Arenys de Mar

infobox catalan city
title=Arenys de Mar
arms = Arenys de Mar - Escut.jpg


image_skyline_size=200px
location_

province=Barcelona
comarca=Maresme
population=14,164
population_year=2007
area=6.87
population_density=2061.72
elevation=10
demonym=Arenyenc, arenyenca
mayor=Ramon Vinyes i Vilà

Arenys de Mar is one of the main municipalities of the comarca of Maresme, Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. In 2005, it had a population of 13,860 (INE).

Arenys harbour, for many years the only existing port on the north coast of Barcelona, is the most evident proof of the long history and seafaring tradition of the village. The beaches framed by hills which run right down to the sea, give a preview of the neighbouring Costa Brava.

Transportation

Arenys is 40 km to Barcelona by the N-II road or the A-19 highway. The district train (C-1 line) covers the distance to Plaça de Catalunya, in the centre of Barcelona, in 50 minutes. The road B-511 communicates with the highway A-7 (exit Sant Celoni) through Collsacreu. The Montseny massif is quite close, while the Natural Parks of Montnegre and the Corredor are just round the corner. Girona is 60 km away, and for a trip to Montserrat you need little more than an hour. Barcelona International Airport is 56 km away, that of Girona-Costa Brava, 40 km.

Economy and culture

Arenys is the capital of the county district. Fishing and related industries are the principal economic activity of the town. Two important industrial zones are being developed under public and private promotion. Agriculture has gone down in the last years, but the cultivation of fruits and vegetables is still thriving.

The fishing and the various related industries which have grown around the harbour move a considerable part of the economic activity of the town. The harbour is the most important one in the Maresme and has practically the whole fishing fleet of the region. The fish auction which takes place every afternoon when the boats return, is a picturesque event and a favourite with many visitors. There is ample space in the port reserved for yachts. During the summer, many sailing boats anchor here on their Mediterranean journey. The shipyard is still an important local industry.

The Riera (the dry uncovered river bed) is the commercial centre and the hub of all local activities. The market, a splendid and functional Art Nouveau building, remains open every morning as well as Friday afternoons. Inside, it is bustling with people and constant activity. On Saturday mornings, the commercial hustle takes itself to the Riera in the form of a weekly street market. Two village festivals are held in honour of Saint Zenon (9 July) and Saint Roc (16 August), and a big fair is celebrated on Saint John's Day (24 June).

Arenys de Mar possesses a grammar school, an agricultural school for chicken farming, a school of music and various schools where the old craft of lace-making is taught.

Tourism

Hundreds of school children and countless buses of old people on excursions visit Arenys every day. The artistic and monumental attractions, the museums, the harbour, and all that surrounds the myth of Sinera created by the poet Salvador Espriu are potent reasons for coming to Arenys. At weekends, people often come here simply to enjoy a good meal.

Tourists can choose among diverse offers. Besides one hotel, the Activ-Carlos I, there are a few guest houses, but, especially during the summer season, there is the possibility of renting apartments at a very reasonable price. The baths Banys de Can Titus look back on more than two hundred years of history. Now they are a modern spa with medicinal mineral waters.

The beaches at Arenys are especially pleasant, because they are so large and also because of the coarse grained sand (Platja del Cabaió). To those who prefer shade, the village offers the Lourdes Park and the possibility of strolling along the numerous walks and paths outside the village.

Within the urban centre, there are quite a few places which deserve a visit. The parish church of Santa Maria has one of the most important baroque reredos in Catalonia, built at the beginning of the 18th century by the sculptor Pau Costa. Along Church Street are the Marés Museum of Lace-making and the Mollfulleda Museum of Mineralogy.

At both sides of the lower Riera there is a series of charming spots and beautiful houses. A stroll through this web of small streets holds pleasant surprises. Some of the defense towers built to protect against pirates, are still conserved.

Arenys cemetery is a prime example of Mediterranean marine cemeteries. It is oriented westward, on top of the Turó de la Pietat, from which you can enjoy a privileged view over the harbour and the urban centre. Salvador Espriu, through his poetic work "Cementiri de Sinera", converted it into a literary myth.

There is a Cesc Fabregas museum acknowledging this Catolonian player

Demography

infobox catalan city demography
pop_1900=4618
pop_1930=5702
pop_1950=6477
pop_1970=8325
pop_1986=10,269
pop_latest=14,164
latest_year=2007

Notable Natives

Salvador Espriu, writer

Cesc Fàbregas, b. 1987, footballer

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). "Guia de Catalunya", Barcelona:Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).

External links

* [http://www.arenysdemar.cat/ Official website] ca
* [http://www.municat.net:8000/omunicat/owa/mun_p01.dad_ens?via=1&cod=0800600000 Information - Generalitat de Catalunya] ca
* [http://www.idescat.cat/territ/BasicTerr?TC=3&V0=1&V1=08006 Statistical information - Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya] ca
* [http://www.radioarenys.cat/ Arenys de Mar public radio station] ca
* [http://www.arenys.org Arenys digital community] ca