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Spain consists of very different regions: from the independence-hungry Basque Country in northern Spain, the arid, hot Andalusia with its Moorish past, the cosmopolitan Barcelona and charming Madrid. The common denominator for them all is enjoyment of life, lots of cultural experiences and beautiful nature.

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Population: 50 mill.

Capital: Madrid

Language: Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque

Spain is the only country in Europe where there are monkeys? In Gibraltar you can get acquainted with the Berber monkey.

there are around 400 million Spanish speakers in the world? The Spanish population thus makes up about 10% of the world’s Spanish – speakers.

Nature and geography

Spain is divided into 17 regions, which together make up the majority of the Iberian Peninsula, which Spain shares with Portugal and Andorra. The Spanish nature has both mountain ranges, rivers and a huge plateau that fills most of central Spain. The highest point in the country is the volcano Pico del Teide on the island of Tenerife with a height of 3,718 meters. The highest point on the Spanish mainland is Mulhacén, which is part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain. South of the Sierra Nevada is the famous Costa del Sol coastline, which forms a small part of the country’s 5,000 km long coastline, which includes everything from wide, soft sandy beaches to rugged cliffs and deep fjords.

History of Spain

Both the Phoenicians, the Romans and the Arabs conquered and seized power over Spain. The Arab conquerors, who in this area were called Moors, brought with them a tradition of beautiful, detailed architecture. Fantastic buildings such as the Alhambra in Granada and the Mezquita in Cordoba still stand today as witnesses to the creative desire of the Moors. The Moors also had the Islamic faith that existed side by side with Christianity without the major problems. This type of peaceful religious coexistence ended in the late 15th century, when the Spanish Inquisition was introduced by Pope Sixtus 4. The Inquisition successfully converted the country’s population to Catholics and today more than 98% of the population are Catholics.

Not only did Catholicism grow – the size of the country itself spread rapidly in the 14th and 16th centuries. Spain became a gigantic superpower that spread far beyond Europe’s borders. There was a lot of activity in the Spanish ports, because India’s goods attracted, and there must be a faster sea route to India than south of Africa. It was not there, but to the west lay a completely unknown continent, and Columbus’ travels formed the basis of vast Spanish colonial territories throughout Latin America. The Philippines and some areas of Africa also became part of the global Spanish regime.

But as early as the 17th century, the great power gradually began to crumble, and from there it went down to the 1930s, when civil war and dictatorship isolated Spain from the rest of Europe, which refused to trade with the Franco regime. In 1978, dictatorship was replaced by democracy, and Spain once again became a full member of the continent. However, Europe’s borders cannot hold Spain back. There are no more Spanish colonies, but the Spanish language and culture have spread far, not least to Latin America. Today, 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish. At home in Spain, however, people are not content with the Spanish language. Catalan, Galician and Basque are also official languages ​​in Spain, and about a third of the country’s population has one of these languages ​​as their mother tongue, and standard Spanish, also called Castilian, as a second language.

Attractions in Spain

What to see in Spain? According to top-medical-schools, Spain is full of fantastic sights – from Barcelona to Madrid and the sunny south of Spain. Read about Spain’s best sights below, and remember to leave room for the delicious Spanish cuisine.

The Spanish cuisine shows great diversity with the rustic rural cuisine to the south and the coastal treasure trove of seafood. But it is also nueva cocina vasca – the new Basque cuisine in northern Spain, which with a whole generation of star chefs has consolidated Spain’s place on the gastronomic world map.

Barcelona

The capital of Catalonia is also an obvious destination with Gaudi’s fabulous architecture in the Eixample district, such as the gigantic but not yet completed cathedral La Sagrada Familia. When visiting Barcelona, ​​you should take a walk along the Ramblas, the city’s bustling pedestrian boulevard and in the medieval city center Barri Gotic with its beautiful design shops and historical monuments. You should also visit the El Raval district with its mix of bohemian bars and prestigious art palaces.

Madrid

With its 3.2 million inhabitants, the capital Madrid is an exciting and vibrant capital, among other things immortalized by several of the Spanish film artist Pedro Almadova’s burlesque works and by being the beautiful setting for the end of one of the world’s toughest cycling races, the Vuelta Espana. Madrid has a lively entertainment life and plenty of culture. Here you will find, among other things, the Prado Museum with works by Goya, such as the world-famous painting “The Naked Maja”.

Spain is also a great nature experience with, among other things, hiking and biking in the Pyrenees, skiing and breathtakingly beautiful views in the national parks of Asturias. A lot has happened in Spain, which with its 48 million inhabitants is one of Europe’s great countries, since the overthrow of dictator Franco in the 1970s. And even though it is one of the continent’s most visited countries, there are still many new exciting things to discover during a trip in Spain. From bullfighting to tapas. Or from wonderful nature to memorable cultural monuments.