Girona

Sister cities

• Reggio Emilia
• Farsia
• Bluefields
• Nueva Gerona
• Wakefield
• Nikšić
• Albi

History

The first historical inhabitants in the region were Iberians; Girona is the ancient Gerunda, a city of the Ausetani. Later, the Romans built a citadel there, which was given the name of Gerunda. The Visigoths ruled in Girona until it was conquered by the Moors in 715. Charlemagne reconquered it in 785 and made it one of the fourteen original counties of Catalonia. It was sacked by the Moors in 827, 842, 845, 935, and 982. Wilfred the Hairy incorporated Girona into the County of Barcelona in 878. In the 11th century, Alfonso II of Aragon and I of Barcelona declared Girona a city. The ancient county became a duchy within the Principality of Catalonia in 1351 when King Peter III of Aragon gave the title of Duke to his first-born son, John. In 1414, King Ferdinand I in turn gave the title of Prince of Girona to his first-born son, Alfonso. The title is currently carried by Princess Leonor of Asturias, the second since the 16th century to do so. The earliest documented evidence of a Jewish Catalan community in Girona dates to about 885. The 12th century saw the Jewish community of Girona flourish, having one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in Europe. The Rabbi of Girona, Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi (better known as Nahmanides or Ramban) was appointed Great Rabbi of Catalonia. Centred on the Jewish Call (Call Jueu), the Jewish community of Girona came to an end in 1492, when the Catholic Monarchs outlawed Judaism throughout Spain and Jews were given the choice of conversion or exile (see Alhambra Decree). For 400 years before that time, the Jewish cemetery was located beside the road to France, just north of the old city between the mountain Montjuïc, or Jewish Mountain in medieval Catalan, and the river Ter. It was besieged by the French royal armies under Charles…

Geography

Girona was founded in a strategic location along a natural corridor between the Empordà plain and the Catalan Coastal Depression, thereby connecting the Costa Brava and France to the north with Barcelona and other population centres in the south of Catalonia. This corridor is a defile formed by the Ter river between the Gavarres massif and the Catalan Transversal Range. The Ter river is the most important water course in the region. In Girona it flows through the north of the town, from southwest to northeast. It is in Girona where the Ter meets the Onyar, the second largest river in the area. The Onyar crosses the city from south to north and it has historically conditioned the city's development, as catastrophic floods have periodically affected the town since historic times. Girona is located in a seismic zone, which means it occasionally has earthquakes throughout the year. Most of them are not felt, and some are felt as a minor vibration or light shaking. The strongest earthquake recorded in Girona was the magnitude 6.7 Principality of Catalonia 1428 earthquake. According to the Köppen climate classification, Girona has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with hot summers and cool winters. In winter, frost occurs frequently (41.3 days per year from November to March), but snowfall is quite rare. Temperatures in winter can drop to below /, especially during days with thermal inversion. Maximum temperatures in summer above are very rare. Average annual rainfall is usually slightly above . The wettest seasons are autumn (September–November) and spring (April–early June). Thunderstorms can occur throughout the year, more frequently in summer, averaging 23.9 days per year. but usually there still is a significant arid period. This can be seen through the natural…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,706
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,397
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,171
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,124
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,103
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,081
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,875
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,784

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2015-10-29
  8 km ENE of l'Escala, Spain
• M 4.1 — 2010-12-19
  4 km W of Llagostera, Spain
• M 3.8 — 2008-08-16
  Spain
• M 2.5 — 2008-08-08
  16 km ENE of Cadaqués, Spain
• M 2.6 — 2008-08-07
  3 km E of Susqueda, Spain
• M 2.8 — 2008-07-23
  6 km W of Santa Coloma de Farners, Spain