General information

Murcia is the capital of both the province and the Autonomous Region of Murcia and has over 417,000 inhabitants. It is located in the southeast of Spain and is crossed by the river Segura.
The climate is Mediterranean but semidry, which means soft winters and hot summers, when the temperatures normally rise above 40ºC, with the record maximum temperature being 47,2ºC. The city has over 300 days of sun and therefore attracts many residential tourists who are looking for a second house to spend the winters.
Murcia is an important producer of agricultural products like lettuce, tomatoes, lemons and oranges, which are exported to countries all over Europe. Income of this sector however is decreasing and, just like in many other cities, the services sector is developing rapidly. 

History

The Iberians already had a settlement that could survive thanks to the river that provided fresh water and food. The Romans also had an encampment here in order to fight against the Carthaginians of nearby Cartage. After the fall of the Roman Empire the Visigoths arrived and ruled until the coming of the Arabs. In the beginning of the Arab conquest the Visigoth king Teodomiro made a pact with the Arab leader Musa and the Visigoths were allowed to live in peace. This came to an end when this pact was broken in 774 and their autonomy was taken away. Eventually the Visigoths were forced to leave or to adapt to Arab society. The city received the name Madinat Mursiya and became an independent taifa. The city lost much importance in this time but recovered later. Under reign of Abd Alla Muhammad old leaders were removed from power and the city had the best period in its history. Also known as the Wolf King, Muhammad made pacts with the northern Christians and had business contracts with the Italian republics; all in all it was a good period. But the Christians broke the pacts and the city was conquered by Jaime I, because of continuing resistance of the Arabs against the Crown of Castillia. In 1266 the reconquest was complete but the city suffered from the various struggles between the different kingdoms of Spain. The most important industry of this time is the production of silk, which also was exported to Italy.       
This age didn’t know much stability but the Catholic Kings tried to create unity and took measures like the expulsion of the Jews and Arabs in order to achieve this objective. The pest struck in the 16th century and the situation became so bad that the city had to be evacuated. The 17th century was a bad one for many parts of Europe, and so also for Spain, but until the death of Carlos II the city prospered. Following his death the War for Succession took place and led to the installation of Felipe V on the Spanish throne. The Baroque age brought a new impulse into the reconstruction of various churches and the cathedral of Murcia. Like many other cities Murcia suffered from the War of Independence and a general decay took place.    
But Murcia once again recovered and grew. During the Civil War the city remained loyal to the republic until 29 March 1939. In the last decades the city grew a lot, becoming the 7th municipality of Spain in numbers of population. 

  

What are you looking for in Murcia?

• Monuments de Murcia
• Restaurants of Murcia
• Hoteles de Murcia
• Casas Rurales de Murcia