Lepe

Last updated
Lepe
Municipality
Lepe (Huelva) (Spain) - 33184483222.jpg
Plaza España, Lepe
Bandera de Lepe.svg
Flag
Escudo de Lepe.svg
Coat of arms
Spain location map with provinces.svg
Red pog.svg
Lepe
Location in Spain.
Coordinates: 37°15′15″N7°12′12″W / 37.25417°N 7.20333°W / 37.25417; -7.20333
CountrySpain
Autonomous community Andalusia
Province Huelva
Comarca Costa Occidental
Government
 •  Mayor Juan Manuel González Camacho
Area
 • Total129 km2 (50 sq mi)
Elevation
18 m (59 ft)
Population
 (2018) [1]
 • Total27,047
 • Density210/km2 (540/sq mi)
Demonym Leperos
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Website Official website

Lepe is a Spanish town in the province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is near the Portuguese border. According to the 2022 census, the city has a population of 28,617 inhabitants. [2]

Contents

Economy

Until the late 1970s its economy was based on fishing but Lepe is now one of the wealthiest villages in the region thanks to its intensive farming of strawberries, which are exported all over Europe.

Lepe is known for its strawberries, and for Spanish jokes referring to its inhabitants as stupid. [3]

History

Although deposits of Neolithic and Bronze Age have been found, there is no evidence of stable settlements in the municipality of Lepe. During the initial period of Roman rule, Lepe there was a rustic villa. There were fish farms at the present location of Lepe, Valsequillo and El Terrón. The retreat of the coast caused the abandonment of the settlement of Valsequillo, while fishing by El Terrón has continued until today. It is during the heyday of Roman rule when it blooms Lepe settlement located in a small village, linked to farming their fields and fishing port of El Terron. Based on classical texts, several authors have identified the current location of Lepe settlements with Laipe Megala (Rodrigo Caro, 1634), Laepa (García y Bellido, 1947; G. Bonsor, JP and E. Garrido Orta, 1922) and Praesidium (Luzon, 1975). Of all these options is Laepa which has more support among historians, although as a small country villa rather than a village itself. It is after the second wave of Arab conquests when Lepe becomes the economic center of the area, growing from a small farmhouse to a "city about the Ocean Sea," as was described by the geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi later in the 1229. The name given during the period of Arab rule is Labb, which derives in the current name.

Several of Lepe’s former inhabitants played an important part in Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas, as the sailor Rodrigo de Triana was the first to sight the coast of the Americas.

In the late 16th century, Marcos Alonso de la Garza left Lepe and settled in what is today the Mexican state of Durango, beginning a line of descendants, including Cpt. Blas María de la Garza Falcón, a conquistador of the state of Nuevo León.

Main sights

In the village is the 14th-century Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán built in the Mudéjar style. It houses Lepe's patron saint, the Virgen de la Bella (Beautiful Virgin). Just outside the village, off the road to El Terrón, is the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Bella, a 14th-century hermitage dedicated to the Virgin. On the second Saturday in May there is a pilgrimage from Lepe to the hermitage, where the figure of the Virgen de la Bella is carried from the Iglesia de Santo Domingo to the Ermita.

Built under Philip II of Spain is the Torre del Catalán, a 16th-century lookout tower, used to warn of an impending invasion by Berber pirates. One can climb the tower for views of a nature reserve, the Paraje Natural Marismas del Río Piedras y la Flecha de Nueva Umbria.

Lepe's main beach is La Antilla, 5 km south of Lepe. Located 5 km northeast of La Antilla and 5 km south of Lepe is the small fishing port of El Terrón. It has fine views across to El Rompido and the a nature reserve of the Marismas del Río Piedras.

Lepe's wines, which were exported to England in the Middle Ages, were mentioned in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. [4]

Sport

Lepe is home to San Roque de Lepe who play in the third division of Spanish football in the Segunda División B Group 4. The club play at Estadio Ciudad de Lepe, a purpose built stadium opened in 2011.

Twin towns

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Huelva</span> Province of Spain

Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motril</span> Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

Motril is a town and municipality located on the Mediterranean coast of Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. Motril is located near the Guadalfeo River and is 69 km (43 mi) from Granada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartaya</span> Municipality & Town in Andalusia, Spain

Cartaya is a Spanish locality and municipality in the Province of Huelva,. In 2010 it had 18,415 inhabitants. Its surface area is 226.4 km2 and has a density of 81.34 people per km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moguer</span> Municipality and city in Andalusia, Spain

Moguer is a municipality and small city located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2022 census, it has a population of 22,623. Its surface area is 204 square kilometres (79 sq mi), and its population density is 106.36 per square kilometre (275.5/sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algodonales</span> Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

Algodonales is a city and a Municipality, located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 5,607 inhabitants. The nearest cities are Zahara de la Sierra and Olvera. Algodonales is located in the Sierra de Lijar within the Sierra de Grazalema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayamonte</span> Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

Ayamonte is a town and municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Huelva, Andalusia. It is located near the border with Portugal on the mouth of the Guadiana River. According to the 2015 census, the city had a population of 20,357 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alájar</span> Place in Andalusia, Spain

Alájar is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 771 inhabitants. The song "Señorita" of the Bollywood movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was shot in this town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Almendro, Spain</span> Place in Andalusia, Spain

El Almendro is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 831 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Antilla</span> Locality in Huelva, Spain

La Antilla is a locality and a beach resort within Lepe, Huelva, Spain. It has a total population of 1,606 as of 2020. Its population usually increase drastically in the tourist season during the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gines</span> Municipality in Andalusia Andalusia, Spain

Gines is a municipality in the south-west Spain, in the province of Seville, Andalusia. It is part of the metropolitan area of Seville. Gines has a population of 13,529 inhabitants as of 2021 and an area of 2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi).

La Algaba is a Spanish municipality in the province of Seville, Andalusia, with a population of around 16,000. It is part of the region of La Vega and is located 11 km from the province's capital, Seville. The town dates back to the Byzantine Empire and has many historical artifacts and significant churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio León Ortega</span> Spanish sculptor

Antonio León Ortega was a Spanish sculptor known for his Andalusian imagery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermitage of El Rocío</span> Hermitage in Almonte , Spain

The Hermitage of El Rocío is a hermitage at El Rocío in the countryside of Almonte, Province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. The hermitage is home to the Virgin of El Rocío, a small, much-venerated carved wood statue, and is the destination of an annual procession/pilgrimage on the second day of the Pentecost, known as the Romería de El Rocío, connected to the veneration of the Virgin of El Rocío; in recent years the Romería has brought together roughly a million pilgrims each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romería de El Rocío</span> Pilgrimage in Spain

The Romería de El Rocío is a procession/pilgrimage on the second day of Pentecost to the Hermitage of El Rocío in the countryside of Almonte (Huelva), Andalucia, Spain, in honor of the Virgin of El Rocío. In recent years the Romería has brought together roughly a million pilgrims each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosal de la Frontera</span> Municipality in Andalusia, Spain

Rosal de la Frontera is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Huelva, Andalusia. According to the 2008 census, the municipality had a population of 1846 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Rompido</span> Village in Andalusia, Spain

El Rompido is a coastal borough in the municipality of Cartaya located in the province of Huelva in Andalusia, Spain. Founded in the 16th century. El Rompido is situated by the mouth of the Río Piedras. It has 1,832 inhabitants and is 8 kilometres south of Cartaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pecharromán</span> Village in Castile and León, Spain

Pecharromán is a village located in the Province of Segovia, Castile and León (Spain). It belongs to the municipality of Valtiendas and has 12 inhabitants (2016). The village is 80 kilometers away from Segovia, and 863 meters above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torre del Catalán</span> Watchtower in Lepe, Spain

The Torre del Catalán is a watchtower located in Lepe, in the province of Huelva (Spain), declared Bien de Interés Cultural.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piedras River, Spain</span> River in Huelva, Spain

The Piedras River is a coastal river in southwestern Spain, whose course is located entirely in the province of Huelva. It rises in the municipality of El Almendro, although most of the streams that give rise to it and that come from the Sierra del Almendro, are born in the municipality of Villanueva de los Castillejos. It runs from north to south and flows between the Flecha de Nueva Umbría (Lepe) and Nuevo Portil (Cartaya).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraleón-Ayamonte line</span> Former railway line in Spain.

The Gibraleón-Ayamonte line, also known as the Huelva-Ayamonte line, was a 49-kilometer-long Iberian gauge Spanish railway line that came to operate in the province of Huelva. The line was in operation between 1936 and 1987, covering the western coast of Huelva.

References

  1. ↑ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ↑ "Huelva: Población por municipios y sexo. Detalle por municipios". www.ine.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  3. ↑ Lepe Costa de la Luz Spain by Lepe.to Archived 2012-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Lepe, Huelva province, Huelva villages, Andalucia, Southern Spain


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.