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Please note that Paris sunshine figures for Charles de Gaulle were not available so the 4.2 hours quoted is for Paris - Orly
The port city of Santander (English: /ˌsɑntɑnˈdɛər/, Spanish: [santanˈder]) is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 (2009).
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History
In the Roman Empire, the city was known as Portus Victoriae Iuliobrigensium. Its present name is possibly derived from Saint Andrew (Sanct Ander) or Saint Emeterio (Santemter, Santenter, Santander), a martyr whose head was brought there in the 3rd century, along with that of Saint Celedonio, according to legend.[1]
Santander, circa 1590 – by Joris Hoefnagel In 1187, King Alfonso VIII of Castile made the abbot of San Emeterio lord of the town, and in 1248 Santander participated in the battle for Seville, receiving a coat of arms as reward.The city owes its existence to the excellent harbour of the Bay of Santander. Santander was an important port for Castile in the later Middle Ages, and also for trade with the New World. It officially became a city in 1755.[2]
In 1893 the freighter Cabo Machichaco exploded in the harbour, killing 500 people.
In the early 1900s Santander became the favoured summer residence of King Alfonso XIII, who built the Palacio de la Magdalena as the residence of the royal family during the holidays. The city gained great popularity from this and from the 19th century enthusiasm for sea bathing and it remains popular with the Spanish for beach holidays today.
Great Fire of 1941
Santander fell victim to a great fire in 1941. Fanned by a strong south wind, the fire burned for two days. There was only one casualty, a firefighter killed in the line of duty, but thousands of families were left homeless and the city was plunged into chaos.
The fire destroyed the greater part of the medieval town centre and gutted the city’s Romanesque cathedral.
Geography
Devil's Bridge Rocks in beaches of Cueto Towns
The municipality of Santander includes, since 2009, the city of Santander and urban areas of Cueto, Monte, Peñacastillo, and San Román / places that were once villages but are increasingly being assimilated into the city centre. Santander and these towns have several neighbourhoods that are not ordered administratively or have specific limits but some of them do have a certain personality that differentiates them from other areas of the city. Currently the city of Santander is working to adapt the municipality to the law of large cities and thus decentralise power in several districts.
Beach of El Sardinero 
Beach of Los Peligros - Cueto
- Neighborhoods: La Pereda, Valdenoja, Fumoril.
- Monte
- Neighborhoods: Corbanera, La Torre, Aviche, Bolado and San Miguel.
- Peñacastillo
- Neighborhoods: Nuevo Parque, Primero de Mayo, Nueva Montaña, Ojaiz, Adarzo, Rucandial, Camarreal, Lluja, El Empalme, La Lenteja.
- San Román de la Llanilla
- Neighborhoods: Corbán, Rostrío.
- Santander (Capital)
- Neighborhoods: La Albericia, Cazoña, El Sardinero, Barrio Pesquero, El Alisal, Cabildo de Arriba, Castilla-Hermida, Puertochico, Centro, Cuatro Caminos, Calle Alta, General Dávila, Canalejas, San Fernando, etc.
Climate
The climate of Santander is of oceanic humid type (Koppen climate classification Cfb), the annual thermal oscillation of the average monthly temperatures reaching around 10 °C.
The humidity is quite high throughout the year and sometimes reaches more than 90%. Average daily maximum temperatures vary from 23 °C in summer down to 13 °C in winter.
The maximum temperature reached in Santander was 37.4 °C on 31 August 2009, and the minimum temperature −5.4 °C on 21 January 1957.
| [hide]Climate data for Santander | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) | 13.8 (56.8) | 14.9 (58.8) | 15.9 (60.6) | 18.5 (65.3) | 20.8 (69.4) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.7 (74.7) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.6 (67.3) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.4 (57.9) | 18.1 (64.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.9 (49.8) | 10.7 (51.3) | 12.0 (53.6) | 14.6 (58.3) | 17.1 (62.8) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.9 (67.8) | 18.3 (64.9) | 15.4 (59.7) | 12.2 (54.0) | 10.7 (51.3) | 14.1 (57.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) | 5.9 (42.6) | 6.5 (43.7) | 8.0 (46.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.6 (60.1) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 11.3 (52.3) | 8.2 (46.8) | 6.9 (44.4) | 10.2 (50.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 123 (4.84) | 104 (4.09) | 105 (4.13) | 125 (4.92) | 89 (3.5) | 62 (2.44) | 52 (2.05) | 72 (2.83) | 85 (3.35) | 135 (5.31) | 146 (5.75) | 117 (4.61) | 1,246 (49.06) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 128 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 88 | 100 | 134 | 147 | 169 | 174 | 189 | 182 | 157 | 127 | 98 | 74 | 1,638 |
| Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[3] | |||||||||||||
Urban growth
View of the bay of Santander. From 1950 to the 70's urban growth takes off with the construction of many housing blocks with solid buildings of 5 to 6 stories but few housing developments for the working population.In recent decades the growth of Santander is beyond the periphery of the city with smaller buildings and structures and aimed at the residence of the first and second home (this last of special importance). Stresses the El Sardinero, that changes its morphology of garden city to residential and leisure area of Santander, the Nueva Montaña zone recovered industrial land for residential and commercial activity, Cierro del Alisal, Los Castros Avenue and urban sprawl along the northern slope of Vaguada de las Llamas.
In the 1980s the port of Santander was displaced from the center of the city and in recent years Santander is in a recovery of its southern edge facing the Bay of Santander. The transfer of all port activities to Puerto de Raos has been gradual, with the exception of maritime passenger traffic that is centered on its maritime station front of Paseo de Pereda.
Currently the growth of port activity, increased value-added traffic (vehicles and containers mostly off the liquid and solid) for storage requiring a lot of ground already scarce and insufficient depth for some types of ships, is forcing the Port Authority to consider the long-term construction of a port outside the bay. On 29 June 2005 Santander celebrated the 250th anniversary of the granting of the title of "City."
Paseo de Pereda with the Palacete del Embarcadero to the right.
