Santander (Spain)

Santander is a city located in northern Spain, capital of the single-province autonomous community of Cantabria. With 171,693 inhabitants (2022), it is the most populous municipality in the autonomous community. It is the head of the Santander metropolitan area, a conurbation of more than 300,000 inhabitants that extends around the Santander Bay. The municipal term limits to the north with the Cantabrian Sea, to the east with the homonymous bay, which also surrounds it to the south with the municipality of Camargo and to the west it limits with the municipality of Santa Cruz de Bezana. Its maximum height, located in Peñacastillo, rises 139 m above sea level.

Symbols

Shield

The current coat of arms of Santander represents, like that of many other municipalities on the Cantabrian coast, the reconquest of Seville by Cantabrian sailors under the command of Admiral Ramón de Bonifaz y Camargo in 1248 during the reign of King Ferdinand III of Castile. It contains the Sevillian Torre del Oro and the ship in which Ramón de Bonifaz and his men broke the chains that linked Seville with Triana on May 3, 1248.

You can also appreciate the faces of the patron saints of Santander, San Emeterio and San Celedonio, beheaded in Calahorra during the persecution of Diocleciano or Valeriano, after being imprisoned and faced with the dilemma of renouncing their faith or abandoning the military profession. According to legend, their heads were transported from the Ebro in a stone boat to protect the relics from the Muslim advance, and finally they crossed the island of La Horadada, in the Bay of Santander.

Escudo de Santander, painted in 1929, in the bank of that province in the Plaza de España de Sevilla

When, on February 1, 1982, the Statute of Autonomy of Cantabria entered into force, the symbols of the Santander coat of arms were adopted as part of the new coat of arms of Cantabria, as provided in the Preliminary Title of said Statute.

Flag

The flag of the municipality represents the Santander shield on a background of two stripes, the upper one being white and the lower one blue. The latter represents the sea, characteristic of this city.

Anthem

Santander currently does not have an official anthem, but there are two proposals: the habanera Santander la marinera, by Chema Puente, and the bolero Santander, by Jorge Sepúlveda, as possible anthems of the city, Santander being the only city in the world that is debating between choosing a bolero or a habanera as the official anthem.^{[citation required]}

Physical geography

Municipalities bordering Santander:

Northwest: Cantabrian Sea	North: Cantabrian Sea	Northeast: Cantabrian Sea
West: Santa Cruz de Bezana		This: Bahía de Santander
Southwest: Camargo	South: Camargo	Sureste: Bahía de Santander

Climate

Climograma de Santander

Santander has a mild climate throughout the year, far from the climatic extremes of other areas of Spain. According to the Köppen climate classification, Santander has a Cfb-type oceanic climate. The annual thermal oscillation of the average monthly temperatures is low and reaches about 10 °C. The city is located in one of the rainiest areas in all of Spain; Rainfall is distributed throughout the year, although it is more abundant in spring and autumn. The humidity is quite high throughout the year and can exceed 90% on some occasions. The temperatures are mild throughout the year and episodes of extreme cold or extreme heat are never reached. This is the main characteristic of the oceanic climate of northern Spain: summers are generally mild, with pleasant temperatures and normally without the episodes of intense heat present in most of Spain, and winters are not very cold due to the thermoregulatory effect of the sea., with temperatures rarely dropping below 0°C and an average of one snowy day per year. In general terms, the average temperatures are between a maximum of 24.2 °C in August and a minimum of 5.7 °C in February.

Mainly during the autumn and winter months, there can be episodes of strong southerly winds that cause high temperatures and very low humidity. This phenomenon is due to the proximity of high mountain barriers, the Cantabrian Mountains, which produce the so-called Föhn effect.

Average climatic parameters of Observatorio del Aeropuerto de Santander (municipio de Camargo) (5 m. n. m.) (Reference period: 1981-2010, extremes: 1957-2016)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	25.1	29.0	31.3	30.6	36.8	37.8	37.2	37.3	37.6	33.5	30.0	25.4	37.8
Average temperature (°C)	13.6	13.8	15.7	16.6	19.1	21.6	23.6	24.2	22.8	20.3	16.3	14.2	18.5
Average temperature (°C)	9.7	9.8	11.3	12.4	15.1	17.8	19.8	20.3	18.6	16.1	12.5	10.5	14.5
Temp. medium (°C)	5.8	5.7	7.0	8.3	11.1	13.9	16.0	16.4	14.4	11.8	8.7	6.7	10.5
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-5.4	-5.2	-3.0	0.6	2.6	5.6	6.0	6.0	2.8	1.4	-3.5	-5.2	-5.4
Total precipitation (mm)	106.2	92.2	87.9	102.2	78.0	58.2	52.4	73.4	83.1	119.8	157.1	118.4	1129.0
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	12.3	11.1	9.9	11.9	10.4	7.6	7.3	7.6	8.9	11.1	13.3	12.1	123.6
Days of snow (≥)	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.9
Hours of sun	85	104	135	149	172	178	187	180	160	129	93	75	1649
Relative humidity (%)	72	72	71	72	74	75	75	76	76	75	75	73	74
Source: State Meteorology Agency

Urban wildlife

According to studies commissioned by the city council, 159 species of terrestrial vertebrates have been inventoried: 7 species of amphibians, 10 species of reptiles, 115 species of birds (of which 60 breed in the municipality), and 27 mammal species between rodents, insectivores and carnivores. The greatest number and diversity is found in the non-urbanized areas of the north and west of the municipality, and in the Cantabrian coastal strip. The peripheral areas of the Vaguada de las Llamas, the Charca de la Remonta and the Peñacastillo area are particularly interesting for their birdlife.

In the islets and coastal cliffs, areas of great ecological importance, we must mention the peregrine falcon, the European petrel, the great cormorant, the shag, the sooty sandpiper, the common tern, the yellow-legged gull, and the raven, among others.

In the countryside, a habitat greatly altered by man, the common midwife toad and the Iberian painted toad stand out among the amphibians; the Seoane's viper and the peat bog lizard among the reptiles; in the group of mammals there are the great horseshoe bat, the great buzzard bat, the riverside bat and the dwarf bat, weasel, stoat, marten, fox, shrews, hedgehog and moles; and among the birds of the interior, among many others, the cattle egret, the hen harrier, the sparrow hawk, the booted eagle, the merlin, the European lapwing, the wood pigeon, the cuckoo, the owl, and the scops stand out.

History

Origins and Middle Ages

Applying Hermes Niño from La Magdalena

Cathedral of Santander, core of the village of original fishermen

Archaeological remains of the ancient wall of Santander and the Puerta del Mar, found in 2007 in Porticada Square

Establishing the origin of the first human settlements in present-day Santander is complex given the few written and archaeological data. The north side of the bay, however, seems quite a suitable place; sheltered from it and safe from the Cantabrian storms and winds, on the northern slope of the Somorrostro promontory and on the banks of the old Becedo estuary. On the other hand, the waters of the bay, where wide estuaries flow from the south, serve as a source of food for those settled there and the good visibility from the hill to spot possible attackers make this place ideal for the foundation of a stable town, where it ultimately evolved throughout the Middle Ages.

Since Roman times, where the first data appear, the ancient Portus Victoriae Iuliobrigensium of which Roman sources speak, archaeological remains have been found on the Magdalena peninsula (remains of a building with mosaic floors, a Hermes of bronze and diverse monetary and ceramic material); on the promontory of San Martín (a villa from the I century AD with remains of a hypocaustum from some hot springs and various silver coins as well as an amphora from the same period) and especially in the area of the Somorrostro hill (from the Latin summum rostrum, «greater promontory») where they were made. systematic excavations and remains of churches from the early medieval period and structures from the Roman period -hypocaustum- belonging to some rooms for thermal purposes, retaining walls and other buildings, all accompanied by important monetary material, appeared under the current cathedral., a sestertius from the time of Emperor Trajan, other coins from Constantine I, etc.—indicating that the Romans carried out mining and commercial activities with the port as a base. It is also known that the incursions of the Nordic navigators were frequent and, as can be seen from the Chronicle of Bishop Hydacio (V century)), between the years 455 and 459 the population probably suffered the looting of the Héruli.

Although it is mentioned for the first time in 1068 in a document drafted by King Sancho II, in the IX century Alfonso II, the Chaste, founded the Abbey of the Holy Bodies in the pre-existing hermitage on the hill of Somorrostro, over the reliquary of the heads of San Emeterio and San Celedonio and the burials of other unknown martyrs, to whom he owed his name of Church of the Holy Bodies. According to legend, the heads of San Emeterio and San Celedonio, martyrs beheaded in Calahorra for not abjuring their Catholic faith in the III, were transported in a stone boat to protect them from the Muslim advance. They arrived in Santander after going around the Peninsula, collided and crossed a rock at the entrance to the bay (present-day Isla de la Horadada) and settled in the cave under the primitive church of Cerro de San Pedro (Somorrostro). The existing monastery in that place took them as patrons and their effigies were placed on the coat of arms of the church and later of the city.

Philologists consider that the current name of Santander comes from the name of Portus Sanctorum Emeterii et Celedonii, San Emeterio by evolution: Sancti Emetherii > Sancti Emderii > Sanct Endere > San Andero > Santendere > Santanderio > Santander. It is a generally accepted sequence, although the proposed phonetic jumps are not very clear and have been more than questioned. In many of the maps and documents from the XIII century onwards, Santander is referred to as San Andrés, San André, Sant Ander and Sant Andero. King Alfonso X referred to the town as Sant Ander in 1255, when he granted the right to appoint mayors and juries to his brother Don Sancho and in 1522 the sailor Juan de Santander, a native of Cueto, who embarked on the Victoria ship under the Under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano, it was known as Juan de San Andrés. This suggests a second theory that the name derives from Saint Andrew, but the absence of this saint in the later development of the city casts doubt on its authenticity, although it is true that not all cities with the name of a saint worshiped precisely that saint in their cathedrals.

On July 11, 1187, King Alfonso VIII of Castile named the abbot of San Emeterio owner and lord of the town and endowed the town with a charter (similar to that of Sahagún) that tended to facilitate maritime traffic, fishing and trade, activities from which the Abbey received its taxes, as well as the preparation of marinades and wine farms.

During the 12th century and the XIII the population was delimiting its structure within the walled enclosure that every town had, with two differentiated towns. The oldest Puebla Vieja, on the Somorrostro hill that dominated the city facing the bay, included the castle, the Abbey of the Holy Bodies, the cloister and the cemetery. On the other side were the Shipyards and the port. It had three rows of houses, separated by the rúa de Carnicerias and the rúa Mayor, where the houses of the prominent residents of the town were, such as the abbot, the canons and the older lineages of that time. The Puebla Nueva contained the convent of Santa Clara and that of San Francisco, this one already outside the gate, which gave its name to one of the main streets; Other important streets were rúa de la Sal, La rúa del Palacio, la Ribera, Don Gutierre, puerta de la Sierra, Gadalso and rúa del Arcillero. Both towns were linked by a bridge over the Becedo estuary that divided them and reached the Shipyards, the shipyards ordered to be built by the king to take advantage of the wood from the Cantabrian forests in the construction of ships. The town was obliged to provide the monarchy with one ship a year.

In 1217 construction work began on the town's main church in the same place as the previous ones, where after a multitude of reforms it continued to this day. In 1318 those of the cloister began.

In 1248, Santander participated, together with other Cantabrian towns, in the battle for the conquest of Seville, receiving as a reward a coat of arms that contains images of the Torre del Oro and the Guadalquivir river.

On May 4, 1296, the Cantabrian coastal towns formed the Brotherhood of the towns of the Navy of Castilla with Vitoria or Brotherhood of the marshes, which grouped Santander, Castro-Urdiales, Laredo, Vitoria, Guetaria, San Sebastián, Bermeo and Fuenterrabía. Its objective was to strengthen its commercial position with respect to the competition on the other side of the Bay of Biscay, especially in the wool and flour trade with the towns of Flanders and England.^{[citation needed ]}

In 1296 and 1311 the town of Sant Emeterio was devastated by two fires from which the abbey was saved. King Ferdinand IV of Castile exonerates the town from "the tithes of all food that came from outside my kingdoms" due to such a catastrophe.

In the XIV century, the Book of the Merindades of Castile (known as Becerro de las Behetrías) confirms this condition, that of behetría, for the city, that is, it defines it as solely dependent on the monarchy, without being due to any other feudal lord, except for the prerogatives of the abadengo. However, a century later, on January 25, 1466, King Enrique IV ceded the city to the Marquis of Santillana, which provoked an uprising of the inhabitants, who achieved the revocation of the royal order on May 8, 1467.

Tension between the new and old townspeople, led by the Giles and Negretes clans, forced the monarchy in the XV to carry out a regulation of the municipal government, which he placed in the hands of two mayors (one per town) and several aldermen.

In 1372 and after the victory in La Rochelle of the Castilian fleet against the English, they entered the port of Santander with the entourage of Enrique II of Castile among the illustrious visitors. This fact is of great importance since it makes Santander the naval base of the Atlantic and provides it with some important Royal Shipyards, similar to those of Seville and the Drassanas of Barcelona.

Santander view by Joris Hoefnagel at the end of the centuryXVI. This engraving is the oldest image of the city

In 1497, the Armada de Flanders made a stopover in the town to disembark Margarita of Austria, who had come to marry Prince Don Juan, heir to the Catholic Monarchs, in Reinosa. The fleet also brought the plague and some 6,000 people died, out of a population of 8,000. The ruin and depopulation would not begin to ease until three centuries later.

Between 1596 and 1597, another plague epidemic left the population at around 800 people out of Santander's total of 2,500. Also in the middle of this century XVI there was a fatal epidemic of the same disease in the town.

Commercial and urban development: 18th and 19th centuries

The formation of the bourgeoisie

At the beginning of the 18th century, the town of Santander began to recover from the previous crises, which had left it scarce of population, infrastructures and commercial ties. In the administrative aspect, already in 1653 it had achieved, together with the other towns, that the exclusive condition of party head be withdrawn to Laredo. In 1748, the pre-eminent position was consolidated with the royal order to build the so-called camino de las lanas, which would link Burgos and Santander, which would make the port the center of northern trade.

Plano of the docks of the city of Santander and its new population (1788). Augustine of Colossy

In 1754 the support came from the Catholic Church, which established it as the capital of the diocese and granted the abbot the category of bishop, with which the collegiate church of the Holy Bodies became a cathedral. In addition, it facilitated the subsequent promotion to the category of city of the town.

In 1755, Ferdinand VI granted the town of Santander the title of city, and in 1783 the so-called Consulado de Mar y Tierra of the very noble and very loyal city of Santander was created, an entity in charge of regulating maritime traffic with other cities according to a liberalized trade model. At the beginning of the XIX century, Santander led the trade in the north of the peninsula with the main American ports.

This economic development brought with it the formation of a merchant bourgeois class that would successively achieve the administrative regulation of the territory, first as the Provincia Marítima (1816), and then as the province of Santander, in 1833. The evolution continued throughout the century. Auxiliary industries for navigation (rigging), flour, sugar, beer, etc. were created. The San Martín shipyards were also created and the city was structured according to a rational model with the expansion of land reclaimed from the sea. The complement to all this activity was the inauguration in 1851 of the Alar railway, which further expanded traffic with Castilla.

The Market of La Esperanza is a sample of modernist architecture of the architects Eduardo Reynals and Juan Moya

Until 1900, the development of Santander was linked to the growing trade with the Spanish colonies, the port being the outlet for a large part of the products of Castile. This economic boom gave rise to a mercantile bourgeoisie that, from the mid-18th century to the late XIX, promotes the urban development of the city with the expansion of Santander (which expands the city to the east).

Tourism development of the city

Santander in 1908

During the second half of the XIX century, taking advantage of the rise of seaside resorts among the wealthy European classes, which introduced a new concept of leisure associated with health, a series of hotel initiatives promoted Santander in court for its beaches suitable for wave bathing (the first season was announced in the press in 1847 in a Madrid newspaper) and promoted the creation of the spa town of El Sardinero, which established itself as a summer destination for Spanish high society at the beginning of the century XX. During the reign of Alfonso XIII Santander it became the favorite summer resort of the court. In 1908 the city built and gave the Magdalena Palace as a gift to the king.

Currently it continues to be an important academic and tourist enclave in northern Spain. Tourism in Santander comes mainly from the neighboring regions: from the north of Castilla y León, Asturias and the Basque Country.^{[citation required]} Foreign tourism is fundamentally European, closely related to the maritime connections of the city with Plymouth and Portsmouth via ferries and to the point-to-point international flights operated by airlines from Santander airport. The beaches of El Sardinero and the Magdalena peninsula are very popular.

The 20th century

Disasters and reconstruction

Explosion at Cabo Machichaco

Corporal Machichaco burning at the dock in 1893

On November 3, 1893, the Vizcaya ship Cabo Machichaco docked at the Santander wharf loaded with 51 tons of dynamite in the hold and sulfuric acid deposits on the deck. The regulations on dangerous goods had been systematically breached by authorities and charterers. At noon, a fire broke out on the ship that attracted the crews of other ships (such as the steamer Alfonso XIII built in 1889), firefighting teams, authorities (including the civil governor) and onlookers. Shortly after the charge explosion occurred. The balance was 590 dead and 525 wounded. It should be noted that at that time there were 50,000 registered inhabitants in the city. It destroyed the first rows of houses around the pier, and it is said that the ship's anchor fell near Cueto, several kilometers away.

The fire of 1941

The Cathedral of Santander after the fire of 1941

Subsequently, in 1941, a fire broke out that, started at dawn from February 15 to 16 on Cádiz street, in the vicinity of the docks, and fanned by a strong south wind, devastated the entire city for two days. historical part of the city, whose narrow streets and houses with wooden structures and façades with viewpoints facilitated the spread of the flames. On this occasion there was only one victim, a Madrid firefighter named Julián Sánchez García, who intervened in extinction work and who died in the Valdecilla hospital after a slight recovery. Thousands of families lost their homes and the city was plunged into chaos.

The fire destroyed most of the medieval town (37 streets that occupied 14 hectares, in the area with the highest population density) and its reconstruction was preceded by a process of urban renewal that changed an important part of the configuration of the town city. The need to accommodate a significant number of families who were left homeless after the fire gave rise to urban expansion and an organic configuration of Santander. Thus, in addition to various buildings and street extensions, between 1941 and 1950 the neighborhoods of Santos Mártires (162 dwellings), José María de Pereda (111), Pedro Velarde (348), Poblado Canda-Landaburu (200) and the Sotileza Fishing Village (294).

Demographics

The population registered in the municipality in 2017 was 171,951 inhabitants, so just over 30% of Cantabrians (580,295 inhabitants) live in Santander. Its demographic trend has been declining since 1991, due to the drop in the birth rate and the slight increase in mortality due to the high number of adult population (in 1996 the average age was 40 years). However, this decrease in the natural population is offset by a very positive rate of foreign immigration. Likewise, the shortage of housing in the capital and its high prices have brought about a displacement of the population of childbearing age towards the municipalities of the periphery, especially the so-called "Arco de la Bahía de Santander", with 250,000 inhabitants, and the Santander-Torrelavega suburban axis, with 380,000 inhabitants.

More than 70% of the active population works in the tertiary sector, so economic dependence on commerce and services is very high in Santander, especially dependent on seasonal sectors linked to tourism, such as the hotel and catering industry.

Santander is one of the safest cities in Spain with one of the lowest crime rates in the country (36.2 criminal offenses per 1,000 inhabitants compared to 50 for the national average and 70 for the European Union).

Graphic of demographic evolution of Santander between 1900 and 2020

Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia.

Santander metropolitan area

According to a study by the University of Cantabria in 2007, the metropolitan area would be made up of the municipality of Santander and eight others: Camargo, Santa Cruz de Bezana, El Astillero, Piélagos, Marina de Cudeyo, Villaescusa, Medio Cudeyo and Ribamontán to the Sea.

According to demographic data from the INE for 2021, its population would be 281,972 inhabitants.

Administration and politics

Municipal government

From June 2007 to November 2016, Íñigo de la Serna, of the Popular Party (PP), held the position of mayor of Santander, being replaced by Gema Igual when he was appointed Minister of Public Works. The most relevant political parties at the local level, in addition to the PP, are the Socialist Party of Cantabria-PSOE, whose current spokesperson in plenary is Judith Pérez Ezquerra, the Regionalist Party of Cantabria with José María Fuentes-Pila. Throughout its history, the most influential political parties have been those of the ideological right wing, especially the PP. That is why the Popular Party of Cantabria has governed the city since 1983.

Santander is considered a predominantly conservative city, since throughout its democratic history the conservative parties have always won the elections and in most cases with vast differences over their competitors. Santander is the area of Cantabria where the right has the most electoral support, despite the fact that the rural areas of Cantabria are also generally quite conservative.

Santander City Council Headquarters, located in the city centre

Santander City Council is structured into different areas: finance, heritage and citizen security; of urbanism; public function, internal regime and culture; economic development, training and employment; social, citizen participation and drug addiction; of citizen action; and management of municipal companies. The town hall holds ordinary plenary sessions every month, although extraordinary plenary sessions are frequently held, in order to debate issues and problems that affect the municipality.

The outstanding debt of the city council amounted to 112 million Euros as of March 6, 2015, according to the City Council report.

After the municipal elections of 2015, the PP lost its absolute majority after decades, although it finally won the mayoralty thanks to the abstention of Ciudadanos. The municipal corporation is made up of 27 members, 13 from the PP, 5 from the PSC-PSOE, 4 from the PRC, 2 from Ciudadanos, 2 from Ganemos Santander Sí Puede, a brand close to Podemos but unrelated to it, and 1 from IU. In the 2019 elections, the PP dropped to 11 councilors but a coalition pact with Ciudadanos (2 councilors) allowed the popular to continue at the head of the mayor's office. The following table shows the results of the municipal elections held in 2019

Territorial organization

Residential district of the city in the area of Cueto-Las Llamas

Faro of the island of Mouro

The municipality of Santander includes, according to the INE gazetteer, the city of Santander and the places of Cueto, Monte, Peñacastillo and San Román, localities that were once towns but are currently assimilated by the urban center. Currently, Cueto, Monte and Peñacastillo are urban neighborhoods, while San Román has become a residential area of single-family houses. Santander has several neighborhoods that are not ordered administratively or have specific limits, but some of them do have a certain personality that sets them apart from other areas of the city.

• The Sardinero

It is the most touristic neighborhood in Santander and is home to a wealthy population. In it is the stadium of El Real Racing Club de Santander, as well as the beaches of El Sardinero, La Concha, Mataleñas, El Camello and La Magdalena. It is also home to the Royal Palace of La Magdalena accompanied by various houses from the Belle epoque.

• Santander (urban centre)

The majority of the population lives here, although it is one of the areas where natural growth declines the most due to the aging of the population and the high cost of housing, which causes the displacement of the young population towards periphery areas. Its neighborhoods are: Cabildo de Arriba, Centro, Cuatro Caminos and Puertochico.

• Castilla-Hermida

Although it is not the center of the city, it is quite close to it and well connected. Once a fishing and working-class neighborhood, today it is integrated into the city.

• The Alisal

It is a fairly new neighborhood and one of those with the best services in the city (a Shopping Center, multinational companies, restaurants of both regional and international origin...). In it is the Science and Technology Park, where the campus of the European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO) is located. The young population abounds.

• Cazoña

As some sources say, the name of Cazoña could come from Carazoña. The study of the place names of the Peña Castillo environment, led to the discovery that there is a KORZEÑO Fountain that flows precisely from Mount KAZOÑA. Cazoña was created in 1973 as the first neighborhood-bedroom in Santander. Almost 40 years later, its neighbors maintain the same spirit of a quiet area in which their neighbors limit themselves to rest and sleep and choose the center of the city to socialize. Now recovered from the damage done to its image by hosting the Roma population in its streets, Cazoña calls for improvements to continue growing as a neighborhood. It has several schools and nurseries, an institute, several shopping areas, a hospital and a health center, a Protestant cemetery and numerous parks. It stands out for its good communications, its open spaces and its tranquility.

• Cueto-The Flame

This neighborhood is located around Parque Atlántico de las Llamas, a large 11-hectare park that will have 35 hectares in the future. It is located from Avenida Constitución, including the expansion zone of Valdenoja, to Avenida de los Castros. Neighborhoods: La Pereda, Valdenoja, Fumoril.

• Monte

This neighborhood borders Cueto and after the real estate boom it has been assimilated by the city in the area bordering La Vaguada de las Llamas. Its services are basic, although they improve with the installation of fast food chains and supermarkets. Neighborhoods: Corbanera, Aviche, Bolado and San Miguel.

• Peñacastillo

It is located surrounding the Peñacastillo rock, a mountain located within the urban area where you can appreciate beautiful views of the city. It is characterized by containing the main shopping centers of the city (C.C. Peñacastillo, El Corte Inglés...) In the center of the neighborhood you can see old rural houses, as well as a wide contrast with the new large buildings in its surroundings. Neighborhoods: Nuevo Parque, Primero de Mayo, Nueva Montaña, Ojaiz, Adarzo, Camarreal, Lluja, El Empalme, La Lenteja, Campogiro-La Remonta.

• San Román de la Llanilla

This is an area of chalets and semi-detached houses on the border between urban and rural. Neighborhoods: Latorre, Somonte, Corban, El Somo, La Llanilla, El Mazo, Canda Landáburu, Lavapiés, La Gloria, La Sierra, La Candía, Corceño, La Cuevona, Pintores Montañeses, La Garita, La Canal, El Campizo, La Sota, La Regata and La Cavaduca (neighborhoods that existed until 1986 when there was a rearrangement of streets eliminating some and renaming others).

Economy

Puerto de Santander

As a service center on a regional scale, Santander is home to important public institutions and private entities with a large number of employees: Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, the University of Cantabria, Banco Santander, etc. The activities related to culture, leisure and tourism are an important highlight in the city's economy and the regional and municipal governments try to complement the summer seasonality of visitors with new offers such as the attraction of conventions, congresses, cultural festivals and sea cruise stopovers.

Services

Transportation

Aerial view of the railway stations in Santander

Santander's transport network is based on several urban bus lines, managed by the municipal company Transportes Urbanos de Santander (TUS). This company was named Company of the Year 2006 by the magazine Autobuses&Autocares (national award given annually by said magazine). In 2011, 19,501,017 travelers were counted.

On the other hand, the construction of the Santander Metro was planned, made up of light rail lines, a project that was never carried out. However, the city has an extensive network of ramps and escalators to reduce the unevenness of many of its streets, and a funicular inaugurated in July 2008.

Santander communicates with the nuclei of the metropolitan area through three commuter lines (one operated by Renfe Cercanías —with Iberian gauge— and two operated by Renfe Cercanías AM —with metric gauge, inherited from the extinct FEVE—) and several lines of buses. In terms of intercity communications, the A-8 and A-67 motorways and Adif's Iberian gauge and metric gauge railways stand out, especially those of Renfe Operadora, a company in which Alvia trains to Alicante via Madrid stand out.

In 2017, the Minister of Development Iñigo de la Serna announced the project to connect Santander with Madrid through a combination of the Spanish High Speed, which would reach Aguilar de Campoo on the Cantabrian border with Palencia, and a high-performance train that would cross the complicated orography of the region. The journey is estimated to not exceed 3 hours.

Main road network

Santander has a good connection to the national network of highways and highways that make it well communicated with other towns both in Cantabria and the rest of Spain.

Sea transport

The Pont-Avenship Brittany Ferries, leaving the bay of Santander

Santander has three ferry lines that connect the Cantabrian capital with the English cities of Plymouth, Portsmouth and the Irish city of Cork. These trips are carried out by the Brittany shipping company Brittany Ferries. On the other hand, there is a regular Santander - Pedreña - Somo boat service carried out by Los Reginas S.A.

Airport

Lastly, it is worth mentioning the Santander airport, also known as Severiano Ballesteros, which is located in the neighboring municipality of Camargo, built on lands of marshland terrified of Santander Bay and which was opened to traffic in 1977.

Santander Airport

Until 2003, the facilities were considered underutilized due to the few flights, which made potential passengers travel to Bilbao airport. As of this date, and as a result of an agreement signed between the Government of Cantabria and the low-cost airline Ryanair, which began operating in Santander in exchange for a large subsidy, the increase in the number of flights operating today and the Cheaper tickets have considerably increased the transit of both national (to a lesser extent) and international passengers.

In 2012 the airport reached 1,117,617 passengers, growing by 0.1% compared to the previous year and having a balance of users between national and international flights. This was a great improvement in terms of passenger flow at the airport.

The destinations from Santander airport are:

Heritage

Springs of Albareda and Maura, with the Stone Crane and the Botin Centre

The old Stone Crane, built in 1900 at the Maura Pier, served for decades for loading and unloading all kinds of ships. Today is one of the symbols of the city

In this municipality, there are several assets of cultural interest:

• Cathedral Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, with category of monument.
• Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria, monument, in which there are also two specially protected furniture properties, the Otañes Pátera and the medieval high tesorillo of Ambojo de Pedreña.
• Centro Botín, centre of art and culture designed by the architect Renzo Piano.
• Municipal Museum of Fine Arts, monument.
• Tower, walls and monumental set of the noble house of the Riva-Herrera, in Pronillo, monument.
• Palace of the Magdalena and its gardens, monument.
• Library and house-museum of Menéndez Pelayo, monument.
• Convento de las Madres Clarisas de Santa Cruz (Tabacalera), monument.
• Hospital de San Rafael (sede de la Asamblea Regional de Cantabria), monument.
• East Market, monument.
• Saint Lucia Church, monument.
• Parroquia de la Anunciación (The Company), monument.
• The dam of Gamazo, monument.
• Seminary of Monte Corban, monument.
• Paseo de Pereda, with category of historical ensemble.
• An area of El Sardinero, historical group.
• Church of San Francisco, artistic and religious heritage of Cantabria.
• Cartulario de San Salvador de Oña (Burgos), Well mueble preserved in the Provincial Historical Archive of Santander.
• Cartulario del Monasterio de Santa María de Piasca, Bien mueble preserved in the Municipal Library of Santander.
• Castle of Corbanera, monument.

In addition, there are several inventoried assets in the municipality:

• Church of the Virgin of the Lighthouse in Cueto.
• Church of Our Lady of Visitation (Real Sisters).
• San Pedro del Mar Battery in Monte.
• The Protestant Cemetery.
• Two of the locomotives of Vapor (Udays, María, Revilla, Peñacastillo, Reyerta and Begoña 3) invented, in particular the locomotive Peñacastillo and the locomotive Revilla, both located in the former workshop towed material RENFE.

The Baroque-style parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Consolación, built in the 18th century, also stands out.

Monuments and places of interest

Vital Building

Banco Santander Building, where it maintains its headquarters

Centro Botín

The Lighthouse of Cabo Mayor

• The Cathedral of Santander:
  • The lower temple, called the crypt or parish of Christ, was built around 1200 on other earlier buildings of Roman times. It is 31 meters long and 18 meters wide, organized on three ships. Its style is from the Romanesque to the Gothic and is accessed by two doors also tardoromanic. Here are the remains of the Saint Martyrs (San Emeterio and San Celedonio) who arrived at Portus Victoriae (the ancient Roman Santander) by boat.
  • The tall church rose between the end of the centuryXIII and XIV. At the end the Gothic cloister was built. The modern restorations, after the fire of 1941, replaced the original headboard with a large cruise plus a cimborrium.
• The Sardinero was in 1840 an agressive area of the Santander environment. Since 1850, the first tourists began to arrive and some facilities were created (bathhouses, fonds...). As a result of Queen Elizabeth II's summer in El Sardinero in 1861 and Amadeo de Saboya in 1872, the area acquired great fame and began to attract many tourists. There was a spectacular urban and cultural advance with the construction of several hotels, fondas, cafes, trains and trams that arrived in El Sardinero.
  

  Península de la Magdalena with its palace, residence of Alfonso XIII during its stays in the city

• The Palacio de la Magdalena, in eclectic style, with English influences, built in 1909 by popular subscription as a gift for the Spanish Royal Family. Used in 2011 and 2013 to record the Gran Hotel television series.

• The Hotel Real was opened in the summer of 1917, in a privileged place that dominated the bay and the open sea. It is a beautiful five-storey building, with south portico on a raised terrace. The style is modernist with a certain air of eclecticism, the work of the architect González Riancho.

• Next to the Royal Hotel stands the old house built for Adolfo Pardo between 1915-1918. With a well-marked mountain style, it was the work of the architect González Riancho and today it is the palace of Emilio Botín García de los Ríos.

• The Grand Casino of Sardinero, completed in 1916, has a certain kinship with the Royal Hotel and is one of the symbols of the city. It has a low floor for shops and terrace with balcony that is accessed by monumental staircase. The central body, two-story, is framed by the sides with the two octagonal towers, covered by domes, whose edges occupy, from top to bottom, are with capitals for each floor.
• The Botín Center, museum and conference centre designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano opened in 2017. The museum is part of the Botín Foundation and houses art exhibitions. It is located in the gardens Pereda, surpassing the sea a few meters.

• The Faro de Cabo Mayor presides over the entrance to the bay of Santander. Privileged balcony to the sea and the city, is today one of the most emblematic and suggestive buildings for the citizens and visitors of Santander. Located at the northeast end of the city, the area in which the Faro de Cabo Mayor is located is part of a wider area formed by the promontories of Cabo Mayor and Cabo Menor. The physical configuration of this space is defined by its particular geomorphology, marked by the beaches and cliffs of its coastal edge and a rough relief with maximum heights of 50 meters above sea level. Historically located on the outskirts of the city, the area of Cabo Mayor and Cabo Menor has received relevant uses and functions: maritime signal, defensive enclave, racetrack, camp, public park and golf course. It was thus constituted as a tourist milestone and in one of the most diverse landscape and environmental spaces.

Urbanism

Spectral image of Santander Bay taken by NASA's LandSat satellite

From the 1950s to the 1970s, urban growth took on a disorderly and speculative nature with the construction of numerous housing developments of poor quality and zero urbanization for the accommodation of the working population.

In the last decades, the growth of Santander overflows the periphery of the city with smaller real estate constructions and destined to the residence of first and second home (this last one of special importance). The El Sardinero area stands out, which changes its morphology from a garden-city to a residential and leisure area of Santander, the Nueva Montaña area with industrial land recovered for residential and commercial activity, the Alisal hill, Los Castros avenue and urban expansion along the northern slope of the Vaguada de las Llamas.

In the 1980s the port of Santander was displaced from the center of the city and in recent years Santander has been in the process of recovering its southern margin facing Santander Bay. The transfer of all port activity to the Port of Raos has been gradual, with the exception of maritime passenger traffic, which is centralized at its maritime station in front of Paseo de Pereda.

Currently the growth of port activity, the increase in traffic with higher added value (vehicles and containers mainly as opposed to liquid and solid bulk) that require a large amount of already scarce land for storage and insufficient depth to some types of ships, is forcing the Port Authority to consider the long-term construction of an outer port outside the bay. On June 29, 2005 Santander celebrated the 250th anniversary of the granting of the title of "city".

View of the city from the bay

View of the city and its metropolitan area from the massif of Peña Cabarga

Panoramic view from the Somonte district of San Román de la Llanilla

Paseo de Pereda con el Palacete del Embarcadero en primer

Neighborhoods

Main streets, squares and parks

Jardines de Pereda

Las Llamas Atlantic Park

San Martín Pier Park

Streets, avenues and promenades

• Paseo de Pereda (the old pier is a walk overlooking the bay and the towns of Somo and Pedreña. There are cafes as old as El Suizo where, in the past, merchants, military or writers, such as the Pereda themselves, also find the gardens of the same name (where, in turn, there is the Monument to the writer José María de Pereda, which contains references to his works).
• Avenida de la Reina Victoria (locating of large chalets overlooking the bay. Through this street you access the beach of dangers).
• Paseo del General Dávila (El Alta) (former meteorological observatory, centenary school María Auxiliadora Salesianos, Conservatorios Ataúlfo Argenta and Jesús de Monasterio).
• Paseo de Pérez Galdós.
• Calle Castelar (with views of the bay, joins the Pereda promenade with Queen Victoria Avenue).
• Calle del Sol (calle with a great cultural activity).
• Calle Calvo Sotelo (Ministerio de Hacienda, Correos).
• Burgos Street (it is one of the oldest streets in the city, although it can be considered part of the old town. The first references of this street date from the mid-centuryXVIII. Burgos Street title was awarded in 1845. The pedestrianization of the street has favored trade in the area and its residents. On this street is the headquarters of the O.N.C.E. and Juan Carlos I Square.
• Calle San Fernando (calle with a large influx of traffic, is the main way of access to the city center. The Plaza de las Cervezas is an exclusively pedestrian area that belongs to this street, thus called by the brewery (La Cruz Blanca) that stood there before its current arrangement.
• Alameda de Oviedo (woody pasture, runs between the streets of San Fernando and Vargas, in parallel to them, between Cuatro Caminos and Numancia).
• Avenida de los Castros (in this large avenue are located most of the university centers of the University of Cantabria).

Parks and gardens

• Parque de la Magdalena (located on the Magdalena peninsula, it is an important tourist spot thanks to the Palacio de la Magdalena, the seal pond and the old stables of the Palace, where different courses of the UIMP take place).
• Las Llamas Atlantic Park (open to the public since May 11, 2007, but today it is still under construction. The park was initially budgeted at 22.5 million euros, but its price has increased by 39.1 % (8.8 million euros) for the incorporation of improvements.[3] [4]
• Gardens of Piquío (received that name because they have the form of the beak of a boat that enters the sea, referring to the views offered by the end of the garden).
• Parque de La Marga (located at the exit of the city, at the end of Castilla Street, receives the name of the old wood that was located there).
• Parque del Doctor Morales (known popularly as "parque de la Vaca")
• Doctor González Mesones Park.
• Water Park (on the hillside of Alta Street).
• Mendicoague Park.
• Parque de Los Pinares.
• Mataleñas Park (formerly particular, opened to the public as a green space on the rise to the Faro).
• Jardines de Pereda.
• Finca de Altamira.
• Jado Finca.

Pombo Square has traditionally been a meeting place and concentration of collectors and children, to exchange stamps or chromes from various collections

View of the Plaza de las Estaciones from the Sotileza or Water Park

Places

Tallest buildings

Beaches

Playas del Sardinero

Playa de Mataleñas

Culture

Palace of the Magdalena

Santander has a great tradition and cultural activity, with important events that play a fundamental role in the cultural and social life of the city. It has an important international summer university, the UIMP, and organizes major music and dance festivals, such as the Santander International Festival (FIS) and the International Organ Music Festival (FiMÓC). The Santander Music and Academy Meeting is also held annually in the city and, every three years, the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition.

Museums and cultural centers

The Botín Center in its latest construction phases, located in the Pereda Gardens and facing the bay of Santander

Parties

Square in the gardens of Pereda. At the bottom of the ferry Brittany Ferries entering port

Santander is a city of numerous festivals and pilgrimages, distributed throughout the various neighborhoods and areas of the city. Mention the existence of many neighborhood festivals, such as Mendicoague, Perines, etc. The best-known festivals in Santander and those with the most tourist attractions are the following:

Cantabria Children's Day in the Magdalena countryside

• January 5: The horseback riding of the Magi runs a small part of the city, from the Festival Palace to the Town Hall Square.
• The first Sunday of June: Cantabria Children's Day is celebrated in Magdalena. It is a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest, of exaltation of the native, organized by the Association for the Defense of the Interests of Cantabria (ADIC), association founded by Miguel Angel Revilla. This party shows among many other things, an exhibition of aluche (ancient cloak struggle) and modalities of rural sport such as the dairy race, rope shooting, pasym jump and stem cutting.
• Monday of Pentecost: Feasts of the Virgin of the Sea.
• June 24: The San Juan bonfire is held in El Sardinero, specifically on the second beach of the sardinero. This party celebrates the arrival of the summer with a great bonfire and a pilgrimage. In other parts of the municipality there are also bonfires such as the Albericia and the Barrio Pesquero.
• 25 July: Fiestas de Santiago (Feast of Regional Tourist Interest).
• August 30: Festivals of the Holy Martyrs (San Emeterio and San Celedonio). Patterns of Santander.
• September 15: Feasts of the Virgin of the Good Appeared Patron of the Diocese of Santander and Cantabria (Feast of Regional Tourist Interest).
• Festival del Mar: is held every four/five years. The last edition was held from 30 August to 2 September 2014.

• 

  Cartel Ferias y Fiestas de Santander 1894, by Mariano Pedrero

• 

  Cartel Ferias y Fiestas de Santander 1896, by Mariano Pedrero

• 

  Cartel Sociedad Taurina Montañesa 1909, by Mariano Pedrero

Gastronomy

Ración de rabas de calamar (fruits). Rabas can be, depending on the type of cephalopode used, of peludin, magano, chipirón, cachón, octopus or pota

Santander offers a magnificent selection of seafood that has given it great prestige on the peninsula of "good cuisine". Products such as amayuelas (finish clams) and morgueras (razor clams) stand out among the shellfish; and hot dogs, mullets, anchovies, sea bass and sardines among the fish, as well as squid and hornbill. Santander's gastronomy is based mainly on its fish. The gastronomic tour could start in the Fishing Quarter, continuing through Puerto Chico, El Sardinero and ending in the Corbán area.

Seafood paella

Santander also gets its gastronomic supplies from other municipalities in Cantabria for its fish and shellfish, such as clams from Pedreña, bonito and anchovies from Santoña, and sea bream from Castro-Urdiales. But the great variety of vegetables, fruits and legumes produced by the Liébana region also deserve special mention, as well as the tables of different kinds of quality cheeses produced by Cantabria and supplied to the city of Santander.

The meat from which Santander is also nourished comes from cattle that are raised in Cantabria. Raised on natural pastures, such as veal, yearling, heifer and oxen, they enjoy a great reputation for their quality and flavor. Santander's restaurants offer cuisine with great charisma, based on its varied and exquisite cuisine.

Some typical dishes of the city are its squid rings, in addition to the outstanding mountain stew and the aforementioned fish and seafood dishes, ranging from sea bass and sardines to products such as morguera.

Sports

Sports Palace in El Sardinero

J80 World Championship race. At the bottom of the island of Mouro

El Sardinero football field

The soccer team of the Spanish second division B, Racing de Santander, plays in this city, one of the historical founding clubs of the Spanish soccer league. Racing plays its home games at the Campos de Sport del Sardinero. The club has spent 44 seasons in the first division and 34 in the second. In the 1930/1931 season, he was tied for second on points with Athletic Club (champion) and Real Sociedad (third), on that occasion he was closest to winning the League championship.

Handball has had a great tradition in the city, with the G.D.Teka - Club Balonmano Cantabria as the banner that has carried the name of Santander throughout Europe and the world with the achievement of several international titles, the European Cup in 1994, the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990 and 1998 and the EHF Cup in 1993. Along with Teka, the Santander Handball Club (better known by the acronym CLUBASA) also stood out, who achieved important victories in the youth categories at the national level, also reaching Honor Division (current Asobal League) in the 1986-1987 season. Both clubs are currently dissolved. The only team that occupies an important position within the national scene at the moment is Adelma Santander 2016, belonging to the Balonmano Sinfín club. This competes in the Silver Honor Division category.

Some teams in Santander national competition:

Mataleñas Golf Course in Cabo Menor

360o city center view

• Santander has hosted the Davis Cup in 2000 and 2006, organized both by the Real Sociedad de Tenis de La Magdalena.
• Santander has on numerous occasions hosted departures and end of the stage from the Vuelta to Spain.
• Numerous trainers take place in the bay and open the Sardinero.
• Summer football and beach volleyball tournaments.
• Since 2017, it hosts the world's most important paddle circuit, the World Padel Tour.
• Sailing races organized by the Real Club Marítimo de Santander.
• Hepic with the centenary Saltos Contest of Santander in Magdalena.
• Numerous bowls of the bolo palma modality can be found throughout the municipality. Various competitions and championships are held, and are frequent both in Cantabria and Asturias and Vizcaya.
• International surf Championships. Like the WQS 4Stars Rip Curl Pro on the beach of Liencres, or the female WCT on the beaches of Liencres and El Sardinero.
• It has hosted the ISAF World Sailing Festival in 2014.

The following stand out as sports centers:

• The municipal sports complex La Albericia, of the Municipal Sports Institute.
• High performance center of Vela Príncipe Felipe.
• Puertochico (Puerto deportivo).
• Mataleñas Golf Course.
• Real Sociedad de Tenis de La Magdalena.

Twinned cities

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• If Sa Ket (Thailand)^{[chuckles]required]}
• Oviedo (Spain)
• San Luis de Potosí (Mexico)

Notable people