Portal:Spain

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Template:/box-header

Flag Arms of Spain.svg
Location of Spain

Spain (Spanish: España), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España), is a country in southern Europe. It is located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. The country consists of Peninsular Spain which is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, two archipelagos, one in each sea, and two autonomous cities in North Africa. The mainland area of Spain is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the southern and eastern areas, the Cantabric Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Spain is organised as a parliamentary democracy and is a constitutional monarchy. Spain has been a member of the European Union since 1986 and is a developed country, with the ninth largest economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France).

Spain flourished under the Roman empire Hispania, thus becoming one of the Empire's most important regions at the time. During the times of the Middle Ages, Spain was under Germanic rule, only later to come under the rule of the Islamic caliphate. Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century, following the completion of the reconquest of the Iberian peninsula in 1492. It has been an important source of influence to other regions, chiefly during the Modern Era, when it became a global empire that has left a legacy of over 500 million Spanish speakers today, making it the world's second most spoken first language.

Template:/box-footer

Show new selected content

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

A Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 with FIAT CR.32 of the Nationalist Air Force

The Spanish Air Force (Spanish: Ejército del Aire; literally, "Army of the Air") is the air force of Spain. It is one of the 3 branches of the Spanish Armed Forces and has the mission of defending the sovereignty and independence of Spain, its territorial integrity and constitutional freedoms, basically in its air space. Although Spanish Military Aviation started with a balloon force in 1896, April 10, 1910 is the date when the Spanish military aviation was formally formed by means of a Royal Decree.

On November 5, 1913, during the war with Morocco, a Spanish expeditionary squadron became the first organized military air unit to see real combat during the first organized bombing in history. During this war, the Spanish Military Aviation was divided in two: The Spanish Republic Air Forces (Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española-FARE), created by the republican government and the National Aviation (Aviación Nacional), created by the army in revolt. At first, the republican air forces had the control of the majority of the territory using the Soviet Polikarpov I-16, but the help received by Francisco Franco from Nazi Germany (Condor Legion) and Fascist Italy (Aviazione Legionaria) changed this.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Credit: Yummifruitbat

Timanfaya National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional de Timanfaya) is a national park, covering the southern area of Tinajo, Las Palmas and the northern area of Yaiza, Las Palmas. The parkland is made up of volcanic soil, with the strongest recorded eruptions occurring between 1730 and 1736.

Template:/box-header

Wikinews Spain portal

Read and edit Wikinews

Template:/box-footer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

A portrait of Antoni Gaudí

Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí i Cornet (25 June 1852 – Barcelona, 10 June 1926) – sometimes referred to by the Spanish translation of his name, Antonio Gaudí – was a Spanish Catalan architect, who belonged to the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) movement and was famous for his unique style and highly individualistic designs.

Gaudí was born in province of Tarragona in southern Catalonia, Spain in 1852. While there is some dispute as to his birthplace – official documents state that he was born in the town of Reus, whereas others claim he was born in Riudoms, a small village 3 miles (5 km) from Reus. Gaudí, as an architecture student at the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona from 1873 to 1877, achieved only mediocre grades but did well in his "Trial drawings and projects." After five years of work, he was awarded the title of architect in 1878. As he signed Gaudí's title, Elies Rogent declared, "Qui sap si hem donat el diploma a un boig o a un geni: el temps ens ho dirà" ("Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to a genius. Time will tell.") The newly named architect immediately began to plan and design and would remain affiliated with the school his entire life. Gaudí's first works were designed in the style of gothic and traditional Spanish architectural modes, but he soon developed his own distinct sculptural style. French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who promoted an evolved form of gothic architecture, proved a major influence on Gaudí. But the student surpassed the master architect and contrived highly original designs – irregular and fantastically intricate. Some of his greatest works, most notably La Sagrada Família, have an almost hallucinatory power.

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

The Canaray Island Pine

Template:/box-footer

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found.

Bill Maher

Template:/box-header

Featured articles

Battle of BicoccaBattle of CeresoleEl GrecoItalian War of 1521–1526Lince (tank)Salvador DalíSame-sex marriage in SpainT-26War of the League of CambraiVerdeja (tank)War of the Spanish Succession Template:/box-footer


Template:/box-header

Main project

WikiProject Spain

Participants
WikiProjects
Related projects

WikiProject Basque  • WikiProject Catalan-speaking Countries  • WikiProject Galicia  • Spanish Translation of the Week

What are WikiProjects?

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

EconomyEducationEnvironmentGovernmentMilitaryPeople
DesertsLandformsParksProtected areasSettlementsSubdivisions
BrandsBusinesspeopleCompaniesCurrenciesTourismTrade unions
ArtsAwardsBullfightingCuisineEntertainmentFestivalsFolkloreMediaMuseumsClothingSport

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Things you can do

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Template:/Topics Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

Europe
European Union
Latin America
New Spain
Europe European Union Latin America New Spain

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Template:/Associated Wikimedia Template:/box-footer

Purge server cache