Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena

Municipality

Cartagena

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: Muy noble, muy leal y siempre heroica ciudad de Cartagena

Cartagena

Location in Spain

Coordinates: 37°36′N 0°59′W / 37.600°N 0.983°WCoordinates: 37°36′N 0°59′W / 37.600°N 0.983°W

Country

Spain

Murcia

Campo de Cartagena

Cartagena

Founded

227 BC

Government

• Mayor

José López Martínez (2015) (MC Cartagena)

Area

• Total

558.08 km² (215.48 sq mi)

Elevation

10 m (30 ft)

Highest elevation

50 m (160 ft)

Lowest elevation

0 m (0 ft)

Population (2012)

• Total

216,655

• Density

390/km² (1,000/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Cartageneros

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

302xx and 303xx

Dialing code

(+34) 968

Website

www.cartagena.es

Cartagena (Spanish pronunciation: [kartaˈxena]; Arabic: Al-Qartājanna قرطاجنة‎‎, Latin: Carthago Nova) is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital city. The metropolitan area of Cartagena, known as Campo de Cartagena, has a population of 409,586 inhabitants.

Cartagena has been inhabited for over two millennia, being founded around 227 BC by the Carthaginian Hasdrubal the Fair as Qart Hadasht, the same name as the original city of Carthage. The city had its heyday during the Roman Empire, when it was known as Carthago Nova (the New Carthage) and Carthago Spartaria, capital of the province of Carthaginensis. It was one of the important cities during the Umayyad invasion of Hispania, under its Arabic name of Qartayannat al-Halfa.

Much of the historical weight of Cartagena in the past goes to its coveted defensive port, one of the most important in the western Mediterranean. Cartagena has been the capital of the Spanish Navy's Maritime Department of the Mediterranean since the arrival of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century. As far back as the 16th century it was one of the most important naval ports in Spain, together with Ferrol in the North. It is still an important naval seaport, the main military haven of Spain, and is home to a large naval shipyard.

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Wikipedia