In the province of Girona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain

 "For austere and gracious allegory, as for so much of its mysticism and its chivalry, its ardours and its endurances, the world is in debt to Spain.’ -

– Helen Waddell
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(in northeastern Spain) The Province of Girona is in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the north by France (Pyrénées-Orientales), and on the east by the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Girona (featured here), with an urban area (including the neighboring municipalities of Salt, Sarrià de Ter and Vilablareix). (The Girona area acts as an industrial, commercial and service hub for a significant part of the province.)

+ Northern Catalonia’s largest city, Girona is a jewellery box of museums, galleries, and Gothic churches, strung around a web of cobbled lanes and medieval walls. Reflections of Modernista mansions shimmer in the Riu Onyar (river), which separates the historic center on its eastern bank from the gleaming commercial center on the west.

+ A lovely place to visit. Girona has medieval buildings, making exploring and strolling around the city an unforgettable experience. Guests should visit the city's Cathedral of Girona, where they can admire the world's widest Gothic nave. The city is also known for its preserved archaeological sites, such as the Banys Arabs.

+ The capital city of Girona province, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, lies on the in the foothills of the Los Ángeles Mountains, a short distance inland from a Mediterranean coastal resort area known as the Costa Brava. (The city comprises three zones: the interior, which includes the old quarter; the modern section; and a residential area.)

+ Due to its position on the coastal route from Gaul to the Iberian Peninsula, Girona was a fortified site of the Iberians (whose ruined walls dating from the 4th and 5th centuries BCE remain) and of the Romans, who knew the city as Oppidum Gerunda. It passed to the Visigoths and was conquered in 714 by the Muslims, who called it Jerunda. Retaken in 785 by the Franks under Charlemagne, the city was lost again in 793 and recaptured by Louis of Aquitaine in 797. It was later incorporated into the kingdom of Aragon. Girona took an active part in the 17th–18th-century wars between Spain and France and was besieged several times by both sides.

+ Historic landmarks include the Gothic cathedral (with one of the world’s widest (74 ft. [23 metres]) aisleless naves. Girona is the site of the Provincial Archaeological Museum and of a university founded by Alfonso V in 1446.
Industrially, the city is important. Milk pasteurization, filtering, freezing, and preserving are based at the municipal central dairy. There are lumber and flour mills, distilleries, and biscuit, confectionery, and soft drink factories. Textile production is considerable. The city has a paper mill, publishing house, some chemical factories, and soapworks.