Cartagena

Country: Spain · 220,704 inhabitants · Founded: -226

Attractions

Wikivoyage

Cartagena is the main seaport of the Murcia region. It has 214,000 inhabitants (2018), the second-largest city in the region. Cartagena concentrates an artistic legacy that summarizes almost three millennia of Spanish history, being inhabited by most great Mediterranean empires that have conquered the Iberian Peninsula. Cartagena is a city full of monuments, with many archaeological sites and outstanding buildings of historical interest, together with the charm of the sea and the typical bustle of a port city.

Wikipedia

Cartagena (Spanish: [kaɾtaˈxena] ) is a city in the Region of Murcia in Spain. As of 2024, with a population of 219,235, it is the 2nd-largest city in Murcia and the 25th-largest in Spain. The city lies in a natural harbour of the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The wider urban or metropolitan area of Cartagena, known as Campo de Cartagena, has a population of 409,586 inhabitants.

Cartagena has been inhabited for over two millennia, being founded around 227 BC by the Carthaginian military leader Hasdrubal. The city reached its peak under the Roman Empire, when it was known as Carthago Nova, capital of the province of Carthaginensis. Cartagena was briefly held by the Byzantine Empire in late antiquity, before being raided by Visigoths circa 620–625. The Islamic city rebuilt around the Concepción Hill, mentioned as Qartayânnat al-Halfa, was noted by the 11th century as a great harbor.

Unsubmissive to the terms of the Treaty of Alcaraz, Cartagena was taken by force by the Crown of Castile in 1245, with aggressive settlement policies being pursued afterwards pursuant to Cartagena's status as a prize of war. After the consolidation of Castilian rule in the wake of Castilian-Aragonese conflict in 1305, Cartagena ended up as the sole Castilian port in the region for years to come although its saliency conformed to Castile's limited attention to Mediterranean affairs in the low middle ages. It was secured by the Crown in 1503 after a period in private hands, growing in saliency because of its increasing trade prowess and its role in the Hispanic Monarchy's intervention in the Maghreb. Cartagena has been the capital of the Spanish Mediterranean fleet since the arrival of the Bourbons in the 18th century. Partly due to the development of mining in the 19th century it became a left wing stronghold, starting the Cantonal Rebellion in 1873 and in the Spanish Civil War acting as the headquarters of the Spanish Republican Navy and being the last city to fall to the Nationalists. It still hosts an important base of the Spanish Navy, the main military haven of Spain, and a large naval shipyard. Hammered by industrial re-structuring policies, the city underwent a profound job crisis in the early 1990s, stirring up protests and the burning of the regional legislature.

The confluence of civilizations, its strategic harbour, and the influence of the local mining industry have led to a unique historic, architectural and artistic heritage. This heritage is reflected in a number of landmarks of Cartagena, including the Roman Theatre, an abundance of Punic, Roman, Byzantine and Moorish remains, and a plethora of Art Nouveau buildings from the early 20th century. Cartagena is now established as a major cruise ship destination in the Mediterranean.