The fort of Denia overlooks the city.
Denia (or Dénia in Catalan) is a city located in the comarca of La Marina Alta , in the province of Alicante, Spain, halfway between Alicante and Valencia. It has a population is 36,200 (as of 2003). A partial ruin of a fortress stands right in the middle of town.
In the days of Al Andalus, Denia served as the capital of a taifa kingdom, ruling over part of the Valencian coast and Ibiza. The Slavic slaves, saqaliba, managed to free themselves and run the taifa.
The Moors originally built the fortress, and the French, who occupied the city for four years during the War of the Spanish Succession, re-built it in the early 19th century.
A community of English raisin traders lived in Denia from 1800 until the time of the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.
The ferry to Ibiza and the other Balearic Islands departs from Denia. It also serves as a terminus of a picturesque metre gauge railway line through the mountains from Alicante (popularly known as the Limón Express ), run by FGV.
Nearby is the popular resort town of Javea.
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Last updated: 10-25-2005 02:36:10
