Ferrol (, ) is a city in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in Spain, located in the Rías Altas, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern-day Cape Prior). With a population of 64,358 as of 2024, Ferrol is the 7th-largest city in Galicia. With Eume to the south and Ortegal to the north, Ferrol forms the comarca of Ferrolterra.
Around a hundred years ago, and earlier, the harbour, with its depth, capacity and overall safety, had few equals in Europe; its entrance was very narrow, commanded by forts, and could even be shut by a boom.
Ferrol has been a major naval shipbuilding centre for most of its history, being the capital of the Spanish Navy's Maritime Department of the North since the time of the early Bourbons. In the 17th century, Ferrol held the largest arsenal in Europe. Today, the city contains several major shipbuilding yards belonging to the state-owned Navantia Group.
Ferrol was the birthplace of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1892. The municipality was officially named after him as "El Ferrol del Caudillo" from September 1938 to December 1982. It was also the birthplace of the founder of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Pablo Iglesias, in 1850.
Ferrol is one of the starting points of the English Way of the Camino de Santiago. Due to the modern requirement that pilgrims must travel 100 km (approx. 62 mi) by foot in order to be officially recognised, the city is a preferential starting point for those traversing the English Way.
Etymology The first historical mention of this settlement, then called Burum or Arotebrarum Portum, appears in the history of Pomponius Mela, a Roman historian who in the year AD 43 detailing a description of the Portus Magnus Artabrorum, the "great port of the Artabri". The current toponym Ferrol, though, can only be traced back to the Middle Ages; a document from 1087 mentions sancto Iuliano de Ferrol, near the monastery of San Martín de Jubia (12th century, in Romanesque style), where Ferrol is probably the local evolution of the genitive form of the Latin name Ferreolus; Ferrol was probably, in origin, the estate of one Ferreolus.Cf. In 1982 the government of Spain officially adopted the name Ferrol in accordance with its long history and tradition.
Another theory about the etymology of the name Ferrol posits some relation to the Latin word ferro (iron), as the area has long been rich in metals, especially iron and tin, but also gold and silver. It is possible, since the bay of Ferrol was such a well guarded port, that the old fishing village was named after the metal by traders reaching the enclave.
Alternatively, the name may derive from the legend of a Breton saint, Ferreol, who supposedly arrived there on a ship amid a chorus of seven sirens. Another tradition says that Ferrol comes from farol, alluding to the heraldic figure that appears on the coat of arms of the city. However, according to experts, the coat of arms of Ferrol dates back only to the eighteenth century.
History
The existence of prehistoric human settlements in the area that would later become Ferrol is suggested by the abundance of burial chambers and megalithic monuments, as well as petroglyphs and other archaeological findings. The Phoenicians established in this area several dried and salted cod stations and their presence, together with that of the Ancient Greeks, is well documented by such classical historians as Herodotus, Strabo, Pomponius Mela, and Ptolemy. In Roman times, in the 1st century BC, a fishing port existed which also traded in metals (like silver, gold, tin and iron), and wild horses. Near Ferrol there is a place called Naraío (famous for its medieval castle), whose name bears a phonetic resemblance Strabo's Nerium, modern day Cape Prior. In ancient Hispania, these parts of the Iberia were dominated by the Artabri (or Arrotrebae), who gave their name to the Portus Magnus Artabrorum ("Great Port of the Artabri"), formed not only by the bay of Ferrol but the three rias of Ferrol, Betanzos and A Coruña. Ferrol was then, as it is today, a first class natural harbour in the treacherous waters of the Atlantic, and very well guarded. Historically, it has often been described as the best natural port in Europe.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the whole Iberian Peninsula, including Ferrol, was raided by the Vandals and incorporated in 411 to the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia; their kingdom was incorporated in 584 by Leovigild to the Visigothic Kingdom.(Britoniensis ecclesiae episcopus) Mailoc or Maeloc was the bishop of Britonia who participated in the Second Council of Braga (572)
Following the collapse of the Suebic-Visigothic state, these Christian parts of Iberia saw very little change in comparison with other parts of the peninsula, becoming part of the Kingdom of Asturias as early as AD 750. Over time, the Kingdom of Asturias would split into further Christian kingdoms, causing the area to change hands several times between Galicia, Leon, and finally Castile. During the Second Crusade Ferrol played a significant role when the crusade ships organised by Pope Eugene III en route to the Holy Land, sought refuge in its bay due to the rough waters they encountered after leaving Dartmouth and the English Channel in the Atlantic in May 1147 when the contingent carrying 6,000 English and Scottish crusaders just joined a continental fleet of 5,000 Germans and 2,000 Flemish crusaders numbering all together a total 164 ships that needed a safe haven and some of the ships repairs and resupplying. Once in the safety of the bay of Ferrol they did have time to visit neighbouring Santiago de Compostela on 24 May 1147 to celebrate Pentecost Day in the City of St. James the Great where they visited his Holy Remains. The sea journey to the Holy Land continued but another storm in the Atlantic forced the fleet to dock at Porto where they met King Alfonso I of Portugal who convince them to join forces in order to take the enclave of Lisbon from the Saracens and that's how the best port in the Iberian Peninsula fell to into Christian hands on 25 October 1147 becoming integral part of the Kingdom of Portugal straight away and from 1255 its very own capital.
Ferrol served as a strategic safe port during the Hundred Years' War and sided with the House of Trastamara during the Castilian Civil War. As a personal reward to Fernan Perez de Andrade, in 1371, Henry II gave the town to the powerful Andrade family.Ferrol Naval 1750 Ferrol Historia - Interesting document showing the royals of Spain from 1492 till 1805: Spanish Empire
In 1568"History of Ferrol" El Ferrolano Newspaper, 10 February 1846, no.1, Front Cover: Ferrol a fire reduced the old medieval town to rubble; in the same period some parts of the existing fortifications at the entrance of the estuary were built.World Heritage List: El Ferrol (Submission Papers) UNESCO, 27 April 2007 The town was considered more important as a royal arsenal at this time than as a harbour.
With the arrival of the Bourbons in the 18th century, Ferrol became a leading naval centre.The City and Naval Station of El Ferrol during the Reign of Charles III of Spain by the Dutch pilot Hugh Debbieg (1731–1810) Ferrol was made capital of the Maritime Department of the North, formed under Ferdinand VI and Charles III for the defence of the Spanish Colonial Empire in America. Rapid improvements followed, notably under the leadership of the Marquis of Ensenada, and the position of Ferrol was made almost unassailable from the sea, the difficulties of disembarking troops on its precipitous coast being strengthened by a renewed line of fortresses and newly built castles, including that of San Carlos.
The Royal Dockyards of A Graña and Ferrol, built between 1726 and 1783,"Ferrol" Britannica.com, 2009 produced ships protected with copper sheets from the rolling mills of Xubia. In 1772, The Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers of Ferrol, the first such academy in Spain, was created. For the most laborious work, six hundred galley slaves were employed in the harbour.
Ferrol is famous in the history of the struggle between the Spanish Empire and the British for being one of the only enclaves in the world, together with Cartagena de Indias, that always resisted occupation successfully; Ferrol was virtually impossible to blockade in the Age of Sail, as strong westerly winds would take any blockading force away along the treacherous north coast of Spain towards the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), where they had no safe haven. The geography of Ferrol meant that an entire Spanish fleet could slip out on a single tide. By the time the British were able to resume the blockade, the Spanish would be safely away and out to sea. Despite these advantages, a decline set in during the reign of Charles IV, and in 1800, during the Ferrol Expedition, after the defences had been reduced, a British fleet of 109 vessels landed troops on the beach of Doniños to take the Castle of San Felipe. Although only equipped with meagre artillery, the castle's small defence force under the command Count Donadio, together with a sizable number of volunteer citizens of Ferrol, successfully resisted the attack and the fleet withdrew. The alliance with the United Kingdom during the Peninsular War of 1808–1814 failed to prevent the deterioration in the town's fortunes. The arsenals and fortresses were abandoned and they were easily occupied by the French in 1809.
When the war with Napoleonic France was over, many of the South American colonies chose to pursue independence from Spain and the shipyards of Ferrol went into a serious decline, losing most of their civilian, clergy and military population. By 1824, Ferrol had a population of just 10,000 civilians and about 6,000 military personnel (stationed locally, if not permanently, at least during most of the year). Its mathematical school for marine artillerists, the pilot school, and the Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers were almost completely empty, in stark contrast to the glorious years of abundance before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Ferrol built only two ships of the line between 1794 and 1845,The 80-gun ships Neptuno (1795) and Argonauta (1796), see Enrique Garcia-Torralba Pérez, Navios de la Real Armada 1700-1860. although nine frigates and a considerable number of smaller warships were also constructed in this period. After half a century of decreased activity, it lost its title of capital under Ferdinand VII. However, there was a massive renovation during the leadership of Cardinal Alberoni and in just a few years fourteen great line-of-battle-ships were launched. New activities sprang up and Ferrol was employing 2,000 workmen in its foundries, now in full operation. A School of Naval Engineers was established where 40 students were taught the scientific principles of their profession by competent instructors educated in England and France. So successful in bringing the world's most advanced technologies was the administration of the Marquis de Molina, "The Armies of Europe, Spain as a War Making Power" The New York Times, 6 February 1858, Page 4 the Spanish Minister for Naval affairs, that by 1858 the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol were launching Spain's first steam propelled ship, which was also its first iron-hulled sailing ship.
The second half of the 19th century brought to the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol not only employment, but also concomitant social and political tensions, which culminated in the failed republican uprising of 1872. "Entrance into Ferrol of the Government Troops" The New York Times, 16 October 1872, Page 1 Steamers between Ferrol and the port of Havana in Spanish Cuba were in frequent operation at the time, such that shipyard workers who got into trouble with the local authorities in Ferrol often fled to the Spanish Main.