Ciutadella de Menorca

Ciutadella of Minorca
Municipality
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Coat of arms of Ciutadella of Minorca Coat of arms
Ciutadella of Minorca Location in Spain
Coordinates:
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Template:Country data Balearic Isles
Province	Balearic Islands
Judicial district	Ciutadella
Government
• Mayor	Pilar Carbonero Sánchez
Area
• Total	186.34 km2 (71.95 sq mi)
Elevation	24 m (79 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	29,160
• Density	160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	07760, 07769
www.ajciutadella.org

Ciutadella of Minorca (Catalan pronunciation: [siwtəˈðeʎə ðə məˈnɔrkə]) or simply Ciutadella is a town and a municipality in the western end of Minorca, one of the Balearic Islands (Spain). It is one of the two primary cities in the island, along with Maó.

History

Originally founded by the Carthaginians, it was already the seat of a bishop in the 4th century. After being governed by the Moors under the names of Medīna el Jezīra (Arabic: مدينة الجزيرة‎‎) and Medīna Menūrqa (مدينة منورقة) for several centuries, Citadel was recaptured during the reconquista by men serving Alfonso II and became part of the Crown of Aragon. During the Middle Ages, it became an important trading center.

On 9 July 1558, the Turks under Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis with a powerful Turkish Armada of 140 ships and 15,000 soldiers, put the town under siege for eight days entered and decimated the town. The town was defended by only a few hundred men. All of Ciutadella's 3,099 inhabitants who survived the siege were taken as slaves to Turkey together with other inhabitants of surrounding villages. In total, 3,452 residents were sold into slavery in the slave markets of Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey.

Religion

Despite no longer being Minorca's capital, Ciutadella has remained the island's religious center as the Bishop refused to move. The festival of Saint John, its patron saint, takes place each year on 23 and 24 of June. The Cathedral of Minorca, located in the old quarter of Ciutadella, was built in 1287 on the foundation of an older mosque.

Main sights

File:Ciutadella from air.jpg

Ciutadella from the air

In the 17th century, many of Ciutadella's civil and religious buildings were built in the Italian style and gave it a historical and artistic unity.

Ciutadella's town hall is the former palace of the Arab governor and later served as a royal palace under the Crown of Aragon and again as a governor's palace until the British moved the capital to the eastern town of Mahon in 1722.

Punta Nati Lighthouse is located due north of Ciutadella.

File:CiutadellaPort.jpg

Port of Ciudadella

Sister cities

• Córdoba, Spain
• Oristano, Italy, since 1991
• Long Beach Island, New Jersey, USA, since 2012