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42-540: The shoreline is densely settled. From west to east, the shore is divided between the Spanish municipalities of Algeciras , Los Barrios , San Roque , La Línea de la Concepción and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar . The larger part of the shoreline is Spanish territory, with part of the eastern half of the bay belonging to Gibraltar. The east and west entrances to the bay are marked respectively by

84-440: A large degree of autonomy in their local affairs: many of the functions of the comarcas and provinces are municipal powers pooled together. All citizens of Spain are required to register in the municipality they live in, and after doing so, they are juridically considered "neighbors" (residents) of the municipality, a designation that grants them various rights and privileges, and which entail certain obligations as well, including

126-585: A number of years, before finally being ejected by the Visigoths. In 711, Carteia and the surrounding area became the beachhead for the Umayyad conquest of the Iberian Peninsula led by Tariq ibn Ziyad . Alfonso XI of Castile took control of the territory by defeating a Muslim Merinid army in the 14th century. Over the next few centuries, the population was gradually Hispanicised and Christianised . In 1649

168-519: A population of three in 2022 ). Almost 40% of the Spanish population resides in just 62 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. 84% (6,817) of municipalities have less than 5,000 inhabitants. Castile and León alone account for 28% of municipalities but they constitute less than 6% of the population of Spain. A European report said that one of the most important problems facing local governments in Spain

210-496: A quarter of the Gibraltar population perished from epidemic disease. A number of residents retreated to the area of San Roque, and survived the outbreak, believed to be typhoid . The modern settlement of San Roque was established by the former Spanish inhabitants of Gibraltar , after the majority fled following the takeover by Anglo-Dutch forces and their Spanish allies during the War of

252-600: A small number of sinkings, groundings and collisions in both Gibraltar and Spain resulting in oil spills ( New Flame , Spa Bunker IV , Samothraki , Sierra Nava , Tawe and Fedra ). Last report of Greenpeace on the pollution in Spain targets the Bay of Gibraltar as suffering from "chronic pollution" due to hydrocarbons, not only as a result of accidents, but also as a consequence of regular unballast, ship-to-ship bunkering or tank cleaning operations. During 2009, environmental organizations, both Spanish and Gibraltarian, have called

294-541: A total of 8,131 municipalities in Spain, including the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla . In the Principality of Asturias , municipalities are officially named concejos (councils). The average population of a municipality is about 5,300, but this figure masks a huge range: the most populous Spanish municipality is the city of Madrid , with a population of 3,305,408 (2022) , while several rural municipalities have fewer than ten inhabitants ( Illán de Vacas , had

336-533: A town to live in, and were given Carteia, named Colonia Libertinorum Carteia . After the fall of Rome, the Vandals briefly established themselves in the area until 428 before they embarked on the conquest of North Africa , via an invasion fleet across the Strait of Gibraltar . The Visigoths replaced them around the 6th century. The Byzantine Empire made incursions into Andalusia between 554 and 626, occupying Carteia for

378-498: Is also visited by migratory whales . It is a popular destination for tourist whale-watching trips from Algeciras or Gibraltar. The other major draw for tourists is scuba diving : the area is rich with wrecks and historical artifacts such as crashed Avro Shackleton aircraft and Sherman tanks from the Second World War , and ancient anchors from Phoenician and Roman ships. To encourage marine diversity an artificial reef

420-401: Is called ayuntamiento ( municipal council or corporation ), a term often also used to refer to the municipal headquarters (city/town hall). The ayuntamiento is composed of the mayor (Spanish: alcalde ), the deputy mayors (Spanish: tenientes de alcalde ) and the deliberative assembly ( pleno ) of councillors ( concejales ). Another form of local government used in small municipalities

462-572: Is one of the two fundamental territorial divisions in Spain , the other being the provinces . Although provinces are groupings of municipalities , there is no implied hierarchy or primacy of one over the other. Instead the two entities are defined according to the authority or jurisdiction of each ( Spanish : competencias ). Some autonomous communities also group municipalities into entities known as comarcas (districts) or mancomunidades (commonwealths). The governing body in most municipalities

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504-480: Is situated in Guadarranque Industrial Estate . It is the largest in the Iberian Peninsula, with a crude oil daily processing capacity of 240,000 barrels per day. Local San Roque Club is an important source of tourism. Sotogrande is an exclusive beach and golf resort located in the municipality. The beaches of Campamento and Puente Mayorga, although no longer so popular as in the sixties due to

546-470: Is the concejo abierto (open council), in which the deliberative assembly is formed by all the electors in the municipality. The operation of the municipalities is broadly outlined by the 1985 Local Government Act. The Statutes of Autonomy of the various autonomous communities also contain provisions and many sectorial laws from national and autonomous community government determine the functions and powers of ayuntamientos. In general, municipalities enjoy

588-419: Is the very high number of little towns with a low number of inhabitants. The area of the municipal territory (Spanish: término municipal ) usually ranges 2–40 km , but some municipalities span across a much larger area, up to the 1,750.33 km of Cáceres ', the largest municipality in the country. The average land area of a Spanish municipality is about 62.23 km (24.03 sq mi), while

630-714: Is then taken from the temple to the Pinar del Rey pinewoods nearby and back. During the Spanish War of Independence , Saint Roch's Chapel was ransacked by the Napoleonic troops and the historic statue of the saint was destroyed. The image was replaced in 1833 by a new one donated by an army captain from San Roque called Juan Rojas, who was stationed in Seville . At the time this city was suffering from cholera epidemics, so Captain Rojas vowed to make

672-406: The comarca of Campo de Gibraltar , the south-eastern division of Cadiz province. It is bordered to the northwest by the municipalities of Jimena de la Frontera , Castellar de la Frontera , and Los Barrios , and to the south by La Línea de la Concepción , beyond which is Gibraltar itself. The area around San Roque has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The oldest known settlement within

714-665: The Europa Point Lighthouse at Europa Point , Gibraltar and the Punta Carnero Lighthouse in Punta Carnero to the west of Algeciras. The area around the Bay of Gibraltar has been inhabited for millennia and the bay itself has been used by merchant shipping for at least 3,000 years. The Phoenicians are believed to have had a settlement near Gibraltar and the Romans established the town of Portus Alba ("White Port") on

756-460: The Junta de Andalucía to order an independent audit aimed at investigating such incidents. The refinery continues to cause concern with close co-operation between various groups monitoring its activities. Fuel tanks on ships are known as bunkers , and the process of fueling termed bunkering. Due to its geographical position on a major shipping route, Gibraltar is one of the largest bunkering ports in

798-515: The Spanish First Republic , the town declared its independence as the Canton of San Roque for a few months. The New Saint Roch's Chapel ( Sp. : Ermita de San Roque ) was erected in 1801. Its style is neoclassical. The shrine houses a statue of Saint Roch . In the fourth week of April every year, a procession is held on the saint's honour, with people carrying his image on a float. The statue

840-568: The Acerinox plant in Los Barrios , caused the release of a radioactive cloud. The radiation was not detected on site, but was eventually detected in France , Italy , Switzerland , Germany , and Austria . The radioactive levels measured were up to 142 times higher than normal. Due to the large number of ships that transit the strait, there is always a danger of accidents and in recent years there have been

882-504: The Bay of Gibraltar. Spain does not recognise British claims of sovereignty in the area save for a small portion around the Port of Gibraltar, but the UK has asserted a normal 3  nmi (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) limit around Gibraltar, with a demarcation in the middle of the bay. This claim contradicts the treaty of Utrecht of 1713, by which Spain ceded to Great Britain the city and port of Gibraltar and

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924-576: The Mediterranean, followed by neighbour Algeciras in Spain. The ports in the Straits — Algeciras, Ceuta and Gibraltar — are the second bunker market in Europe, behind the so-called Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area. In Gibraltar 4,300,000 t (4,700,000 short tons) of bunker fuel were delivered in 2007 compared with just 840,000 t (930,000 short tons) in 1990 and bunkering is now the main activity within

966-430: The Port of Gibraltar. Of a total of 8,351 deep-sea vessels which called at Gibraltar in 2007, 5,640 were supplied with fuel. Algeciras recorded bunker sales of about 2,400,000 t (2,600,000 short tons) in 2008. From the 24,535 vessels called at the Port of Algeciras Bay, 2,173 took on fuel. Gibraltar in 2009 supplied over 4,200,000 t (4,600,000 short tons) of fuel. The local CEPSA refinery produces supplies much of

1008-632: The Spanish Succession in 1704. The establishment became a new town in 1706, addressed by King Philip V of Spain as "My city of Gibraltar resident in its Campo" and "My well beloved", because it remained loyal to his cause during the War of Succession. Gibraltar's City Council, banner and records were moved there. San Roque official motto is "Very Noble and Very Loyal city of San Roque, where Gibraltar lives on" (Spanish: Muy Noble y Muy Leal ciudad de San Roque, donde reside la de Gibraltar ). In 1873, during

1050-711: The Tripartite Forum to implement measures to protect the Bay of Gibraltar. A joint statement was issued by concerned environmental groups on both sides of the frontier in relation to the trilateral forum meeting held in 2009. A report by the Gibraltar government in 2015 reported that the water body status of Gibraltar Coastal Waters was "good" for both ecological and chemical status. Municipalities of Spain The municipality ( Spanish : municipio , IPA: [muniˈθipjo] , Catalan : municipi , Galician : concello , Basque : udalerria , Asturian : conceyu )

1092-553: The arrest of a Spanish fishing vessel by the Royal Gibraltar Police in 1998, the problem largely subsided. An incident in the area in 2007 concerning the Odyssey Marine Exploration was resolved in court cases by 2012 with Spain being awarded the ownership of the treasure-trove. The bay is a breeding area for several dolphin species, notably the common dolphin , striped dolphin and bottlenose dolphin , and

1134-431: The average population is about 5,988 people. Municipalities were first created by decree on 23 May 1812 as part of the liberal reforms associated with the new Spanish Constitution of 1812 and based on similar actions in revolutionary France. The idea was to rationalise and homogenise territorial organisation, do away with the prior feudal system and provide equality before the law of all citizens. Between 1812 and 1931,

1176-608: The construction of a church over the foundations of the 1508 Chapel of Saint Roch. The Governor's Palace ( Spanish : Palacio de los Gobernadores ), which houses the municipal art gallery " Luis Ortega Bru ", is also located in the same square. The oldest bar in the town is the Bar Torres, adjacent to the central square. Mathew Arnold 's brother is buried in San Roque. The main economic activities are tourism and manufacturing. CEPSA Gibraltar-San Roque Refinery , built in 1967,

1218-603: The day of the inaugural cavalcade. The Royal Fair closes on a Sunday night with a fireworks show and at 7am on the Monday with the Running of the Bulls known locally as Toro del Aguardiente which has occurred yearly since 1649, named as terrified participants are given a shot of the strong alcoholic spirit ‘ Aguardiente ’ for courage, before running with the bulls to the San Roque bullring , marking

1260-485: The effigy himself if he and his family recovered from the disease. This happened indeed and the new image of Saint Roch was donated to the church by Rojas. The parish church , Santa María La Coronada Church , is consecrated to Saint Mary the Crowned and it was declared a listed building in 1974. The main building dates from the 18th century and features Spanish-Tuscan architecture and Baroque artwork. Work began in 1735 on

1302-440: The fuel for bunkering in the bay which it delivers on seven dedicated barge to either Algeciras or Gibraltar. Due to all these facts and the heavy industries along the shoreline, airborne and marine pollution are serious problems in the area. Environmental groups have raised concerns about the risks of oil spills and other types of pollution, particularly in the light of the bay's ecological importance. In May 1998, an accident at

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1344-619: The internal waters of that port, without granting any territoriality over the surrounding waters in the Bay of Algeciras. This has caused tensions between the two sides, especially over the issue of Spanish fishermen operating in British Gibraltar territorial waters. Both have signed, and are bound, by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which specifies territorial waters. After

1386-401: The legislation regarding municipal organisation was changed more than 20 times, and there were 20 addition and unsuccessful proposals for change. San Roque, C%C3%A1diz San Roque is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz , which in turn is part of the autonomous community of Andalusia . It is also part of the comarca of Campo de Gibraltar . Located in

1428-517: The municipality is the ruined town of Carteia , founded by the Phoenicians . It became a Phoenician tradepost and evolved into a Carthaginian town by 228 BCE. Its major trade was in local wine and garum or salazón , a fish-based sauce. Carteia was captured by Rome in 206 BCE. A few years later, in 171 BCE, Iberian-born children of Roman soldiers appeared before the Roman Senate to request

1470-557: The nearby industrial activity, are close to San Roque town, facing the Bay of Gibraltar. The Feria Real de San Roque (Royal Fair of San Roque in English), is the city's main yearly Street fair , held on the second Tuesday of August. The fair begins with the coronation ceremony of the juvenile and child queens and their respective courts, although the stands and attractions located in the Fairground El Ejido do not open until Wednesday,

1512-486: The refinery produced 13.8 million tons of fuel, 260,000 tons of purified terephthalic acid, 170,700 tons of purified isophthalic acid and 157,300 tons of polyethylene terephthalate . In 2007 a particularly serious sulphur incident happened as well as intermittent flaring episodes. The impacts of such upsets on surrounding neighbourhoods had provoked outrage and public protest which led to the Consejería de Medio Ambiente of

1554-441: The right to vote or be elected for public office in said municipality. The right to vote in municipal elections is extended to Spanish citizens living abroad. A Spaniard abroad, upon registering in a consulate , has the right to vote in the local elections of the last municipality they resided in. A Spanish citizen born abroad must choose between the last municipality his or her mother or father last lived in. As of 2022, there were

1596-524: The site of modern Algeciras. Later peoples, notably the Moors and the Spanish , also established settlements on the shoreline during the Middle Ages and early modern period, including the heavily fortified and highly strategic port at Gibraltar, which fell to England in 1704. The bay's strategic position at the mouth of the Mediterranean has made it a much-contested body of water over the centuries. It has been

1638-575: The site of several major sea battles, notably the Battle of Gibraltar (1607) and the First Battle of Algeciras (1801). During the Second World War , Italy launched human torpedoes from Algeciras on several occasions in attempts to sink British ships moored in the Gibraltar harbour, with mixed success due to the work of Commander Crabbe . More recently, there has been (and remains) a persistent dispute between Spain and Gibraltar over British sovereignty in

1680-611: The southern end of the Iberian Peninsula , San Roque is a short way inland of the north side of the Bay of Gibraltar , to the north of the Gibraltar peninsula. The municipality has a total surface of 145 km with a population of approximately 25,500 people, as of 2005. The foundation of San Roque as a city owes to the creation of a sort of Gibraltar-in-exile by refugees fleeing from the Rock in

1722-428: The wake of its seizure by Anglo-Dutch forces in 1704 . In addition of the main nucleus of San Roque, the municipality also includes settlements such as Puente Mayorga , Guadarranque  [ es ] , Sotogrande , Campamento , or Guadiaro . San Roque is Spanish for Saint Roch , a Christian saint who was revered in a shrine dating back to 1508 that predates the foundation of the town. San Roque lies in

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1764-665: Was constructed in the bay at the end of the runway. The area around the bay in Spain is heavily industrialised with extensive petrochemical installations near San Roque (such as the CEPSA oil refinery and Acerinox stainless steel manufacturing plant) and working ports in both Algeciras and Gibraltar. The bay's waters are used by a considerable number of large and medium-sized ships, notably oil tankers and freighters . Oil bunkering activities are also heavily carried out. The CEPSA Gibraltar-San Roque Refinery , located in Spain, occupies 1.5 million m and employs 1,000. In 2015

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