Logroño
Logroño ( , , ) is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago, and its borders were disputed between the Iberian kingdoms of Castille, Navarre and Aragon during the Middle Ages. The population of the city in 2020 was 152,785 while the metropolitan area included nearly 200,000 inhabitants. The city is a centre of trade of Rioja wine, for which the area is noted, and manufacturing of wood, metal and textile products. Etymology. Origin of  the name. The origin of this toponym is, as for many other places, unknown. The name "Lucronio" was first used in a document from 965 where García Sánchez I of Pamplona donated the so-called place to the Monastery of San Millán. In the fuero from 1095 it appeared under the name "Logronio", except once when it was called "illo Gronio". The most broadly accepted theses seem to be those which indicate it is a late latinization by prefixing the article ""lo/illo"" to the old toponym "Gronio"/"Gronno", a word of Celtic origin which means "the ford" or "the  pass". It is believed that this name was due to the frequent use of this place to cross the Ebro river. Other historians have proposed alternative theories, such as a possible derivation from "Lucus Brun" or "Lucus Beronius" ("Sacred place in the Beronian forest"), but its etymology remains unknown. Titles. John II of Castile granted it the title of "City" on 7 February 1431 in Palencia and ratified it on 20 February in Valladolid, thus it stopped being called "Village", despite there being no explicit justification of the reasons for that change. 20 July 1444 the same king added the  titles of "Very noble", , and "Very loyal", , which up until today appear in the seal of the city. In this case, the reason was the loyalty of the habitants against the homonymous king John II of Aragon, because despite the "«long war, and wounds and deaths, and robberies, and fires, and damages and oppresions»", the city remained loyal to the service of the king of Castile. 5 July 1523, the king Charles I granted it the three fleurs-de-lis for the shield of the city for its resistance during the French siege in 1521. It also received by Royal  Decree the title of "Excellence" 6 December 1854 from Isabella II, as a reward for its behavior during the cholera epidemic which devastated the city. Geography. Logroño is located in the northern region of La Rioja, on the river Ebro, above sea level. The Camino de Santiago passes through the city. The geographical coordinates of the city are: 42° 27′ N, 2° 29′ W. The city lies from Bilbao, from Zaragoza, from Madrid and from Barcelona. History. Logroño was an old settlement, first of the Romans, under the name of Vareia, a commercial port, and then of the  Celts. From the 10th century, possession of Logroño was disputed between the kings of Navarre and those of Castile; the region was finally annexed to Castile. The name is a combination of le and Groin, mashed together as Logroño over time. Alfonso VI of Castile granted Logroño in 1095 a charter of rights that served as a model for other Spanish cities. In 1609 and 1610 Logroño was the main seat of the Basque witch trials, part of the Spanish Inquisition. Famous people from Logroño include Manuel Bretón de los Herreros, Fausto Elhúyar, Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, Rafael Azcona, Ramón Castroviejo , Pedro J. Ramírez, Navarrete "El Mudo". Economy. Logroño is the shopping and financial capital of La Rioja. Its economy is heavily reliant on wine, the most popular of which is Rioja D.O. Logroño is twinned with Dunfermline, Darmstadt, Libourne, Dax, Rancagua, Ciudad de La Rioja, Brescia, El Hagounia. The new airport Logroño-Agoncillo connects the city with Madrid. Food. There are over 50 "taperías" (tapas restaurants) located within a four-block area near the town center. The traditional tapas restaurants often serve only one tapa [such as "seta" (mushroom), served as "pincho" – "pintxo" in Basque – meaning one serving, or "media  ración" ("half portion"), a small plate of tapas, but offer the Rioja D.O. Climate. The weather in Logroño – mostly due to its peculiar location, both in terms of distance to the Atlantic coast and in the situation along the course of the Ebro river, is characterized by values ranging from those typically found in temperate oceanic climates to the warmer and drier ones observed in southeastern mediterranean regions of the river's valley. However, the weather station has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: "BSk") with subtropical influences. The average annual temperature is . Although infrequent, unusually low temperatures during the  winter can drop to or even lower, while daily high averages may exceptionally exceed the mark of in a particularly hot summer. The average annual precipitation is about , regularly spread over the whole year: from – in drier periods to the - range in the rainiest. The winds that affect the city are as follows: the northerly Cierzo, the southerly Ábrego, the easterly Solano, and the westerly Castellano. Intermediate winds are the northeasterly Navarrico, the northwesterly Regañón, the southwesterly Burgalés and the southeasterly Soriano. Social life. Calle del Laurel, known as "the path of the elephants" and Calle San Juan are typical  streets where various restaurants and tapas bars offer some of the best "pinchos" and "tapas" in northern Spain. Calle Portales is the main street in the old town, where people like to walk and sit in the terraces to eat a meal or drink wine. Calle Marqués de San Nicolás (otherwise known as Calle Mayor) is the main area where people spend weekend nights. Broadcasting stations. Southwest of Logroño, at 42°26'34"N 2°30'43"W, there is a mediumwave broadcasting station with a transmission power of 20 kW. There may exist a longwave transmitter with 300 metres tall masts  at Logroño with 300 metres tall masts transmitting RNE Todo Noticias on 207 kHz. Sports. Triple jumper Carlota Castrejana is from the city. David Lopez Moreno, the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder is from Logroño. Festivals and traditions. The patron saint of Logroño is Santa María de la Esperanza. The most important festivals are: During the first week of January there is a cultural festival known as "ACTUAL" with music, theater and art. International relations. Twin towns and sister cities. Logroño is twinned with: Logroño is associated with: Transport. The city is served by the Logroño railway station. In popular culture . In the 4th season of the HBO television series "True Blood", the witch Antonia is from Logroño. She refers to herself as Antonia Galván de Logroño. In the Netflix original series "Money Heist", where members of the band of bank robbers use cities as codenames, their accomplice Benjamín Martínez is jokingly given the codename 'Logroño'. Notable people. Some notable people from Logroño are: