Spain is one of the oldest countries in Europe, which occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula and, together with several islands, is located on the border between Europe and Africa. Here is a short overview of interesting facts and events about Spain.
Spain tourist
Although Europe’s favorite city for tourists is Paris, the capital of France, Spain is considered the most visited country in Europe.
Spain is truly loved by the sun - almost 280 days a year there are no clouds and rains. This is a very attractive factor for tourists, but local farmers are forced to make a lot of efforts to water crops and protect their magnificent vegetables and fruits from the scorching heat.
Spain is spread not only on several nearby islands - the Canary and Balearic - but also on the African continent. The cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Africa belong to the Spanish royal court, and they are only 35 minutes from Europe by ferry via Gibraltar.
Beaches, Deserts and Rocks
Also, for some tourists, facts about Spain and Spanish beaches will become interesting and unusual, where it is allowed to sunbathe on any beach, and there are no special places for nudists. However, this entertainment is not very popular in the resorts, and fans of continuous tanning still try to retire somewhere.
Spain is amazing for its diversity of natural areas. There are huge mountain ranges of the Pyrenees with the famous ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada and the extinct volcanoes of Gran Canaria, Calatrava and La Palma.
If climbers are fans of diving at the same time, they can find a “2 in 1” in the Costa Brava resort, where steep cliffs are adjacent to the beautiful sandy beaches and bays.
And those who want to ride a camel and find out what the Sahara looks like can visit Maspalomas Park on the island of Gran Canaria, where there is a real piece of arid desert.
And, of course, who would not like to visit Ibiza with its famous entertainment venues, which all respectable young people in the world long for.
Festival of giants
Every March, in Valencia, one of the most fiery Las Fallas festivals takes place. Fireworks, dancing, spectacular shows, the main one of which is the viewing of giant figures made of wood and papier-mâché, is Valencia's calling card. Each district comes up with incredible scenes so that it is his sculpture that won the competition, but even the most luxurious paper gullivers have the same fate - at the height of the holiday they are burned at a grand festive bonfire.
These are not all the most interesting facts about Spain and Spanish carnivals. Each province has its own unique customs and holidays, and it’s worth looking at it with your own eyes or participating in competitions to experience delight and the best emotions.
Historical Interesting and Unusual Facts about Spain
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Translated from Roman antique, the name of the country is consonant with the "coast of rabbits, " since it was precisely these animals that the ancient Romans saw in abundance on the coast, which, traveling, reached the coast of a neighboring peninsula.
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Spain is the only country in Europe that has not suffered much from the last ice age due to its location in the southern latitudes. It was from here that the re-settlement of Europe began after the descent of glaciers. Of the 9, 000 plant species characteristic of Europe, more than 8, 000 can be found in Spain, with more than a quarter of them growing only in this country.
- In 711, almost all of Spain was captured by the Arabs, and only in 1492 the Moors were expelled from the kingdom. However, over 8 centuries of domination, the Arabs made many progressive structures in cities in Spain, such as lanterns and running water, left the Europeans with astrolabes, instruments for determining the location and study of the planets. Then, in 1209, the first Muslim university in Europe was created in Valencia.
- Spanish women retain their surname when they marry, and traditionally Spaniards use two surnames in their name - both mother and father.
Christopher Columbus - the Italian who glorified Spain
In 1492, the rulers of Spain, King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella, gave Christopher Columbus funds to explore new sea routes to India. By mistake, Columbus reached the Bahamas, then, during three more expeditions, put on the map Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Antilles and South America, but until the end of his life he was sure that he had opened the long-awaited path to Asia.
Depleted by the war against the Moors, the Spanish treasury unexpectedly receives a huge source of income, and for a long time Spain remains the richest country in the world.
Columbus for his services did not receive the promised titles and titles, he was named after one small country in Central America, and his comrade-in-arms Amerigo Vespucci, after several trips to the New World after Columbus' death, received all the fame of America's discoverer.
The most interesting facts about ancient Spain could be told by the Spaniards, whom few remember, but who were also the first. The Spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano in 1522 took command of the flotilla after the death of the head of the expedition of Magellan and became the first captain who traveled around the world. In 1603, sailor Gabriel de Castilla, a Spaniard of descent, was the first to see the Antarctic, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa, also a Spanish navigator, was the first to see the Pacific Ocean.
World Significance of the Spanish Language
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Spain has left another deep progressive mark in world culture - more than 400 million people in 23 countries now speak Spanish, of which 40 million live in the United States. Spanish is the second most prevalent language after the Chinese language in the world.
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Only 74% of the Spanish population speaks Spanish, the rest speak Catalan, Galissian and Basque.
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The expression "blue blood" has given the Spanish world nobility, which has led its genealogy for many centuries and was very proud of the purity of blood. A distinctive feature of the offspring of royal blood was a thin pale skin through which vessels and veins were perfectly visible, giving it an "aristocratic blue."
Schools in Spain - interesting facts
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Spain is the country with the most decentralized democracy in Europe. Each autonomous community and province establishes its own procedure for financing and activities of public institutions - schools, universities, hospitals. This does not affect the growing popularity of education in Spain, since the prevalence of the Spanish language attracts a huge number of students.
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In recent years, the Spanish government has carried out a profound reform of primary and secondary education, which made it possible to seamlessly combine historical traditions and modern standards of education and integrate into the European education system as soon as possible.
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In universities in Spain, more women study than men.
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Most educational institutions in Spain are state-owned. In different areas, their number is from 65% to 70%. Institutions of higher education are 75% in the jurisdiction of the state.
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Children aged 4 to 15 years in 100% attend preschool and school educational institutions. Over 30 years, only 30% of young people study, after 25 years, only less than 8% continue to study.
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Only 4.5% of Spain’s GDP is spent on educational purposes, this is the lowest indicator among the countries of the European Union.
15 interesting facts about Spain gastronomic
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Spain is not only the most visited country by tourists in the world, but also holds the first place in the world in the number of various clubs, pubs, bars, cafes and other entertainment venues.
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It is not customary to get up early in the mornings in Spain, breakfast is not served there until one in the afternoon, and dinner at 10 in the evening is a common occurrence. The reason for this is not only in the scorching daytime sun, but also in the special character of the Spaniards, who are known as the most carefree nation in the world. Breakfast is usually held in the nearest cafe, where free morning newspapers are always waiting for visitors at the tables.
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In Spain, it is just as unrealistic to die of hunger as to freeze in the cold: in each bar, as a snack, you can enjoy free tapas, usually consisting of french fries, mini burgers and fancy chopped jamon.
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Jamon is a national Spanish meat product, which is prepared from pork ham according to old recipes. There are two varieties of jamon - Iberico and Serrano. The first is usually much more expensive than the second and its cost can reach up to 300 euros per 1 kg. An average ham of about 10 days is being prepared. You can buy jamon almost everywhere - from butchers to large supermarkets, but the cheapest, but no less high-quality jamon can be purchased directly from the manufacturing workshops. There are even tourist tours where you can see the whole cooking cycle and taste the product.
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Spain is practically the only country in Europe where bananas are grown.
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Together with America, the Spaniards gave Europe such wonderful products as tomatoes, tobacco, cocoa, potatoes and avocados.
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Spanish national cuisine abounds with various options for dishes and potato cakes, but wheat and corn baked goods are not at all popular here.
Olives and wine
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Spain produces more than 45% of all olive oil in the world. In addition, it is the largest exporter of olives - annually more than 250 thousand tons of fruits are exported from the country, of which more than 25% are delivered to the United States and 11% to Russia.
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In every province of Spain they produce and sell fine grape wines. Even small villages have their own wine museums and tasting rooms, where you can always try excellent noble wines. Spain is the third largest wine producer in the world after France and Italy. The elite center of wine cruises is considered to be the Marques de Riscal hotel, which was built near the municipality of Elciego in the Basque Country.
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The cost of a bottle of wine can vary from 3 to 300 euros, depending on the area where it is grown and cooked, but they will always be magnificent - light and full, absorbing the sun and the vitality of Spain.
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Chorizo is another Spanish national pork dish - a fragrant sausage with lots of spices and paprika. A lot of dishes and tapas are prepared from chorizo, boiled broth and made delicious bokadillo - sandwiches with cheese, figs or olives.
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Turron is a Spanish sweet made from nuts, honey, egg white and sugar. Turron was already known in the 15th century, as his recipes were found in the records of the medieval Gijon of the province of Alicante.
