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Cadiz, the oldest continuously-inhabited city in Western Europe
• 04 Oct 2007 •
 CADIZ is a city in Andalucia and the capital of the province of the same name. It the oldest continuously-inhabited city in Western Europe and has been a principal port of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century.
Cadiz is a typically Andalucian city with many attractive views and well-preserved historical landmarks. It is also dotted by numerous parks where exotic plants, including giant trees, supposedly brought to Spain by Columbus, flourish.
The city was founded by the Phoenicians who called it Gadir meaning "fortress", or "walled stronghold". This name is equivalent to that of Agadir, a coastal town in Morocco. Gadir became the most important Phoenician enclave on the Iberian Peninsula.
Later, the city became known by the Greeks as Gadeira. According to Greek legend, Gadeira was founded by Hercules after performing his 10th labour, the slaying of Geryon, a monstrous warrior- titan with three heads and three torsos joined to one pair of legs.
Around 500 BC, the city fell under Carthage and became a base of operations for Hannibal's conquest of Southern Iberia. However, in 206 BC, the city fell to Roman forces under Scipio Africanus. In Latin, it was known as Gades, and flourished as a Roman naval base. It was the principal city of the Roman colony, Augusta Urbs Julia Gaditana.
The fifth century overthrow of Roman power in Spain by the Visigoths saw the destruction of the original city, of which few remnants remain today. Under Moorish rule between 711 and 1262, the city was called Qadis.
The Moors were finally ousted by Alfonso X of Castile in 1262.
During the period of the Discoveries, the city experienced a renaissance. Columbus sailed from Cadiz on his second and fourth voyages and the city later became the home port of the Spanish treasure fleet. Consequently, it also became a major target of Spain's enemies.
A raid by the Englishman, Sir Francis Drake, was repulsed outside the city in 1587, although he succeeded in torching a portion of the Spanish fleet (armada) in the harbour of Cadiz.
In the Anglo-Spanish War, Admiral Robert Blake blockaded Cadiz from 1655 to 1657.
In the 1702 Battle of Cadiz, the British attacked again under Sir George Rooke and James, Duke of Ormonde, but they were repelled after a costly siege.
In the 18th century, the Spanish government was forced to transfer the port to the Atlantic coast. During this time, the city experienced a golden age, becoming one of Spain's greatest and most cosmopolitan cities, and home to trading communities from many countries.
By the end of the century, however, the city suffered another series of attacks. Lord Nelson bombarded the city in 1800. However, during Napoleon's conquest of Europe, Cadiz was one of the few cities in Spain that was able to resist the French invasion.
Cadiz was also home to the liberal parliament that fought against Joseph Napoleon Bonaparte in the Peninsular War and where the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was proclaimed.
The citizens again revolted in 1820 to secure a renewal of this constitution. The revolution spread across Spain, leading to the imprisonment of King Ferdinand VII in Cadiz. French forces secured his release in 1823 and suppressed liberalism.
In 1868, Cadiz was once again the seat of a revolution, resulting in the eventual abdication and exile of Queen Isabel II.
Cadiz has many interesting monuments and landmarks including:
• The cathedral, on the site of an older cathedral, completed in 1260, which burned down in 1596. The reconstruction was started in 1776 and built over a period of 116 years, in several different styles
• The Gran Teatro Falla, originally constructed in 1871, was destroyed by a fire in 1881. The current theatre was built between 1884 and 1905 on the same site. The outside was covered in red bricks and is of a neo-Mudejar style.
• The Tavira Tower is one of the more than 160 towers from which local merchants could look out to sea for arriving merchant ships during the 18th century. It is the tallest remaining tower.
• The Casa del Almirante is a palatial house, built in 1690 by the family of the admiral of the Spanish treasure fleet, Don Diego de Barrios, with the proceeds of the lucrative trade with the Americas. The exterior is sheathed in exquisite red and white Genoan marble, with architectural features of great nobility and beauty.
• Las Puertas de Tierra, in the old city walls, originated in the 16th century. Only one of the several layers of walls remains today.
• The Baluarte de la Candelaria military fortification, constructed in 1672. It is protected by a seaward-facing wall and has cannons which commanded the channels approaching the port of Cadiz.
• The Roman theatre, discovered in 1980 when a fire caused serious damage to some old warehouses in the El Populo district. The fire revealed a layer of construction that was judged to be the foundations of some medieval buildings; these buildings had been built, in turn, upon much more ancient hand-hewn limestone of a Roman character. Excavations revealed a largely intact Roman theatre. The theatre, constructed by order of Lucius Cornelius Balbus during the first century BC, is the second largest in the world, surpassed only by the theatre of Pompeii (Italy).
There are many other interesting and wonderful things to experience in Cadiz, an ancient city with an amazing story to tell. |  Return to Top
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