Olot

Olot
Municipality
The Plaça Major of Olot
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): La ciutat dels volcans (The city of the volcanoes)
Olot Show map of Catalonia Olot Show map of Spain Location in Catalonia
Coordinates: 42°11′N 2°29′E / 42.183°N 2.483°E / 42.183; 2.483
Country	Spain
Community	Catalonia
Province	Girona
Comarca	Garrotxa
Government
• Mayor	Josep Maria Corominas Barnadas (2015) (CiU)
Area
• Total	29.0 km2 (11.2 sq mi)
Elevation	443 m (1,453 ft)
Population (2015)
• Total	33,944
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Website	www.olot.cat

Olot (Catalan pronunciation: [uˈɫɔt]) is the capital city of the comarca of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The city is known for its natural landscape, including four volcanoes scattered around the city center. The municipality is part of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. Olot is also well-known for its cultural activity, with historical art movements like Olot school or imaginery schools, which contributed to the location in the city of the main Design and Arts & Crafts school of the province of Girona, the Escola d'Art i Superior de Disseny d'Olot.

The etymology of Olot is not clear and there are several hypotheses. According to the Crònica Universal de Catalunya, Olot was founded by Ulo, former king of the dynasty of Atlanteans, (then called Siculus), with the name of Ulot. Another theory, more spread, is that the name comes from ala (wing in Catalan), because the city has been documented with the names Aulot and Alot. For this reason, the coat of Olot has a wing in reference to the name of the city.

The municipality 29,12 km² and includes the city of Olot and the town of Batet de la Serra (annexed in 1971). The term is located at 443.4 meters above sea level and is approximately 50 km from Girona, the capital of the province of the same name. It is bordered by Sant Joan les Fonts (north east), Santa Pau (south east), Les Preses (south west), Riudaura (west) and La Vall de Bianya (north west).