Santa Cruz de La Palma

Santa Cruz de la Palma is a city and a municipality in the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. It is situated on the east coast. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second largest city and is the capital of the island. It is located along an old lava flow coming out from the Caldereta, a volcano located just south of the city.The population of the municipality is 16,330, its area is 43.38 km². Around 13,000 people live within the city limits, with the remaining population residing in other settlements.SubdivisionsCity neighborhoods:La LuzSan TelmoSan SebastiánEl PuenteBenahoareLa AlamedaLa Calle RealEl PilarEl MarquitoVelhocoLas NievesLa DehesaLa EncarnaciónEl PlantoEl CarmenMircaHistoryThe city was founded by Alonso Fernández de Lugo on May 3, 1493. It was located between a river which is situated by a cave named Tedote (now Cueva de Carías, located north of the city). The city, originally called Villa del Apurón, served as a port that connected routes to the Americas, exporting goods from the island such as sugarcane. The city was sacked by pirates and was later reconstructed and fortified against future pirate attacks. Famous fortifications include the Castillo de Santa Catalina and Castillo de la Virgen. The economic crisis that affected the agriculture sector brought the greatest loss of population in the city's history, which limited its expansion and caused the population to stabilize and drop to 11,000. The population did not approach its original 18,000 again for the next hundred years.