Elche or Elx is a town and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants, making it the third most populated municipality in the region and the 20th largest Spanish municipality. It is part of the comarca of Baix Vinalopó. Part of the municipality is coastal yet the city proper is roughly away from the Mediterranean Sea. A small creek called Vinalopó flows through the city. Elche is so close to the city ofAlicante that both cities form a de factoconurbation of some 800,000 inhabitants. The city is noted by its urban Palm Grove, designated as World Heritage Site.
History
La Alcudia is 10 km from the current city's location and the immediate predecessor of current day Elche. This original location was settled by the Greeks and then occupied by Carthaginians and Romans. Greeks Ionian colonists from the Achaean city Helike established their new colony, naming it Helíkē around 600BC. It was a point of resistance against Carthaginian advance in Spain between the First and Second Punic Wars. The Romans called the city Ilici or Illice and granted it the status of colonia; after a brief Byzantine rule, the Goths took over, establishing an episcopal see. Elche lost importance during the period of Moorish occupation, when it was moved slightly north to its present location. James II of Aragon took the city from the Moors in the 13th century, during the Reconquista. The city grew throughout the 18th century and became more important during the 19th century with the arrival of the railway and a booming industrial development of what used to be the traditional footwear industry. Many archaeological remains have been found in Elche, with the stone bust of the Lady of Elche being the most important. This may date from the Iberian period. The original is in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain.
Palmeral of Elche. It is an orchard of over 200,000 palm trees that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
Altamira Castle, also known as Alcázar de la Señoría, located next to the Municipal Park It was originally built in Almohad times, and was later renovated with brick exterior in the 15th century. A former fortress, in 1913 it became a fabric plant, it has also been used as the town hall and as a prison during the Spanish Civil War, while today is home to the Elche Archaeology and History Museum
The Mystery Play of Elx is a sacral-lyrical medieval drama, dated from the 15th century, which was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2002. It is played every year in mid August, in the context of the local holidays dedicated to the Assumption of Virgin Mary. Also as a part of this celebration, on the 13th of August is the date of a celebration in Elche called Nit de l'Albà in which a citywide night-long show of fireworks takes place.
