Extremadura

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura


Flag	Coat of arms

Capital

Mérida

Official language(s)

Spanish;

Area
– Total
– % of Spain

Ranked 5th
41,634 km²
8.2%

Population
– Total (2005)
– % of Spain
– Density

Ranked 12th
1,083,879
2.5%
26.03/km²

Demonym
– English
– Spanish

Extremaduran, Extremenian
extremeño/a

Statute of Autonomy

February 26, 1983

Parliamentary
representation
– Congress seats
– Senate seats

10
2

President

Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (PSOE)

ISO 3166-2

Junta de Extremadura

Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain. It includes the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz. Extremadura borders Portugal to the west, and it is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at Monfragüe, which has recently been recognised as National Park, or the project of International Tagus River Natural Park (Parque Natural Rio Tajo internacional).

Some important cities are Cáceres, Badajoz, Plasencia and Mérida, the capital of the autonomous community. For other municipalities, see lists by province:

Badajoz and Cáceres are, respectively, the largest and second-largest provinces of Spain.

Map of Extremadura

1 History
2 Economy
3 Culture
4 See also

[edit] History

Lusitania, an ancient Roman province approximately including current day Portugal (except for the northern area today known as Norte Region), and a central western portion of the current day Spain, covered in those times today's Autonomous Community of Extremadura. Mérida (capital of Extremadura), became the capital of the Roman Lusitania province, and one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire.

Extremadura was the source of many of the most famous Spanish conquerors ("conquistadores") and settlers in America. Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Pedro de Alvarado, Pedro de Valdivia were all born in Extremadura and many towns and cities in America carry a name from their homeland: Mérida is the name of the administrative capital of Extremadura, and also of important cities in Mexico and Venezuela; Medellín is now a little town in Extremadura, but also the name of the second largest city in Colombia; Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and its name is due to a transcription mistake of Alburquerque, another town in Extremadura. The two (to date) Spanish astronauts, Miguel López-Alegría and Pedro Duque, also have family connections in Extremadura. King Ferdinand II of Aragon died in the village of Madrigalejo, Cáceres in 1516. Pedro de Valdivia founded numerous cities in Chile with names from small villages in Extremadura, such as Valdivia and La Serena. The capital Santiago de Chile was founded as "Santiago de Nueva Extremadura" (Santiago of New Extremadura).

The motto of Soria (in the Eastern side of Castile) is "Pure Soria, head of Extremadura".

Extremadura should not be confused with Estremadura, a historical province of Portugal. During the Reconquest, "Extremadura" ("The extreme") was the word used to name the land bordering the Christian frontier opposed to Moorish resistance, so for a time Extremadura was the name for the present province of Salamanca. (The present Cáceres was called "Transierra Leonesa"^{[citation needed]}, and the present Badajoz was a Moorish kingdom with the same name.)

[edit] Economy

The Extremadura Regional Government has authored its own Linux distribution, gnuLinEx. Following the last board meeting of the Government held June 25, 2006, the councillor for Infrastructures and Technological Development, Luis Millán de Vázquez de Miguel, announced (spanish) that a version of gnuLinEx, adapted for the public administration, will be established as the obligatory operating system in workplaces of the civil servants of the Junta and that the operating system will be gradually introduced to all administrative organizations of the Junta de Extremadura.