla; and...
the Juan José Volante Padilla of the right-of-centre People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
(Partido Popular, PP), was reelected to the mayoralty, which he has held since 2003.
The Municipal Corporation comprises 17 councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s. In the municipal elections of May 27, 2007, the PP won 9 council seats with 45.73 percent of the votes, while the left-of-centre Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
-Andalusia (Partido Socialista Obrero Español-Andalucía, PSOE-A) won 6 seats with 30.19 percent. The Asociación de Vecinos de Mazagón (AVEMA, the Neighborhood Association of Mazagón) won 2 seats and 13.32 percent of the votes. Two other groupings, the Partido Independiente de Mazagón (PIM, Mazagón Independent Party) and the left-of-centre Andalusian nationalist
Andalusian nationalism
Andalusian nationalism or Andalusian regionalism, sometimes referred as Andalucismo in Spanish, is the name given to the political movement in Spain advocating the recognition of Andalusian people as a "nation". It is considered to be represented primarily by the Andalusian Party but there are also...
Andalusian Party also ran, but did not obtain representation, in the 2007 elections.
If one takes into account the Union of the Democratic Centre (Unión de Centro Democrático, UCD), predecessor to the PP, this is roughly representative of the major parties in local politics in the years since the Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
. The United Left
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
(Izquierda Unida, IU) has also elected councilors on several occasions, as has the Andalusian Party. AVEMA has been a force in local politics since the 1995-1999 legislative session. PIM was newly formed in 2007.
| 1979–1983 | Julián Gamón Domínguez | UCD |
| 1983–1987 | Francisco Díaz Olivares | PSOE-A Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in... |
| 1987–1991 | Francisco Díaz Olivares | PSOE-A |
| 1991–1995 | Francisco Díaz Olivares Rosario Ballester Angulo (from 1994) |
PSOE-A |
| 1995–1999 | Manuel Burgos Cruzado | PP People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship... |
| 1999–2003 | Rosario Ballester Angulo | PSOE-A |
| 2003–2007 | Juan José Volante Padilla | PP |
| 2007– | Juan José Volante Padilla | PP |
The fourth Thursday of each month, at 20:00, the Council of Moguer holds its plenary sessions, open to the public at large. The sessions of the commission of government are on the first and third Friday of each month. The informative committees "Urban and Internal Regime", "Social Welfare", and "Economy and Development" are held on the first, second and third Thursday, respectively. Other components of local administration are the Municipal Culture Foundation, the Municipal Patronate of Sports and the company housing and land company "Envisur".
Security forces
The city of Moguer has three types of security forces:- The local police, headquartered in the Casa Consistorial, on the side facing Calle Obispo Infante, with about 30 officers.
- The Civil GuardCivil Guard (Spain)The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...
(Guardia Civil), with a barracks on the Avenida de la Constitución. - Civil defenseCivil defenseCivil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
(Protección Civil), in the Plaza 12 de Octubre, with a significant number of volunteers.
Judicial administration
Moguer is seat of legal districtLegal district
A legal district or judicial district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court has jurisdiction.-Courts in Germany:In Germany, ordinary Gerichtsbarkeit courts are the smallest districts of those courts. There are superior court districts, which usually have several legal districts...
(partido judicial) number 6 of the province of Huelva, encompassing the towns of Moguer, Niebla
Niebla, Spain
Niebla is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 4,200 inhabitants. A 2-km town wall surrounds the perimeter of the town.-External links:...
, Bonares
Bonares
-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, Lucena del Puerto
Lucena del Puerto
Lucena del Puerto is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, it has a population of 2,283 inhabitants.-External links:* - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía...
, and Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
. The court facilities are located on the Calle de San Francisco and consist of two courts of first instance and an examining magistrates court.
Health
Moguer has two health centres, both part of the Andalusian Health ServiceAndalusian Health Service
The Andalusian Health Service , the governmment-run health system for the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, was created under Ley 8/1986 de 6 de mayo , as an autonomous agency attached to the Council of Health of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, and belonging to the Andalusian Public...
(Servicio Andaluz de Salud, SAS):
- Health Centre of Moguer: Located on Calle Castillo, 6.
- Health Centre of Mazagón: Located on Calle Buenos Aires, no number.
Education
The town has the following schools:- Nursery schoolNursery schoolA nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
s: Two municipal schools (C.A.S.E.I. Municipal El gato con botas ("Puss in BootsPuss in Boots'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
") in Moguer and C.A.S.E.I. Municipal El Farito (diminutive of Faro, "lighthouse") in Mazagón and the private El barquito de papel ("The Little Paper Boat") in Moguer.
- Early childhood education and primary schools: Pedro Alonso Niño School, Virgin of Montemayor School, Zenobia Camprubí School (all in Moguer) and El Faro School in Mazagón.
- Secondary schools: Juan Ramón Jiménez Institute of Secondary Education and Francisco Garfias Institute of Secondary Education in Moguer, El Faro Institute of Secondary Education in Mazagón.
- Continuing education (Educación Permanente): Camarina Section in Moguer and El Vígia Section in Mazagón.
Sports
The municipality has two multi-sport centres (polideportivos):- Polideportivo de Moguer: Located on Avenida del V Centenario. It consists of two football (soccer) fields, one of albero (a type of soil also used in bullringBullringA bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with Spain, but they can also be found in neighboring countries and the New World...
s) and the other of artificial turf, with bleachers; a running track for athleticsAthletics (track and field)Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
goes around the perimeter of the latter; four paddleball courts; an area of sand for beach volleyballBeach volleyballBeach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
; two covered pavilions with bleachers; two covered multi-sport facilities; six outdoor courts: two for futsalFutsalFutsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
, two for tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and one each for basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and volleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
; and an outdoor pool.
- Polideportivo de Mazagón: Located on avenida de Santa Clara. It consists of one football (soccer) field of albero, with bleachers; a covered pavilion with bleachers; four outdoor courts: one for futsal, one for tennis, and two for basketball.
There are several teams that compete in these facilities. The most notable is the Club Balonmano Pedro Alonso Niño, which plays in the national first division for handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
.
Natural areas
Over 60 percent of the Moguer municipality remains in a natural state. Only some of these natural areas have protected status. Among those that are unprotected are the Monte Público of the municipality of Moguer. The protected areas are:- Doñana Natural ParkDoñana National Park-Conservation:In 1989 the surroundings of the national park were given more protection when a buffer zone was declared a natural park under the management of the regional government. The two parks, national and natural, have since been classified as a single natural landscape.In 1994 UNESCO...
: Presents different coastal ecosystems: dunes, forests, lakes and wetland areas. 3200 hectares (7,907.4 acre) of the park are within the municipality of Moguer. The park as a whole is considered the largest ecological reserve in Europe. Declared World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 1994. In 2006 the park received 376,287 visitors. - Paraje Natural Laguna de las Madres y Palos. Located in the municipalities of Moguer and Palos de la Frontera; has a wide variety of animal and plant species.
- Dehesa del Estero Domingo Rubio and corridor. Located adjacent to Doñana Natural Park, this pine meadow along the Domingo Rubio estuary has been designated a Site of Community ImportanceSite of Community ImportanceA Site of Community Importance is defined in the European Commission Habitats Directive as a site which, in the biogeographical region or regions to which it belongs, contributes significantly to the maintenance or restoration at a favourable conservation status of a natural habitat type or of a...
, and is the head of the Paraje Natural Estero Domingo Rubio. Flora include stone pineStone PineThe Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
, with an understory including rockrose, mastic, palmettoPalmetto-Botany:Members of several genera of small palms:*the genus Sabal of the Arecaceae family**Dwarf Palmetto**Sabal palmetto*Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens*Silver saw palmetto, Acoelorraphe wrightii-Place names:United States...
. Fauna include wild boar, nutria, GreyGrey HeronThe Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...
and Purple HeronPurple HeronThe Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...
s, Northern ShovelerNorthern ShovelerThe Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...
ducks, Cattle EgretCattle EgretThe Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...
s, and ChameleonChameleonChameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
s - Marismas y Riberas del Tinto ("Marshes and banks of the Río Tinto"): Site of Community Importance.
- Playas de Mazagón ("Beaches of Mazagón"): A grouping of beaches and the sand hills and gullies of the Arenas Gordas. Part of this area is protected as a Site of Community Importance, but the urban center of Mazagón also falls within this area.
Main sights
- Santa Clara Monastery. Founded in 1337 by Alonso Jofre Tenorio. Listed as a Monumento nacional since 1931. The most important of the lugares colombinosLugares colombinosThe Lugares colombinos is a tourist route in the Spanish province Huelva, which includes several places that have special relevance to the preparation and realization of the first voyage of Cristopher Columbus. That voyage is widely considered to constitute the discovery of the Americas by Europeans...
(associated with the first voyage of Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
) in Moguer; site of the fulfillment of one of Columbus's vowColumbus's vowColumbus's vow was a vow by Christopher Columbus and other members of the crew of the caravel Niña on 14 February 1493, during the return trip of Columbus's first voyage to perform certain acts, including pilgrimages, upon their return to Spain...
s. - Casa Consistorial (Town Hall, late 18th century)
- Birthplace House of Nobel Prize Juan Ramón JiménezJuan Ramón JiménezJuan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
- Zenobia and Juan Ramón Jiménez House Museum . This 18th century house conserves belongings, books and personal belongings of Juan Ramón
- Moguer Castle, an Almohad building renovated and enlarged in the 14th century. Origins date back to a RomanAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
villa. In its interior is an interesting cisternCisternA cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
(aljibe) of two bays, believed to be Almohad - San Fernando Castle
- Moguer Parish Cemetery. Includes the Panteón Zenobia y Juan Ramón ("Zenobia and Juan Ramón Jiménez Pantheon") and the Hermitage of San Sebastián. The BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
hermitage was built between the 16th and 18th centuries, and is commonly known as the Capilla de Jesús ("Chapel of Jesus"). - Santa Cruz de Vista Alegre Estate. Rural residence of Juan Ramón Jiménez; provides a panoramic view of Moguer.
- Parish Church of Our Lady of Granada. Built in the 18th century on the ruins of the former MudéjarMudéjarMudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
14th century parish church. - Pinete Fountain (Fuente de Pinete): 13th century MudéjarMudéjarMudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
fountain and temple, with four sides, two of them open, located in the old Camino Real de Seville. - Chapel of the Hospital of Corpus Christi. This GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
–MudéjarMudéjarMudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
building was erected in the 14th century, as part of the first male monastery erected in Moguer, the old San Francisco Convent, later Corpus Christi hospital. - Puerto de la Ribera. Old river port which had a loading dock, dry dock and shipyards. The caravel La NiñaNiñaLa Niña was one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage towards the Indies in 1492. The real name of the Niña was Santa Clara. The name Niña was probably a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer...
was built here between 1487 and 1490. - Convent of St. Francis, begun in the late-15th century, but the church was not completed until the 1570s and the cloister until the 17th century. It is now the seat of the Municipal Historical Archives and Library Iberoamericana.
- Montemayor Hermitage. The current building is a mix of 15th, 18th, and 20th century work, due to repeated renovation.
Notable people
Many moguereños have distinguished themselves as mariners; others have distinguished themselves in the Church, politics, and the arts.- The Niño brothers were members of a renowned family of moguereño mariners, who participated actively in Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
's VoyagesVoyages of Christopher ColumbusIn the early modern period, the voyages of Columbus initiated European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are thus of great significance in world history. Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, a country that later founded modern Spain...
. - On December 23, 1881 Juan Ramón JiménezJuan Ramón JiménezJuan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
was born in the house at number 2, Calle de la Ribera de Moguer. A few years later his parents moved to an 18th century located in the finest part of the city, on the Calle Nueva. - Alonso Jofre Tenorio (?–1340), Grand Admiral of the Sea and first Señor (lord) of Moguer.
- The Portocarrero family, an important noble family settled in Andalusia after the Reconquista; Señores of Moguer 1356–1703.
- Cristóbal García del Castillo (c. 1458–1539), captain of the Royal Brotherhood of Knights of Andalusia (Real Hermandad de Caballeros de Andalucía). Founded the city of Telde on Grand Canary island.
- Luis de TorresLuis de TorresLuis de Torres , perhaps born as יוסף בן הלוי העברי, Yosef Ben Ha Levy Haivri, was Christopher Columbus's interpreter on his first voyage and the first person of Jewish origin to settle in America....
, Juan de Jérez, Juan de Moguer, Francisco García Vallejos, Juan Quintero, Juan Vecano, Juan Arraez, Alonso de Morales, Maestre Alonso, Bartolomé Roldán, Diego Leal, and others sailed with Columbus and the Niño brothers on the first voyage to the Americas. - Alonso Vélez de Mendoza (?–c.1511), commander of the Order of SantiagoOrder of SantiagoThe Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
and explorer of the Brazilian coast. - Diego García de Moguer (1484–1554), pilot, explored the South American coast as far as the Río de la PlataRío de la PlataThe Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
and discovered the Chagos ArchipelagoChagos ArchipelagoThe Chagos Archipelago , is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range...
and the island of Diego García. - Juan Ladrillero (1505–1559), pilot, independent discoverer of the Straits of Magellan.
- Bartolomé Ruiz, pilot for the Famous Thirteen who accompanied Francisco PizarroFrancisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
in the discovery of PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. - Fray Andrés de Moguer (c.1500–1577), DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
friar and first chronicler of the work of the friars of Santo DomingoSanto DomingoSanto Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
in the en el virreinato de Viceroyalty of New Spain. - Felipe Godínez Manrique (1585–1659), playwright of the Spanish Golden AgeSpanish Golden AgeThe Spanish Golden Age is a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the political rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty. El Siglo de Oro does not imply precise dates and is usually considered to have lasted longer than an actual century...
; his plays were performed at Court and in the Americas. - Fray Antonio de OlivaresAntonio de OlivaresAntonio de Olivares was a Spanish Franciscan known by officiate at the first Mass celebrated in Texas, for contributing to the founding of San Antonio and for his exploration in this city.-Biography:...
(1630–1722), priest who traveled extensively in the Americas. Founder of San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
; first priest to perform a massMass (liturgy)"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. - Luis Hernández-Pinzón Álvarez (1816–1891), a direct descendant of the Pinzón brothers of PalosPalos de la FronteraPalos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
and Admiral of the Spanish Navy in the era of Isabel II of Spain; commanded the Pacific squadron in the war against Peru for the control of guanoGuanoGuano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
resources. - Ildefonso Joaquín Infante y Macías (1813–1888), bishop of TenerifeTenerifeTenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
1877-1886. - La Parrala (Dolores Parrales, 1845–1914), flamenco singer to whom LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
dedicated one of the poems in his Poema del cante Jondo. - Manuel Gómez Contioso (1877–1936), SalesianSalesians of Don BoscoThe Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
priest shot in MálagaMálagaMálaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
during the Spanish Civil War, beatified by Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
October 28, 2007, along with 497 other religious figures executed in the war. - Rafael Romero y Barros (1832–1895), painter. Father and teacher of Julio Romero de TorresJulio Romero de TorresJulio Romero de Torres was a Spanish painter.He was born and died in Córdoba, Spain, where he lived most of his life. His father was the famous painter Rafael Romero Barros and his mother was Rosario de Torres Delgado...
. - Manuel de Burgos y Mazo (1862–1946), RestorationSpain under the RestorationThe Restoration was the name given to the period that began on December 29, 1874 after the First Spanish Republic ended with the restoration of Alfonso XII to the throne after a coup d'état by Martinez Campos, and ended on April 14, 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.After...
-era politician, leader of the Liberal-Conservative PartyLiberal-Conservative Party (Spain)The Liberal-Conservative Party was a Spanish political party founded in 1876 by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. Its other names include Partido Conservador, Partido Canovista, Partido Silvelista, Partido Maurista and Partido Dadista.-Foundation:Castillo called it liberal due to the state system...
in the province of Huelva during that period. Minister of Grace in the government of 1917; Minister of Justice in the government of 1919. - Alejandro Rodríguez Gómez ("Xandro Valerio", 1896–1966), poet known for his copla (meter)Copla (meter)The copla is a poetic form of four verses that provides found in many Spanish popular songs as well as in Spanish language literature. There is a related musical genre of the same name. The form is also found widely in Latin America...
s, including "La Parrala" and "Tatuaje" ("The Tattoo"). - Eulalia Ruiz de Clavijo (1904–2000), first female prosecutor in the Spanish courts.
- Francisco Garfias López (1921-), winner of the National Prize for Poetry in 1971 with his poetry collection La Duda ("Doubt"). Also known as a scholar of the work of Juan Ramón Jiménez and editor of his work.
- José Manuel Sierra Méndez (1978-), handball player, currently (as of 2010) playing for BM ValladolidBM ValladolidClub Balonmano Valladolid is a Spanish handball team based in Valladolid, Castilla and León that currently plays in Liga ASOBAL.-History:Club Balonmano Valladolid was founded in the 1991 summer when acquired the ACD Michelin' seat. Michelin was founded in 1975 by the own company's employees...
, and a fixture of the Spain national handball teamSpain national handball teamThe Spain national handball team is the national handball team of Spain and is controlled by the Spain Handball Federation.-2008 Olympic squad:*1 José Javier Hombrados – BM Ciudad Real*2 Alberto Entrerríos – BM Ciudad Real...
since the 2005 Mediterranean Games2005 Mediterranean GamesThe XVth Mediterranean Games Almería 2005, commonly known as the 2005 Mediterranean Games were the 15th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Almería, Spain over 10 days, from 24 June to 3 July 2005, where 3,214 athletes from 21 countries participated...
, in which he won a gold medal.
Craftsmanship and gastronomy
Moguer is heir to a rich artisanal tradition: cooperingCooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
, bobbin lace
Bobbin lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually determined by a pattern or pricking pinned on the...
, embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
, saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
making, and the making of traditional Andalusian costumes, among other things.
Moguer's cuisine features cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
(chocos) with beans, skate
Skate
Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. There are more than 200 described species in 27 genera. There are two subfamilies, Rajinae and Arhynchobatinae ....
in paprika
Paprika
Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...
, school shark
School shark
The school shark, tope shark, soupfin shark or snapper shark, Galeorhinus galeus, is a hound shark of the family Triakidae, the only member of the genus Galeorhinus, found worldwide in subtropical seas at depths of up to...
marinated in adobo
Adobo
Adobo is the immersion of raw food into a preparation, in the form of a stock , of different components, including paprika , oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar — mixed according to the place of origin and the food with which it is intended to be used—primarily to preserve and enhance the flavor of...
, white shrimp
White shrimp
White shrimp may refer to*"Atlantic white shrimp" – Litopenaeus setiferus*"Pacific white shrimp" - whiteleg shrimp*"Indian white shrimp" - Indian prawn...
, bean clams
Donax
Donax is a genus of small, edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks. The genus is sometimes known as bean clams; however, Donax species have various common names in different parts of the world....
(coquinas) and other species of clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
(almejas), wedge sole, true sole
Soleidae
The true soles are a family, Soleidae, of flatfishes, and include species that live in salt water and fresh water. They are bottom-dwelling fishes feeding on small crustaceans and other invertebrates. Other flatfishes are also known as soles....
, and croakers
Sciaenidae
Sciaenidae is a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make...
. Its fruity white wines and a wine made from oranges are produced under the Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
(DO) Condado de Huelva
Condado de Huelva
Condado de Huelva is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the south-east of the province of Huelva . The wines known as the Wines of the Discovery of America are produced there....
.
Other characteristic products are a pastry known as "La Victoria", vermouth
Vermouth
Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...
from the Sáenz cellars, and, of course, strawberries.
Culture and traditions
In addition to its monuments and its streets, the history of Moguer is reflected today in various festivities and celebrations that occur throughout the year.The evening in honor of Our Lady of Montemayor, known in Moguer as Days of Our Lady, has been held on or around September 8 without interruption since the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
to worship Moguer's patron saint. At the end of August, a solemn novena
Novena
In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...
begins in her honor in the Parish Church of Our Lady of Granada, to culminate with the Principal Function of the Institute and the procession of the Señora through the city's streets for the day of the Nativity of Mary
Nativity of Mary
The Nativity of Mary, or Birth of the Virgin and various permutations, is celebrated as a liturgical feast in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and in most Anglican liturgical calendars on 8 September, nine months after the solemnity of her Immaculate Conception, celebrated on 8 December...
, September 8. Meanwhile, for about five days, the festival continues in a more playful for in town fairground, which has more than 250 booths.
The Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Montemayor takes place every second weekend of May in the pine forests surrounding the shrine of the patron. On this weekend, thousands of pilgrims come to the precinct to venerate the "Queen of the Pinares (Pine forests). At present there are eight filial brotherhoods (hermandades) spread over the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Madrid dedicated to the patron saint of Moguer, who also participate in this celebration.
Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
in Moguer has a special significance, as is evidenced by the various brotherhoods that process from Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
until Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday , sometimes known as Easter Eve or Black Saturday, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter...
. Currently eight confraternities (cofradías) conduct the stations
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
of penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
: Hermandad de la Borriquita ("Brotherhood of the little donkey") on Palm Sunday, Holy Monday the Hermandad del Cristo de los Remedios ("Brotherhood of Christ of the Remedies"), Holy Tuesday the Hermandad del Cristo de la Sangre ("Brotherhood of Christ of the Blood'), Holy Wednesday the Hermandad del Cristo de la Victoria ("Brotherhood of the Victory"), Holy Thursday the Hermandad de la Oración en el Huerto ("Brotherhood of the prayer in the orchard"), Good Friday in the dawn hours the Hermandad de Padre Jesus ("Brotherhood of Father Jesus) and in the evening the Hermandad de la Veracruz ("Brotherhood of the True Cross"), and on Holy Saturday the Hermandad del Santo Entierro ("Brotherhood of the Holy Tomb").
The Romería del Rocío is a pilgrimage to the village of El Rocío on Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
weekend. It has a deep association with this community. It is believed that the Hermandad filial de Nª Sª del Rocío de Moguer ("Filial brotherhood of Our Lady of El Rocío de Moguer) dates from the end of the 17th century; documents from the 18th century attest to the celebration of this pilgrimage by faithful moguereños. Juan Ramón Jiménez in Platero y yo wrote an entire chapter about the Romería del Rocío:
Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
. On this occasion the entire route of the procession is dressed out in sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
and is filled with pilgrims and altars.
There are, throughout the year, other cultural activities related to the discovery of the Americas and to Juan Ramón Jiménez. On March 16 is the celebration of Columbus's fulfillment of his vow
Columbus's vow
Columbus's vow was a vow by Christopher Columbus and other members of the crew of the caravel Niña on 14 February 1493, during the return trip of Columbus's first voyage to perform certain acts, including pilgrimages, upon their return to Spain...
and the Santa Clara Monastery; Columbus's departure is celebrated on August 3, and the discovery itself on October 12. Juan Ramón is commemorated in several ways by the Fundación Juan Ramón Jiménez. Their highest award, the "Perejil de plata" ("Silver Parsley"), is given out annually, as is the "Premio Hispanoamericano de poesía Juan Ramón Jiménez" ("Juan Ramón Jiménez Prize for Hispano-American Poetry")
There is also an annual Festival de Cante Flamenco de Moguer ("Moguer Festival of Flamenco Singing"), organized by the Peña de Cante Jondo de Moguer on the second weekend in July.
Twin towns and sister cities
Moguer is twinned with the following cities:Malgrat de Mar
Malgrat de Mar
Malgrat de Mar is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Santa Susanna and Blanes. A local road runs from the town to the main N-II road, while the B-682 connects it with Blanes, Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar...
, Spain Telde, Spain
Works in English
- Washington Irving, extract from Voyages and discoveries of the Companions of Columbus about his visit to Moguer, Available online on Google Books.
Works in Spanish
- ——, Moguer 500 Años. Catálogo de la Exposición. (Iglesia de San Francisco de Moguer, 3 agosto - 2 septiembre 1992). Ayuntamiento de Moguer, 1992.
- Álvarez Josué, Aurelio, Moguer en la época de Carlos III. Edición, introducción, notas y transcripción de documentos de Diego Ropero-Regidor. Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 1. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2002. (ISBN 84-607-5467-7)
- Borda Camacho, Germán, Visiones de Pero Alonso Niño, descubridor de America. Ed. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2001.
- Díaz Domínguez, Manuel: Religiosidad popular en la ciudad de Moguer (1400-1936). Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 4. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal de Cultura, Moguer, 2005.
- Díaz Roca, José Antonio: Vida y semblanza de Fray Joaquín Infantes Macías. Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2007.
- Fernández Vial, Ignacio; Ollero Marín, Álvaro, Las tres carabelas. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 1998. (ISBN 84-8163-139-6)
- Fernández Vial, Ignacio, Los marinos descubridores onubenses. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 2004. (ISBN 84-8163-352-6)
- González Gómez, Antonio, Moguer en la Baja Edad Media. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 1976. (ISBN 84-500-1614-2 )
- González Gómez, Juan Miguel, El Monasterio de Santa Clara de Moguer. Diputación Provincial de Huelva, Huelva, 1978. (ISBN 84-00-03752-9)
- Moreno Orta, Juan Manuel, Eulalia Ruiz de Clavijo, primera mujer procuradora de los Tribunales en España. Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 3. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2004. (ISBN 84-607-9980-8)
- Ropero Regidor, Diego. La "Niña II" Aventura transoceánica por la ruta del primer viaje colombino : historia y documentos Caja Provincial de Ahorros, 1987)
- Ropero Regidor, Diego. Los lugares colombinos y su entorno. Fundación Ramón Areces, Madrid, 1992. (ISBN 978-84-8004-027-3)
- Ropero Regidor, Diego. Moguer y America en la era de los descubrimientos. Col. "Biblioteca Nueva Urium", n° 2. Archivo Histórico Municipal; Fundación Municipal Cultura, Moguer, 2003. (ISBN 84-607-8932-2)
- Vilaplana, María Asunción, La colección diplomática de Santa Clara de Moguer. Universidad de Sevilla. Secretariado de Publicaciones. Sevilla, 1975. (ISBN 978-84-600-6555-5)
External links
- Official website of the city council.
- Moguer - S.I.M.A.
- Foundation Juan Ramón Jiménez
- Logbook. - Discovery of the site on Americas.
- Web Doñana National Park - Ministerio de Medio Ambiente.
- Web Doñana National Park - Consejería de Medio Ambiente (Junta de Andalucía).
Brotherhoods and confraternities
Agriculture
- Saenz's Wineries (D.O. Condado de Huelva)
- Freshuelva, producer of strawberries
- Grufesa. Strawberry Cooperative Grufesa of Moguer.