Inside EICF Continued from pg 19
opportunity to create a strong iron and steel industry, as the raw material was exported, especially iron. In short, from the late Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century, Santander became a stopover city between the Castilian country side and the ports of America and northwest Europe, and a port for the redistribution of goods.
During the second half of the
19th century, in the wake of the boom in seaside resorts among the European wealthy classes, the city of Santander and the Sardinero beaches two kilometers from the city were promoted, becoming a spa town that attracted a good number of aristocrats and visitors, and royalty, from Queen Isabel II to King Amadeo I of Savoy and Alfonso XII.
The century ended
with the catastrophe of the explosion of the biscayan ship Cabo Machichaco in 1893, which caused 600 deaths and more than 2000 injured. The explosion destroyed infrastructure and buildings; to a certain extent the urban expansion of the city to the west was abandoned due to the proximity to the port. At the beginning of the 20th
century, Santander managed to survive the great shipwreck of the 1898 crisis with the loss of the last colonies; Nevertheless, a process of industrialisation took place with the capital repatriated from Cuba and Puerto Rico, despite the fact that the city had a short-flying bourgeoisie that feared risk and industrial adventure, with the exception of the great industrialist José María Quijano, who, with a group of Santander financiers, founded the “Nueva Montaña” blast furnaces in 1899 and, in 1903, lit the first of them on the island of Óleo at the bottom of Santander Bay; In 1987 it changed its name to ‘Global Steel Wire’ (GSW), and is mainly engaged in the production of ‘wire rod’. In view of these changes, mercantile and port activities began to be displaced as the city was promoted for leisure and tourism. The beauty of the landscapes,
20 ❘ May 2022 ®
the surroundings, the peace and quiet, the hospitality and courtesy of the people of Santander were extolled. New spatial areas emerged, such as the Avenida de la Reina Victoria and the Magdalena peninsula. In 1908, the city of Santander built and gave King Alfonso XIII the Magdalena Palace in an eclectic style with English influences, as well as French and mountain Baroque architecture, where the royal family spent their summers from 1912 to 1930. The summer court attracted a large number of aristocrats and visitors, and elegant villas and hotels were built in the Sardinero to accommodate them. In 1916 the Gran Casino del Sardinero was built in the Viennese style, reminiscent of European casinos. In addition, in 1917 the Hotel Real was built in a modernist style with a certain air of eclecticism following the model of French and Italian luxury hotels, the bright white colour of its façade earned it the nickname of “beautiful white lady”, its views over the bay of Santander are extraordinarily beautiful. It is important to mention, within the process of modernisation of Santander in the first half of the 20th century, the inauguration of the “Hospital Casa de Salud Valdecilla” in 1929, thanks to
the philanthropist from the mountains, the Marquis of Valdecilla, which has become a national and international reference hospital up to the present day.
It is worth mentioning another
catastrophe for the city of Santander, the great “Fire of 1941”, which destroyed the historic part of the city and almost the entire medieval town. In its place, a new city was built, respecting, only in part, the old layout. It should be noted that a large section of the working classes moved to the outskirts of the city, thus breaking up the old coexistence between the different social classes, which led to a process of “gentrification” or “social cleansing”. From the 1950s onwards, the city’s
cultural qualities were enhanced by the Menéndez Pelayo International University, and it was advertised as cultured and cosmopolitan. In the sixties and seventies, with economic development, the town changed from being a summer resort to a tourist enclave; this change served to promote real estate business and speculate with the landscape. During these decades, there was an important demographic growth that led to a notable urban
Ruins of the historic centre after the fire of 1941.
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