Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposite the Doñana National Park, 52 km from the provincial capital Cádiz and 119 km from Sevilla capital of the autonomous region Andalucía. Its population is 65,805 inhabitants (national statistical institute of Spain 2009) Sanlúcar has been inhabited since ancient times, and is assumed to belonged to the realm of civilization Tartessus. The town of San Lucar was granted to His Lordship Guzmán The Good in 1297.Due to its strategic location the city was a starting point for exploration, colonization and evangelization of America between the 15th and 17th centuries.Sanlucar lost much of its strategic value after 1645 due to the disgrace of the house of Medina-Sidonia, the general decline of Spain under Charles II, the relocation of Cadiz capital in 1711 and the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. In the nineteenth century the economy of the city was converted to viticulture and summer tourism. The twentieth century brought destruction and political upheaval like elsewhere during the civil war. Sanlucar was declared a Cultural Historical-artistic site in 1973. Since the restoration of democracy (1975–1982) City Hall has borrowed heavily, making Sanlúcar the city with the lowest per capita income in Spain.Currently (2010) Sanlucar is a summer tourist destination famous for its cuisine, especially the manzanilla (a variety of fino sherry) and prawns. It is internationally renowned for beach horse racing and flamenco music. Less well known but equally important is the historical archives of Medina-Sidonia located in the palace of the same name. The patron of the city is Our Lady of Charity dedicated in 1917.
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© Stephen Candler Photography