Denia

Denia (or D?nia in Catalan) is a the judicial seat of the comarca of La Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia. It has a population is 36,200 (as of 2003). A partial ruin of a fortress stands right in the middle of town.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the days of Al Andalus, Denia served as the capital of a taifa kingdom, ruling over part of the Valencian coast and Ibiza. The Slavic slaves, saqaliba, managed to free themselves and run the taifa.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Moors originally built the fortress, and the French, who occupied the city for four years during the War of the Spanish Succession, re-built it in the early 19th century.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A community of English raisin traders lived in Denia from 1800 until the time of the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The ferry to Ibiza and the other Balearic Islands departs from Denia. It also serves as a terminus of a picturesque metre gauge railway line through the mountains from Alicante (popularly known as the Lim?n Express), run by FGV.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nearby is the popular resort town of Javea.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Catalan: Catalan can refer to:...

Comarca: In several regions of Iberian peninsula, comarca refers to a reduced extension of land characterized by a certain degree of unity because of some common natural or geographic conditions, history and neighborhood....

La Marina Alta: REDIRECT Marina Alta...