San Fernando

History and Overview

San Fernando, in the province of Cadiz, on the Isla de Leon, a rocky island among the salt marshes which line the southern shore of Cadiz Bay. San Fernando is one of the three principal Naval ports of Spain; together with Ferrol and Cartagena it is governed by an admiral who has the distinctive title of captaingeneral. The town is connected with Cadiz (4 m. N.W.) by a railway, and there is an electric tramway from the arsenal (in the suburb of La Carraca) to Cadiz.

The principal buildings are government workshops for the navy, barracks, a naval academy, observatory, hospital, bull-ring and a handsome town hall. In the neighbourhood, salt is largely produced and stone is quarried; manufacturing include spirits, beer, leather, esparto fabrics, soap, hats, sails and ropes; and there is a large iron-foundry.

San Fernando was probably a Carthaginian settlement. On a hill to the south stood a temple dedicated to the Tyrian Hercules; to the east is a Roman bridge, rebuilt in the 15th century after partial demolition by the Moors. The arsenal was founded in 1790. During the Peninsular War the cortes met at San Fernando (1810), but the present name of the town dates only from 1813; it was previously known as Isla de Leon. The city occupies an approximate area of 29.8 square kilometres and is placed in the southwestern end of the Iberian peninsula and inside the frame of municipalities of the Bay of Cadiz.

Places of Interest

- San Fernando Bahia Sur (Big Shopping Centre)

- Cádiz (Historical Centre & Narrow Street Shopping)

- Cádiz Cathedral and Square

- Jerez de la Frontera (Bodega Tours & Very Historical Centre)

- Arcos de la Frontera, Medina Sidonia or Vejer de la Frontera (White hill top towns)

- Conil de la Frontera (Beautiful sweeping white sandy beach)

- Tarifa (Surfers Paradise)

- Sanlucar de Barrameda (Beach Horse Racing in August, check dates)

- Tangiers, Morocco (Day trip shopping and haggling)