Figueres

Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Infobox settlement Figueres (Template:IPA; Template:Langx Template:IPA) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain.

The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors. It is also the birthplace of Narcís Monturiol, inventor of the first successful machine-powered submarine. Also born here was Mónica Naranjo, one of the best selling Spanish singers of the 1990s and 2000s.

History

The town's name derives from that of Ficaris, of Visigoth origin. In 1267, King James I of Aragon conceded it fuero rights, but four years later Count Ponç IV of Empúries set the town on fire.

In 1794 Figueras was surrendered to France, but it was regained in 1795. During the Peninsular War it was taken by the French in 1808, recaptured by the Spaniards in 1811, and retaken by the French in the same year.<ref name="EB1911">Template:EB1911</ref>

During the Spanish Civil War, it remained loyal to the Republican government, and was repeatedly bombed by the Nazi and Fascist Italian aviation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It was one of the most heavily bombed Catalan cities during the Civil War, in 1938, and, especially, at the beginning of 1939, when thousands of people passed through the town on their way into exile. The number of bombing victims cannot be known with certainty, but could be close to 400.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Spain's Republican government held its final meeting of the civil war (on 1 February 1939) in the dungeons of its Sant Ferran Castle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Figueres recovered starting from the 1950s, consolidating its economy around the tourism industry.

Figueres was once home to a Jewish community prior to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, and a small Jewish quarter remains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Main sights

• Sant Ferran Castle, built in 1753 during the reign of Ferdinand VI of Spain, on the site of a Capuchin convent.<ref name="EB1911"/> It has a pentagonal layout, with a total perimeter of Template:Convert.
• Parish church of St. Peter, in Gothic. It has a single nave with side chapels.
• Dalí Theatre and Museum (19th century, renovated in the 1960s). It incorporates a tower from the ancient walls.
• Technical Museum of the Empordà, a technology museum with hundreds of antique typewriters
• Museu de l'Empordà

• Sant Ferran Castle
  Sant Ferran Castle
• Dalí theatre and museum
  Dalí theatre and museum

File:Face of Dali 1025.jpg

A surrealist tribute to Salvador Dalí at the base of the Rambla, Figueres

Transport

Situated in the northeast corner of Catalonia, Figueres is about Template:Convert from Girona, Template:Convert from Barcelona, Template:Convert from Perpignan, and Template:Convert from Girona-Costa Brava Airport. It is also served by its own railway station just east of the old town center.

Figueres has been connected since December 2010 to the high-speed rail network with the start of services connecting Figueres to Perpignan via LGV, allowing direct TGV services to Paris in 5 h 27 min. Connections to Madrid-Barcelona via AVE began on 8 January 2013 and the trip takes 53 min to Barcelona Sants (12 min to Girona).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

The Gondán Shipyard in Figueres is a large shipyard that carries out ship construction and repair.<ref name="ER">Template:Cite web</ref> It has been in operation since 1969.<ref name="ER"/> Among other vessel types, the ship produces large wind farm service vessels and in recent years has also built electric ferries.<ref name="OM">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="FSN">Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

• Narcís Monturiol (1819–1885), pioneering submarine engineer and inventor
• Salvador Dalí (1904–1989), artist
• Montserrat Minobis i Puntonet (1942–2019), feminist journalist
• Montserrat Vilà (born 1964), ecologist
• Mónica Naranjo (born 1974), singer and television host
• Dídac Lee (born 1974), entrepreneur, former board member of FC Barcelona
• Maverick Viñales (born 1995), MotoGP racer
• Sílvia Soler (born 1961), writer and journalist
• Manuela Trasobares (born 1962<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>), transsexual activist, opera singer, and politician

Twin towns – sister cities

Template:See also Figueres is twinned with:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Template:Flagicon Alcalá la Real, Spain (1989)
• Template:Flagicon Marignane, France (1968)
• Template:Flagicon Kalisz, Poland (1986)
• Template:Flagicon St. Petersburg, United States (2011)

References

References

Literature

• Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. Template:ISBN (Spanish). Template:ISBN (Catalan).

External links

• Figueres Council: Figueres Council (Catalan)
• Government data pages Template:In lang