A Coruña

A Coruña, city, capital of A Coruña provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Galicia, in extreme northwestern Spain. It lies on an inlet facing the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Mero River. Under the Romans, A Coruña was the port of Brigantium, but its present name is probably derived from Coronium, the name by which it was known in the Middle Ages. It was held by the Moors during the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries and by the Portuguese during the 14th century and was reconquered definitively by the Spanish in the 15th century. In 1386 John of Gaunt, the English duke of Lancaster, landed there in pursuit of his claim to the throne of Castile. On July 26, 1588, the Spanish Armada sailed from A Coruña against England after taking refuge in the port from squalls. The next year a British fleet under Francis Drake and John Norris burned the shipping fleet at A Coruña and sacked the lower part of the port. A Coruña was a battle site in the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, the British led by Gen. John Moore fought against the French in what became known as the Battle of A Coruña. The British army was evacuated to safety, sparing the lives of many soldiers (General Moore died in battle), while the French held onto the city. In 1898 the city suffered heavily when Spain lost Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War, for it had enjoyed a thriving trade with those colonies.

Because of its position near a great sea route between northwest Europe and Latin America, A Coruña is one of the chief ports of northern Spain, exporting farm produce (especially onions and potatoes) and importing coal, salt, and manufactured goods. It is also the country’s second largest fishing centre and has salting and canning industries. Petroleum refining is another major industry, along with textile, aluminum, chemical, and machinery manufacturing. There is a tobacco factory in the southern suburb of Santa Lucía and shipyards for building fishing vessels. A Coruña also has beach resort facilities and a significant real-estate market for vacation homes.

The city comprises an old section (Ciudad Vieja) on a peninsula between Orzán and A Coruña bays, a new section (Ciudad Nueva, or La Pescadería) on the mainland and a narrow isthmus, and expanding residential suburbs. A characteristic feature of the houses is their miradores, or window balconies, glazed for protection against the wind. San Antón Castle, located on a small island connected to the mainland, formerly contained a fort and military prison but is now the site of the city’s archaeological museum. Other notable landmarks include the Roman Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse dating from the reign of the emperor Trajan (98–117 ce) but regarded in popular legend as having been built by the Phoenicians, and the churches of Santiago (12th century), Santa María del Campo (13th century), and Santo Domingo (in 18th-century Galician Baroque). South of the latter in the San Carlos Gardens overlooking the harbour is the granite tomb of John Moore (about whose death in the Peninsular War the Irish poet Charles Wolfe wrote “The Burial of Sir John Moore”). The city has schools of navigation and agriculture and is the site of an arsenal and army garrison. It was the birthplace of the Spanish novelist Emilia Pardo Bazán. Pop. (2006 est.) 224,063.