The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west) and the Basque Country (to the east). In the Roman Empire, the town was known as Portus Victoriae Iuliobrigensium. Its present name is derived from St Emeterio, a martyr whose head was brought there in the 3rd century, according to legend. In 1187, King Alfonso VIII 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. 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. In 1893 the freighter Cabo Machichaco exploded in the harbor, killing 500 people. Santander became the favored summer location for King Alfonso XIII, and it remains popular today for holidays.
Transportation in Santander
By Car: An excellent network of roads links Santander with the rest of Spain, the Spanish Costa's and Portugal. Take the N634 westwards along the coast towards Coruna, and eastwards towards Bilbao. The N611 goes south to Valladolid.
By Train: RENFE is the national railway system and has links to almost every town in Spain
By Ferry: Ferries are operated by Brittany Ferries aboard their flag ship Pont Avon on the Santander to Plymouth ferry crossing.
Santander is an elegant city which extends over a wide bay with views of the Cantabrian Sea. Its historic quarter includes a group of majestic buildings which are situated against an incredible natural backdrop of sea and mountains. The Cantabrian Maritime Museum is in Santander Bay. It is an attractive, modern building, and was born as a tribute to this northern Spanish region and its sea. Over 3,000 square metres, it aims to show the relationship between man and the maritime world throughout history. The majority of the 1,200 objects displayed in the Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria date from the period between the Palaeolithic and the Iron Age. There are also objects from the Roman period, mostly from Julióbriga and Urdiales Hill-Fort, the ancient Flavióbriga. Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunciónt has been a cathedral since the 18th century, but in the 8th century it was an abbey and in the 13th a collegiate church. Its plan is with three naves and four sections. The sanctuary has three polygonal chapels. As for the dome, it has ogives on columns of cruciform pillars. The Parque Natural de las Dunas de Liencres is one of the leading enclaves of dunes along the Cantabrian coastline, given its great landscape, geological, botanical and fauna interest. It stands on the left bank of the mouth of the river Pas, in a peninsula area limited by the Mogro estuary and several adjacent beaches. The extraction of iron in the clay at Parque Natural de Peña Cabarga has been traced back to Roman times.
Must See
Cantabrian Maritime Museum
Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria
Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunciónt
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