Blanes

Blanes is a town and municipality in the comarca of Selva in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. During the Roman rule it was named Blanda or Blandae. It is known as the "Gateway to the Costa Brava". Its coast is part of the Costa Brava, which stretches from Blanes up to the French border. The township is 18.29 km². Blanes is a popular tourist town, and it is known for the Concurs de Focs d'Artifici during the Santa Anna festival; this event includes a lot of fireworks. Other places of interest include a botanical gardens, coves, such as the Cala Bona, and beaches which are surrounded by mountains.

Population

As of January 2010 the population of Blanes was 40,010 inhabitants with 20,184 men and 19,826 women.

History

The history of Blanes predates the Roman conquest. Iberian activity has been attested in the area. Romanization of Blanes and its surroundings began around the 3rd century BC. Roman remains of the Blandae site lie nearby. After the rule of the Romans the area shared the fate of much of the Peninsula, being conquered successively by the Goths, the Moors and the Christians shortly after. In the 13th century, after the Christians regained the power, important architectural developments took place in Blanes. Some examples are the palace, Palau Vescomtal, the Església Parroquial church and the city walls.

In the 17th century, during the Catalan Revolt (Guerra dels Segadors), Blanes was practically burned to ashes. The Palau Vescomtal was completely destroyed.

Another event that affected Blanes was the War of the Spanish Succession. Afterwards the reconstruction of the town and the expansion of agriculture started.

Botanical gardens

One of the botanical gardens in Blanes is the Mar i Murtra, which covers almost 15 hectares. It includes over 4000 different plant species and is visited by 300,000 people every year. Another garden is the Pinya de Rosa, which consists of over 7000 different plant species.

Fireworks competition

The Festa major or feast of Santa Anna and Sant Joaquim (on the 26th) are usually celebrated in the 3rd or 4th week of July, between the 21st and 27th annually. During the eight days, the major feasts are celebrated as well as the European Concurs de Focs d'Artifici which attracts more than 500,000 visitors. This is an international competition in which various countries from around the world participate. Over 500,000 kg of fireworks are used at each event. Most people watch the fireworks from the beach.

The fireworks competition nearly always runs in the last full week of July, with the final show often taking place on a Sunday. In 2014, the Saturday night show—traditionally the busiest of the event—saw a record crowd of 250.000 people. 2016 marks the 46th edition of the competition, which will take place July 22–26

Prior to 2012 the competition ran for five consecutive days. At the height of Spain's financial crisis it was decided to drop to four days as a money-saving measure. In 2016 enough sponsors were found to restore the fifth day of the event.

Festa menor

The Festa menor or the feast of the co-patrons (Sant Bonòs and Maximià), is traditionally celebrated on the la Nit (Night) de la Caminada Popular in mid-August and has been around for approximately 25 years as of 2012. This is a wholly family-oriented trek which many people walk accompanied by their children, pets etc. It is approximately 8 km long. The reward is a memento and a slice of watermelon.

2008 storm

In December 2008 an unusually strong storm struck Blanes' beach. The port of Blanes was hit hardest. The old seawall was not capable of holding off a storm of that magnitude. Many pleasure boats, fishing vessels and tourist ferries were damaged and/or smashed onto the beach. Before the storm, plans had already been made to upgrade the harbor but the repairs were delayed. The poor state of the harbor made it more vulnerable to the storm surges and resulted in the heavy loss in the Boxing Day storm. This storm has been commonly referred to by locals as the worst storm Blanes had seen since the 1950s.