Puerto Real
| Puerto Real | |||
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| Municipality | |||
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 Location within the province of Cadiz |
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 Puerto Real
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| Coordinates: 36°31′45″N 6°11′31″W / 36.52917°N 6.19194°W | |||
| Country |
 Spain
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| Autonomous community |
 Andalusia
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| Province | Cádiz | ||
| Comarca | Bay of Cádiz | ||
| Judicial district | Puerto Real | ||
| Commonwealth | Municipios de la Bahía de Cádiz | ||
| Founded | 1483 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Maribel Peinado | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 195.96 km2 (75.66 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 8 m (26 ft) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 40,667 | ||
| • Density | 210/km2 (540/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Puertorrealeños | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 11510 | ||
| Official language(s) | Spanish | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Puerto Real is a seaport in Andalusia, in the province of Cádiz. As of 2010[update], it had a population 40,667.
The town is located on the northern shore of the inner lobe of the Bay of Cádiz, on the site of the ancient Roman settlement of Portus Gaditanus. An ancient trading post, it is probably the oldest settlement on the Bay of Cádiz. It owes its modern name to the fact that it was rebuilt in 1488 by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Puerto Real boasts public squares and broad streets; it also has a town-hall building and a 16th-century church, which was constructed in several styles (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque).
The town of Puerto Real has two separate zones with two separate characters, a maritime zone and a hinterland zone. Central Puerto Real lies entirely within the maritime zone, facing, as it does, the Bay of Cadiz and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. The inland zone, the so-called hinterland, is far larger in area but far less populated.
Puerto Real borders the towns and cities of San Fernando to the southwest, Chiclana de la Frontera to the south, Medina Sidonia to the southeast, Jerez de la Frontera to the north and northeast, and El Puerto de Santa Maria to the northwest.
A good portion of the periphery of Puerto Real lies within the Bay of Cádiz Natural Reserve, an area known for its salt marshes; the reeds of the marshes are the raw material for weaving mats that form the walls of cages in fish-farming enterprises (pisciculture). These wetlands, composed of lagoons as well as salt marshes, welcome, in the spring and autumn, huge flocks of migratory birds en route to their new seasonal homes. Also, on the outskirts of Puerto Real, there are several notable pine forests, among them, Las Canteras (the Forest of Quarries) and La Algaida (Mare's Meadow Forest). Because of its forests and estuarine marshes, Puerto Real is sometimes called the "green lung" of the Bay of Cádiz.
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Wikipedia