*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ciutadella de Menorca

Ciutadella de Minorca
Municipality
Ciudadela (Menorca).jpg
Coat of arms of Ciutadella de Minorca
Coat of arms
Ciutadella de Minorca is located in Spain
Ciutadella de Minorca
Ciutadella de Minorca
Location in Spain
Coordinates: 40°01′N 3°49′E / 40.017°N 3.817°E / 40.017; 3.817
Country  Spain
Autonomous community  Balearic Islands
Province Balearic Islands
Judicial district Ciutadella
Government
 • Mayor Pilar Carbonero Sánchez
Area
 • Total 186.34 km2 (71.95 sq mi)
Elevation 24 m (79 ft)
Population (2009)
 • Total 29,160
 • Density 160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 07760, 07769
www.ajciutadella.org

Ciutadella de Minorca (Catalan pronunciation: [siwtəˈðeʎə ðə məˈnɔrkə]) or simply Ciutadella is a town and a municipality in the western end of Minorca, one of the Balearic Islands (Spain). It is one of the two primary cities in the island, along with Maó.

It was founded by the Carthaginians, and became the seat of a bishop in the 4th century. After being governed by the Moors under the names of Medīna el Jezīra (Arabic: مدينة الجزيرة‎‎) and Medīna Menūrqa (مدينة منورقة) for several centuries, Citadel was recaptured during the reconquista by men serving Alfonso III and became part of the Crown of Aragon. During the Middle Ages, it became an important trading center.

On 9 July 1558, the Turks under Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis with a powerful Turkish Armada of 140 ships and 15,000 soldiers, put the town under siege for eight days entered and decimated the town. The town was defended by only a few hundred men. All of Ciutadella's 3,099 inhabitants who survived the siege were taken as slaves to Turkey together with other inhabitants of surrounding villages. In total, 3,452 residents were sold into slavery in the slave markets of Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey.

An obelisk was set up in the 19th century by Josep Quadrado in the Plaza d'es Born in memory of the offensive, with the following inscription:


...
Wikipedia

...