Vitoria-Gasteiz

Information about Vitoria-Gasteiz

This article is about the Spanish City. For other uses see Vitoria (disambiguation).
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Enlarge picture
Flag of Vitoria-Gasteiz
FlagCoat of Arms
Haec est Victoria quae vincit
("This is Victoria which triumphed")
Location

Location of Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain
Coordinates : 42°51′ N 2°41′ O
Time Zone : CET (GMT +1)
- summer: CEST (GMT +2)
General information
Native nameVitoria-Gasteiz (Spanish)
Spanish nameVitoria-Gasteiz
Founded1181
Postal code01001-01080
Area code34 (Spain) + 945 (Álava)
Websitehttp://www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/
Administration
CountrySpain
Autonomous CommunityBasque Country
ProvinceÁlava
ComarcaVitoria-Gasteiz
MayorPatxi Lazcoz (PSOE)
Geography
Land Area276.81 km
Altitude525 m AMSL
Population
Population226.490 (2005)
- rank in Spain:19th
Density818.21 hab./km (2005)
Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spanish: Vitoria, Basque: Gasteiz, known officially as Vitoria-Gasteiz in both languages), is a city in northern Spain, capital city of the province of Álava and of the autonomous region of the Basque Country, being the second largest city in the Basque Country by population.

History

In the year 1181, Sancho VI the Wise, King of Navarre founded the town of 'Nueva Victoria' as a defensive outpost on top of a hill at the site of the previous settlement of Gasteiz. In 1200, the town was captured by the troops of Alfonso VIII of Castile, who annexed the town to the Kingdom of Castile. The town was progressively enlarged and in 1431 it was granted the title of City by King Juan II of Castile.

The principal episode in the later history of Vitoria-Gasteiz is the Battle of Vitoria of the Peninsular War on 21 June 1813. The French troops were comprehensively beaten by the Duke of Wellington and French control of Spain was ended. There is a monument commemorating this battle in the main square of the city, known as the Monument to Independence - Monumento a la Independencia. Vitória in Brazil was named in honour.

The old part of the city (el casco viejo), which lies on an elevation, is very well conserved and contains a number of remarkable monuments: Casa del Cordon (a house from the XV century), the gothic cathedral of Sta. Maria (XIV century), the Museum of Archaeology (XVI century) and the Torre de Doña Otxanda (a tower holding the Museum of Natural Sciences). The extension (el ensanche) was built south of the old city centre during the XIX century and contains the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca (a square where the Fiestas de la Blanca start) with the church of San Miguel, Los Arquillos (an Arcade (architecture)), and the Plaza Nueva (or de España, a square that holds every Sunday morning a street market). Further south, the Paseo de Fray Francisco is a wide street sided by mansions, many of which have been recently adapted for public use: El Palacio de Ajuria Enea (the residence of the Lehendakari), the Museum of Arts, Museo de la Armeria (weapons) and Museo Fournier de Naipes (playing cards).

Economy and demographics

The economy of Vitoria-Gasteiz is diverse, and many manufacturing companies have operations here, including Mercedes-Benz, Michelin and Heraclio Fournier, the latter being headquartered here. The city has been ranked second in standard of living among all cities in Spain, and first as to green areas and cultural places per capita.

The city is served by Vitoria Airport, from where there are flights to Madrid and Barcelona, and also to London Stanstedceases October 2007]] and Dublinceases October 2007]].

Culture

Music

Vitoria-Gasteiz hosts two annual international music festivals:
  • The International Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival, from the 10th to the 16th of July
  • The Azkena Rock Festival, in late August and early September.

Local festivities

The Fiestas de la Blanca festival is celebrated every year from the 4th to the 9th of August in honour of the patron saint of the city, and features a programme of special events, activities and free open-air concerts.

Universities

The liberal arts section of the University of the Basque Country is based in the south part of the city. Focusing on history and linguistics, the Alava campus is also home of the Faculty of Farmacy, as well as some other technical, teaching and business related degrees.

Its origins date back from 1847 when the first Escuela Normal de Maestros de Álava was established. A whole other number of colleges and faculties were adopted in 1978 by the emerging University of the Basque Country.

Sports

ClubSportLeagueVenueLogoDeportivo AlavésFootballSegunda DivisiónEstadio Mendizorrotza TAU CeramicaBasketballACBFernando Buesa Arena

Sister cities

References

External links


[ edit ]Municipalities in lava
Alegra de lava | Amurrio | Aana | Aramayona | Armin | Arraya-Maestu | Arrazua-Ubarrundia | Arceniega | Asparrena | Ayala/Aiara | Baos de Ebro/Maueta | Barrundia | Berantevilla | Bernedo | Campezo/Kanpezu | Elburgo/Burgelu | Elciego | Elvillar/Bilar | Harana/Valle de Arana | Irua de Oca/Irua Oka | Iruraiz-Gauna | Kripan | Kuartango | Labastida | Lagrn | Laguardia | Lanciego/Lantziego | Lantarn | Lapuebla de Labarca | Laudio/Llodio | Legutiano | Leza | Moreda de lava | Navaridas | Okondo | Oyn-Oion | Peacerrada-Urizaharra | Ribera Alta | Ribera Baja/Erribera Beitia | Salvatierra/Agurain | Samaniego | San Milln/Donemiliaga | Urkabustaiz | Valdegova | Villabuena de lava/Eskuernaga | Vitoria-Gasteiz | Ycora/Iekora | Zalduondo | Zambrana | Zigoitia | Zuia
Vitoria (Spanish), or Vitória (Portuguese) may refer to one of the following:
  • A Vitória ("The Victory"), the name of the 4th Symphony by Heitor Villa-Lobos
  • Esporte Clube Vitória, a football club in the Brazilian city of Salvador in the state of Bahia

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Motto
"Plus Ultra"   (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem
"Marcha Real" 1
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time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. Most adjacent time zones are exactly one hour apart, and by convention compute their local time as an offset from UTC (see also Greenwich Mean Time).
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 Spanish, Castilian}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —

Spanish (
..... Click the link for more information.

 Spanish, Castilian}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —

Spanish (
..... Click the link for more information.
postal code (known in various countries as a post code, postcode, or ZIP code) is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail.

Germany was the first country to introduce a postal code system, in 1941.
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telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating telephone number ranges to countries, regions, areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks such as mobile phone networks.
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A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN.
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Administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to jurisdiction.

United States

Main article: Executive (government)

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In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government.
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Motto
"Plus Ultra"   (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem
"Marcha Real" 1
..... Click the link for more information.
Spain

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Spain

  • Constitution
  • 1978 Constitution
  • King
  • Juan Carlos I

..... Click the link for more information.
Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco
Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa

Flag Coat of arms

Anthem: Eusko Abendaren Ereserkia
Capital Vitoria-Gasteiz
Official language(s) Spanish and Basque
Area
 – Total
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province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision.

Roman provinces

The word is attested in English since c.1330, deriving from Old French province (13th c.
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Álava (Basque: Araba) is a province of northern Spain in the southern part of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The province has a poulation of 301,926 (2006 official estimate) and an area of 2.963 km² .
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A comarca (meaning shire, Spanish and Portuguese plural comarcas, Catalan plural comarques) is a traditional region or local administrative subdivision found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama and Brazil.
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A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "larger", "greater") is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer.

In many systems, the mayor is an elected politician who serves as chief executive and/or ceremonial official of many types of
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The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, commonly abbreviated by its Spanish initials, PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español), is the ruling party in Spain and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in 1833.
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Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

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For other uses see Altitude (disambiguation)


Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum (plural: data). Common data are mean sea level and the surface of the WGS-84 geoid, used by GPS.
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For the Michigan law school, see .


The term above mean sea level (AMSL) refers to the elevation (on the ground) or altitude (in the air) of any object, relative to the average sea level datum.
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population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
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In physics, density is mass m per unit volume V—how heavy something is compared to its size. A small, heavy object, such as a rock or a lump of lead, is denser than a lighter object of the same size or a larger object of the same weight, such as pieces of
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 Spanish, Castilian}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —

Spanish (
..... Click the link for more information.

 Basque}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Euskadi and Navarre (Spain)
Regulated by: Euskaltzaindia
Language codes
ISO 639-1: eu
ISO 639-2: baq (B)  eus (T)
ISO 639-3: eus


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Motto
"Plus Ultra"   (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem
"Marcha Real" 1
..... Click the link for more information.
Álava (Basque: Araba) is a province of northern Spain in the southern part of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The province has a poulation of 301,926 (2006 official estimate) and an area of 2.963 km² .
..... Click the link for more information.
Spain

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Spain

  • Constitution
  • 1978 Constitution
  • King
  • Juan Carlos I

..... Click the link for more information.
Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco
Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa

Flag Coat of arms

Anthem: Eusko Abendaren Ereserkia
Capital Vitoria-Gasteiz
Official language(s) Spanish and Basque
Area
 – Total
..... Click the link for more information.
11st century - 12nd century - 13rd century
1150s  1160s  1170s  - 1180s -  1190s  1200s  1210s
1178 1179 1180 - 1181 - 1182 1183 1184

Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states
Birth and death categories
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