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It
is the capital of the community, and the fifth city of Spain in
population (over 600.000 inhabitants) and it hosts the political
and economic institutions of the territory.
 Zaragoza
is a liberal and welcoming city, the result of the influence of
the four cultures that have marked its character; founded by the
low Iberian under the name of Salduie in the confluence of the
rivers Ebro, Huerva and Gállego, it would later be Roman (Cesaraugusta),
royal Arabic capital (Sarakosta) and Christian capital of the
Kingdom of Aragón, which, in its maximum splendour, comprised
the territories of the current Aragón, Catalonia, Valencia, the
Balearic islands, the island of Sicily, the dukedom of Naples
and the Greek dukedoms of Athens and Neopatria, and which would
be key in the foundation of the current concept of Spain.
Zaragoza in the year 2000 is a modern European city, which spreads
around both sides of the river Ebro; more than half of its population
works in the service sector, while industrial production is localised
in industrial areas in the periphery of the city.
Cinemas,
museums, theatres and shopping centres are distributed around
the centre of a city whose growth is giving rise to large residential
areas far from the city centre, where detached houses prevail,
and which attract new large shopping areas and entertainment centres.
Zaragoza
has been a university city for more than 500 years, and it counts
with more than 50.000 higher education students. Most of the schools
and faculties are found in the campus of San Francisco square
and in the new technological campus in the Actur district. Nevertheless,
some faculties and other university institutions are still located
in emblematic buildings in the heart of the city.
Zaragoza
is also a city known for its Fairs and Congresses, and it has
two very suitable facilities for this purpose, notably the "Feria
de muestras" (trade fair), a true commercial city in itself, and
the Auditorium, a building complex that stands out for its design
and capacity.
Public transportation (buses and taxis) covers the whole city,
and although there are some traffic jams at rush hour, it doesn't
even come close to the driving chaos typical of Madrid, Paris
or Rome. Furthermore, the new by-pass, which is under construction
at the moment, will eliminate a great part of the traffic that
crosses downtown.
Zaragoza
is perfectly communicated by road with Madrid (freeway), Pamplona-Logroño-
Basque country (toll freeway) and Lérida and Barcelona (toll freeway).
An
unequal regional road network provides a better access to the
north of Aragon (Huesca, Pyrenees...) than to the south (Teruel).
With
regards to the railroad, the city is connected with the whole
of the Spanish territory by this means of transport, and shortly
(year 2002) it will be linked with Madrid and Barcelona by means
of high-speed trains (AVE).
The
airport of Zaragoza offers flights for passengers and cargo. Nevertheless,
its facilities are not too well taken advantage of, in spite of
the fact that it has 100% operational capacity with respect to
weather conditions and it offers the biggest landing strips in
Spain.
Zaragoza
TOURISM
Zaragoza
is known to be a "passing through" city, however all the visitors
that make a halt here discover a rich and interesting city.
The
so-called "casco viejo" (historic city centre), contains most
of the history of Zaragoza. More than 2000 years of history and
cultures such as the Roman, the Christian, the Arabic, the Jewish
or Mozarabic have cohabited in that portion of the current city.
The buildings, palaces and churches reflect the different styles
and the exchange among cultures. In the Square of El Pilar, you
will find the Gothic cathedral of La Seo and the Basilica of El
Pilar, one of the main places of worship to Virgin Mary of the
Christianity, with frescoes by Francisco de Goya. The Arab palace
of the Aljafería, current headquarters of the Aragonese Parliament,
is one of the best exponents of the Muslim art outside of Andalusia.
Museums, cinemas and theaters enrich the choice of cultural activities:
The Provincial Museum of Zaragoza offers a journey to the history
of the city and of the whole of Aragon, from the Paleolithic to
our days. In the museum Camón Aznar paintings by Zurbarán, The
Greek or Goya are shown. The theatres offer the works of the main
Spanish companies. In addition to this, during the whole year
the auditorium offers series of concerts of Jazz, flamenco or
other new music apart from the usual programme of classical music.
On top of this, the film library cinema of Zaragoza has a look
at classic films every week.
The "Zaragozanos" (locals from Zaragoza) spend a good share of
their time in the streets, always lively, in bars, outdoor cafés
and cinemas. The student population makes night life more vivacious,
especially during the weekends, when Zaragoza also welcomes many
visitors.
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