Portal:Gibraltar

The Gibraltar Portal

Location of Gibraltar (dark green)

United Kingdom shown in pale green

Gibraltar (/dʒɪˈbrɔːltər/ ^ⓘ jih-BRAWL-tər, Spanish: [xiβɾalˈtaɾ]) is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of 6.8 km² (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. Gibraltar is home to some 34,003 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

Gibraltar was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohads in 1160. It switched control between the Nasrids, Castilians and Marinids in the Late Middle Ages, acquiring larger strategic clout upon the destruction of nearby Algeciras c. 1375. It became again part of the Crown of Castile in 1462. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession, and it was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It became an important base for the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars and World War II, as it controlled the narrow entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, with half the world's seaborne trade passing through it.

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum, and for shared sovereignty in a 2002 referendum. Nevertheless, Gibraltar maintains close economic and cultural links with Spain, with many Gibraltarians speaking Spanish as well as a local dialect known as Llanito. (Full article...)

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New passenger terminal, with Rock of Gibraltar behind it

Gibraltar International Airport, previously known as North Front Airport, (IATA: GIB, ICAO: LXGB) is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway and aerodrome is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators use the civilian-operated terminal. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) hold the contract for provision of air navigation services at the airport.

In 2024, the civilian airport handled 424,386 passengers and 97,697 kilograms (215,385 pounds) of cargo on 3,628 total flights. Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, and in the past had to be closed for aircraft movements. Since March 2023 there is a tunnel which allows traffic to flow whilst aircraft are landing or taking off. Pedestrians can still cross the runway when the road is open, which offers a shorter route than via the tunnel. The History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports ranked the airport the fifth most extreme airport in the world, ahead of the now-defunct Kai Tak Airport with its infamous right-hand turn approach over central Hong Kong before landing, but behind Princess Juliana International Airport, famous for its low-altitude approaches over a public beach. It is exposed to strong cross winds around the 'rock' and across the Bay of Gibraltar, making landings in winter particularly challenging. (Full article...)

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Photo credit: User:RedCoat10

Main Street, Gibraltar's main arterial street recognised today as Gibraltar’s main commercial and shopping district.

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Each generation produces its squad of "moderns" with peashooters to attack Gibraltar.

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— Channing Pollock (1880 – 1946), American playwright, critic and writer of film scenarios.

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1787 portrait by
Sir Joshua Reynolds

General George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, KB, PC (25 December 1717 – 6 July 1790) was a British Army officer who served as the governor of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1790. Eliott rose to distinction during the Seven Years' War when he fought in Germany and participated in the capture of Belle Île and siege of Havana. He is most notable for his command of the Gibraltar garrison during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, which lasted from 1779 to 1783, during the American War of Independence. He was celebrated for his successful defence of the fortress and decisive defeat of Spanish and French attackers. (Full article...)

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Peter Caruana Joe Bossano George Don (British Army officer) Edward Cornwallis Joshua Hassan Bruce Cooper Alfred Holmes Alexander George Woodford Sir William Green, 1st Baronet John Thomas Jones Clive Finlayson Simón Susarte John Mackintosh (philanthropist) John Leake John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort

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Did you know...

... that Dorothy Ellicott was the first woman to be elected to two different Gibraltar Councils and was posthumously awarded the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour on Gibraltar National Day 2008?
... that in 1939, excavations beneath John Mackintosh Square in Gibraltar for the construction of an air-raid shelter revealed no signs of any foundations, suggesting it has always been an open square?
... that capital punishment in Gibraltar was last enforced in 1944 when British hangman Albert Pierrepoint travelled undercover to the territory to hang two young Spanish spies? (25 July 2012, 5,697 views)
... that the Gibraltar Museum houses the remains of a 14th-century Moorish bath house, once the private baths of the Governor of Gibraltar during the Marinid dynasty? (26 July 2012, 2,222 views)
... that the Europa Point Lighthouse at Gibraltar is the only lighthouse operated by Trinity House on continental Europe outside the United Kingdom? (27 July 2012, 4,122 views)
... that Giovanni Battista Calvi was an Italian military engineer who worked on many important Spanish defensive projects in the 1500s, to include those in the now British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar?

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General images

The following are images from various Gibraltar-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Gibraltar House of Assembly (now the Gibraltar Parliament), established in 1969. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 2The Charles V Wall, built by the Spanish to control access to the south side of Gibraltar after the pirate raid of September 1540 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 3Foreign Secretary William Hague and Minister for Europe David Lidington with Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo at a meeting in London, 28 August 2013 (from Culture of Gibraltar)
Image 4View across Gibraltar looking north, by Frederick William J. Shore (1883) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 5Thousands of Gibraltarians dress in their national colours of red and white and fill Grand Casemates Square during the 2013 Gibraltar National Day celebrations (from Culture of Gibraltar)
Image 6Gibraltar Bus Company Dennis Dart on route 4 at the Both Worlds bus terminus, Sandy Bay. (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 7Gibraltar's country identifier is GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 8The Explosion of the Spanish Flagship during the Battle of Gibraltar by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 9"Gibraltar Woman" – a Neanderthal who lived in Gibraltar some 50,000 years ago (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 10The United States' Great White Fleet visiting Gibraltar harbour in February 1909 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 11The arms granted to the city of Gibraltar by a Royal Warrant passed in Toledo on 10 July 1502 by Isabella I of Castile (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 12The 14th-century Tower of Homage, the largest surviving fragment of Gibraltar's Moorish Castle (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 13Calypso Transport open top bus on discontinued route 10 (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 14Gibraltar Airport and border area. Showing runway (Gibraltar) and pier behind (Spain). Officially, any exact line is still disputed (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 15Vice Admiral Sir Neville Syfret inspecting the men aboard the Rodney, Gibraltar, January 1943 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 16A map of Gibraltar and its fortifications, drawn in 1799 by Jean-Denis Barbié du Bocage (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 17MV Aurora (2000) berthed adjacent to the Gibraltar Cruise Terminal at the Western Arm of the North Mole (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 18Gibraltar, 1654 by Jan Peeters I (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 19The First Battle of Algeciras, which took plane on 6 July 1801 off Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 20Sir George Rooke, the commander of the Anglo-Dutch fleet that conquered Gibraltar in the name of Archduke Charles of Austria (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 21Traffic drives on the right (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 22Timetable on a bus shelter (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 23Special passes were required to enter Gibraltar proper at night, whilst the Spanish civil war was raging 1936. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 24Aerial view of Gibraltar as seen in 2011 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 25Spanish border pass for Gibraltarian residents, permitting day visits only. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 26Gibraltar's Moorish Baths, now incorporated into the Gibraltar Museum (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 27The Pillars of Hercules depicted erroneously as an island on the Tabula Peutingeriana, an ancient Roman map (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 28The Sortie made by the Garrison of Gibraltar in the Morning of 27 November 1781 by John Trumbull, depicting a British attack that occurred during the Great Siege of Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 29Veüe du d'Estroit de Gibraltar et des Environs, avec les tranchées du Siège mis en 1704, by Louis Boudan (1704) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 30Searchlights on the Rock of Gibraltar during an air raid practice on 20 November 1942 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 31Gibraltar's Royal Navy Base (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 32Gibraltar Bus Company bus routes (right-click to enlarge). (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 33Location of Gibraltar in the far south of the Iberian Peninsula (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 34A 1779 depiction of British-controlled Gibraltar, under siege from Franco-Spanish forces. (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 35A current Gibraltar rear number plate featuring the country identifier GBZ (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 36North View of Gibraltar from Spanish Lines by John Mace (1782) (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 37Gibraltar Cable Car (from Transport in Gibraltar)
Image 38The closed gates at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, 1977 (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 39Annotated satellite view of the Strait of Gibraltar (from History of Gibraltar)
Image 40Castle Street, Gibraltar, by Frederick Leeds Edridge, 1833 (from History of Gibraltar)