CITIES OF SPAIN

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 August 1936, Page 4

CITIES OF SPAIN

WHERE CIVIL WAR RAGES. Saragossa, on which the interest in the civil war in Spain appears to be focussing, is a city of war. It is a name that brings to mind the fighting in the Peninsular War and the “Maid of Saragossa,” subject of song by the poets. It was on the road to Madrid for the invaders, and is so for the rebels now. The French besieged it in 1808, and again in 1809, when it capitulated after a heroic defence by the ill-armed citizens under Jose Palafox. Old Spanish history records it as having withstood a siege by Al phonso of Aragon for five years, when the inhabitants nearly all perished from hunger.

Again it is under fire, the loyalists being organised and concentrated for an attack on the rebels there.

The province has large tracts of barren land, but the main industry is agriculture, and the products of the land such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, hemp flax, oil, and wine. The population of the capital at the latest estimate was 174,000. The city lies 212 miles north-east of Madrid. It is a town partly of narrow streets and lanes lined by gloomy, fortress-like houses of the old Aagonese nobility. After the French siege it was rebuilt in better style. The plains are swept by violent gales from the mountains in winter and scorched by the hot winds in summer. Like Madrid, it is a junction centre of many railway Hues. Barcelona and Taragon are its ports, the. former being about 160 miles distant in direct line, but further by rail. Direct lines run to Valladolid, Madrid, Valencia, ami to the Biscayan ports.

From a distance Saragossa lias fine appearance with its domes tu towers, but the older part is

great contrast to the business and residential quarters. One of its bridges over the Ebro River was constructed in 1147, and its cathedral dates back to the 14th century. Its manufactures include leather, soap, brandy, wine, liqueurs, railway material, woollen and linen goods, etc. Huesca, in the rebel zone, is directly connected with Saragossa by the railway which branches off midway to Barcelona. From Saragossa it is 35 miles to the north-north-east, an ancient city with many traces of antiquity. The province of which Huesca is the capital has its northern half in the mountain system of the Pyrenees, the southern forming part of the rugged plateau of Aragon. Agriculture is the main industry, the chief trade being in agricultural production and wine, cloth, pottery, and leather being manufactured in the city. BUSY BARCELONA. Bustling, busy Barcelona is at the bead of the railway lines from Madrid and Saragossa and the French Perpignan. It is a nourishing city on the sloping edge of a rich plain between two rivers, the Besos and the Llobregat, and carries a population of 1,000,000, its importance being due to a great development of industry. It has always been a turbulent quarter, and regarded by the haughty Castilians as a. rowdy, troublesome neighbour. It. has been for a long time the industrial and commercial centre, of eastern Spain, being the port of call for numerous lines of steamers, and it. manufactures silks, woollens, cotton, lace, and hardware, and exports wines, fruit, salt, and oil. This is the most prosperous and up-to-date city of Spain. The celebrated Rambla, a gay tree-lined street, is the main thoroughfare of Old Barcelona. The most noted industrial troubles have occurred at Barcelona, and of late the Government appears to have experienced difficulty in maintaining order while preparing for the advance on Saragossa. Tarragona, on the Ebro River, lies on the coast to the south. The distance to Marseilles from Barcelona is 193 miles.

Majorca, "Pearl of the Mediterranean,” has been having its idealistic serenity rudely disturbed by the bombers. It is easily within range, and the panic-stricken inhabitants have been given refuge on the British warships. The island lies off the coast of Spain, 131 nirles from Barcelona, and the fare by the boat was about £l. It has old houses furnished with antiques, gardens that burst into flowers at all times of the year, old Moorish watch towers and castles — one of the most beautiful places in the world, and living always regarded as absurdly cheap, music and bathing plentiful, and fiestas all the year. In peace time the ferries left every day for Barcelona, twice a week for Valencia, and once a week for Tarragona, Alllcante, Algiers, and Marseilles, the last-named being 287 miles distant. Palma, the capital, is on the west side in a wide bay, with the mountains i*n the background. A long mole gives protection .from ocean swell.

Majorca is the largest of the group known as the Balearic Isles, a province of Spain. It is 60 miles long by 40 broad. It is a place of industry, the weaving of wool and linen being some of the principal industries, but the population is mainly engaged in agriculture, producing olives, grapes, almonds, wheat, flax. tigs, and oranges, wine and brandy. It is full of romance. Palma contains many old buildings and picturesque monumental structures. George Sand and Chopin lived there in a monastery in the valley of Vallemosa. At Miramar is the splendid palace built by an Austrian archduke. The population of Palma is 91,000.