Lepe
422930
224499193
2008-07-09T03:14:52Z
85.251.54.110
/* External links */
{{Infobox City |
official_name = Lepe, Spain |
nickname = |
image_flag = Bandera de Lepe.svg|50px|
image_seal = Escudo de Lepe.svg|50px|
image_map = Map of Lepe (Huelva).png|150px|center|
map_caption = Location of Lepe|
subdivision_type = [[List of municipalities in Huelva|Municipality]] |
subdivision_name = [[Huelva (province)|Huelva]] |
leader_title = [[Mayor]] |
leader_name = [[Manuel Andrés González]] |
area_magnitude = 1 E9 |
area_total_km2 = 129|
area_land_km2 = 129|
area_water_km2 = 0.00 |
population_as_of = 2006 |
population_note = |
population_total = 23.781|
population_density_km2 = 176.0 |
timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]] |
utc_offset = +1 |
timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] |
utc_offset_DST = +2 |
latitude = 36º28' N |
longitude = -6º12' W |
website = http://www.lepe.es/ |
footnotes = |
}}
'''Lepe''' is a [[Spain|Spanish]] town in the province of [[Huelva (province)|Huelva]], in the [[autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous community]] of [[Andalusia]]. It is situated near the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] border. According to the [[2006]] [[census]], the city has a population of 23.781 inhabitants.
==Economy==
Until the late 70s its economy was based on fishing but Lepe is now one of the wealthiest villages in the region thanks to its intensive farming of strawberries, which are exported all over Europe.
==History==
The town was originally founded by the [[Phoenicians]]. Lepe is known for its [[strawberry|strawberries]]. <ref>[http://www.lepe.to/ Lepe Costa de la Luz Spain by Lepe.to<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It is also famous for being the subject of innumerable Spanish [[‘Irishman’ jokes]].
In the village is the 14th-century [[Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán]] built in the Mudéjar style. It houses the Lepe’s patron saint, the Virgen de la Bella (Virgin of Beauty). Just outside the village, off the road to El Terrón, is the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Bella, a 14th-century hermitage dedicated to the Virgin. On the second Saturday in May there is a pilgrimage from Lepe to the hermitage, where the figure of the Virgen de la Bella is carried from the Iglesia de Santo Domingo to the Ermita.
Built under [[Felipe II]] is the [[Torre Almenera del Catalan]], a 16th-century lookout tower to warn of an impending invasion by [[Berber people|Berber]] [[pirates]]. You can climb the tower for great views of a nature reserve, the Paraje Natural Marismas del Río Piedras y la Flecha de El Rompido.
Several of Lepe’s former inhabitants played an important part in [[Christopher Columbus]]’s discovery of the [[Americas]]. The sailor [[Rodrigo de Triana]] was the first to sight the coast of the Americas, while Juan Díaz de Solís discovered Río de la Plata. The preparations by de Solís for the journey took place in nearby El Terrón.
In the late 1500s, [[Marcos Alonzo Garza Y del Arcon Falcon]] left Lepe and settled in what is today the [[Mexican state]] of [[Durango]], beginning a line of descendants, including Cpt. [[Blas Maria de la Garza Falcón]], founder of the state of [[Nuevo León]].
==Places==
Lepe’s main beach is La Antilla, 5km south of Lepe. Located 5km northeast of La Antilla and 5km south of Lepe is the small fishing port of El Terrón. It has fine views across to El Rompido and the a nature reserve of the Marismas del Río Piedras. At El Terron is worth visiting the environmentally educational ‘Aula Marina de El Terrón’ (El Terrón Marine Centre)
Leperos are proud also of the fact that their wines, which were exported to [[England]] in the [[Middle Ages]], were mentioned in [[Chaucer]]’s [[The Canterbury Tales]]. <ref>[http://www.andalucia.com/province/huelva/lepe/home.htm Lepe, Huelva province, Huelva villages, Andalucia, Southern Spain<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.lepe.es/ Ayuntamiento de Lepe]
*[http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeestadistica/sima/htm/sm21044.htm Lepe] - Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía
* [http://anudenu.galeon.com Asociación Naturista de Lepe] ANUDENU
{{Municipalities in Huelva}}
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[[Category:Municipalities in Huelva]]
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