Systems of Higher Education in an international Comparison: Spain<title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../CSS/2col_leftNav.css" type="text/css" /> </head> <body> <div id="masthead"> <h1 id="siteName"> Systems of Higher Education in an international Comparison: Spain</h1> <h1 id="subTitle"> Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad Carlos III, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia</h1> <div id="globalNav"> <a href="../educationalsystem/school.html">Educational System</a> | <a href="../universitylife/living.html"> University Life</a> | <a href="../work/internship.html">Work</a> | <a href="../madrid/geography.html"> Madrid</a> | Valencia | <a href="../authors.html">Authors</a></div> </div>  <div id="content"> <h2 id="pageName"> The city Valencia</h2> <div id="breadCrumb"> <a href="#history">History</a> | <a href="#facts">Facts and Figures</a> | <a href="#food"> Typical Food</a> </div> <div class="feature"> <img src="images/emblem.jpg" alt="Emblem of Valencia" width="280" height="200" /> <h3> Valencia - Capital of the autonomous Community of Valencia </h3> <p> The autonomous Community of Valencia (Communitat Valenciana) is in the middle east of Spain. In the north it's adjoining to Cataluña and Aragón and in the east to Castilla-La Mancha and in the south to the region of Murcia. In the east there is the Mediterranean Sea. The long coast and the long beaches make it to one of the most important holiday areas of spain. The Community of Valencia is formed by the three provinces Alicante, Castellón and Valencia. The flag of this region you can see on the left. There are two official languages which are spoken in the valencian Community, the first one is spanish (castellano) and the other one is valenciano, which is similar to the catalan language, which is spoken in the region around Barcelona. </p> </div> <div class="story"> <a name="history"> <h3> History</h3> </a> <p> The history of Valencia reaches back to the year 138 BC, where it was found by the romans and named Valentia. With the collaps of the roman empire the Visigoths moved in and staied there for over two centuries. In 711 AD the Moors arrived in Valencia and brought the city under islamic rule. In these more than 5 centuries Valencia became an agricultural and industrial center, where ceramics, glasswork, paper, silk and leather industries played an important role. <br> In the year 1238 the the victory of the Christians was started by Jaime I of Aragon. He made it to the capital of the kingdom of Valencia. In this time churches and Christian architecture quickly replaced Moorish mosques and buildings. In 1492 valencian bankers financed Columbus´ sea-trip, where he discovered America. That´s why the anniversary of this voyage is observed throughout in Spain. In the years 1701-1714, after the death of spain`s king Carlos II, the War of Spanish Succession broke out across the country. Valencia supported Carlos of Austria. As revenge the victorious Felipe V abolished the autonomous privileges of Valencia. The following years Valencia expanded its port and its industries and had a rising export of fruits, wine and rice. Its industry and economy steadily grew.<br> In the Spanish Civil War, from 1936 to 1939 Valencia has sided with the Republicans, who had moved their government headquarters to Valencia after the future dictator Francisco Franco`s forces took Madrid. Again Valencia sided with the loosing team, and had to pay for it for decades. In the year 1957 the city of Valencia fell victim of a flood of the river Turia, which passed the city. It sent up to two meters of water rushing through the streets and damaged much of the city. The river was re-routed and now passes around south and west of valencia. In the riverbed there is now a seven kilometer long park. After the death of Fraco in 1975 Valencia enjoys a high degree of autonomy again and is a prospering hub of commerce, industry and tourism. </p> </div> <div class="story"> <a name="facts"> <h3> Facts and Figures</h3> </a> <p> Valencia is, with its 850.000 citizen the third biggest city in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona. If the suburbs arround the city would be counted as-well, this number would raise to 1.8 million. The area of the city are 134,65 square kilometer. That means that the density of population is 5916 habitants/square-km. The average altitude is around 15 meters, because it's directly at the coast. Valencia has a long beach and an important port. Also there is an airport near Valencia, which can be reached by bus or metro. The weather in Valencia is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea. The average temperature is 17,8 degrees and it's range is between 11,5 degrees in january and 25,5 degress in august. In winter the temperature is never lower than 4-8 degrees and at daytime it can reach until 18-25 degrees. The yearly precipitation is about 470 mm. Mostly in spring and autumn, where there are about 5 days rain per mounth. The average water temperature is at 20 degress from june to october, reaching until 25 in august and in winter arround 13-15 degrees. Because of all this Valencia is one of the most important cities for the tourism in spain. </p> </div> <div class="story"> <a name="food"> <h3> Typical Food</h3> </a> <p> In spain there is no typical food for the whole country. In spain every region has its own local cuisine. Valencia is famous for its paella. The most traditional of this kind of rice dish is the paella valenciana, which is prepared with rabbit and chicken and beans. The from tourists prefered one is the paella marinera, which contains fish and seafood. There are many other rice-dishes, arroz al horno (oven-baked rice) or arroz negro (rice with black squid ink). In general the cuisine of Valencia is traditional and natural. The most important ingredients are local fruits and vegetables, as-well as fish and seafood, and of course rice.<br> As drinks with the food there are plenty of excellent wines. In the summer month there in the whole city are many small booths, which sell horchata (a milky drink made from tigernuts). Another typical valencian drink is the agua de Valencia (valencian water), which is made out of fresh pressed oranges and cava. </p> </div> <div id="breadCrumb"> <em>Author: Stefan Edbauer</em></div> </div>  <div id="navBar"> <div id="sectionLinks"> <h3> The City of Valencia</h3> <ul> <li>General Information</li> <li><a href="sight.html">Sightseeing</a></li> <li><a href="events.html">Events</a></li> <li><a href="poli.html">Universidad Politecnica de Valencia</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="relatedLinks"> <h3> Related Links</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.ayto-valencia.es/" target="_blank">Ayuntamiento de Valencia</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.turisvalencia.es/" target="_blank">Turismus Valencia</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.comunitatvalenciana.com/" target="_blank">Communitat Valenciana (german)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div>  <div id="siteInfo"> (C) 2008, Stefan Edbauer, Arno Scherhorn, <a href="http://www.juergentreml.de/">Jürgen Treml</a> </div> <br /> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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