The existence of prehistoric human settlements in the area that would later become Ferrol is suggested by the abundance of
burial chambers and
megalithic monuments, as well as
petroglyphs and other archaeological findings. The
Phoenicians established in this area several
dried and salted cod stations and their presence, together with that of the
Ancient Greeks, is well documented by such classical historians as
Herodotus,
Strabo,
Pomponius Mela, and
Ptolemy. In
Roman times, in the 1st century BC, a fishing port existed which also traded in metals (like silver, gold,
tin and iron), and wild horses. there is a place called Naraío (famous for its medieval castle), whose name bears a
phonetic resemblance Strabo's Nerium,'' (or Arrotrebae), who gave their name to the Portus Magnus Artabrorum ("Great Port of the Artabri"), After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire the whole
Iberian Peninsula, including Ferrol, was raided by the
Vandals and incorporated in 411 to the
Suebic Kingdom of Galicia; their kingdom was incorporated in 584 by
Leovigild to the
Visigothic Kingdom. Following the collapse of the Suebic-Visigothic state, these
Christian parts of Iberia saw very little change in comparison with other parts of the peninsula, becoming part of the
Kingdom of Asturias Over time, the Kingdom of Asturias would split into further Christian kingdoms, causing the area to change hands several times between
Galicia,
Leon, and finally
Castile. During the Second Crusade Ferrol played a significant role when the crusade ships organised by Pope Eugene III en route to the Holy Land, sought refuge in its bay due to the rough waters they encountered after leaving Dartmouth and the English Channel in the Atlantic in May 1147 when the contingent carrying 6,000 English and Scottish crusaders just joined a continental fleet of 5,000 Germans and 2,000 Flemish crusaders numbering all together a total 164 ships that needed a safe haven and some of the ships repairs and resupplying. Once in the safety of the bay of Ferrol they did have time to visit neighbouring Santiago de Compostela on 24 May 1147 to celebrate Pentecost Day in the City of St. James the Great where they visited his Holy Remains. The sea journey to the Holy Land continued but another storm in the Atlantic forced the fleet to dock at Porto where they met King Alfonso I of Portugal who convince them to join forces in order to take the enclave of Lisbon from the Saracens and that's how the best port in the Iberian Peninsula fell to into Christian hands on 25 October 1147 becoming integral part of the Kingdom of Portugal straight away and from 1255 its very own capital. Ferrol served as a strategic safe port during the
Hundred Years' War and sided with the
House of Trastamara during the
Castilian Civil War. As a personal reward to
Fernan Perez de Andrade, in 1371,
Henry II gave the town to the powerful
Andrade family. In 1568 a fire reduced the old medieval town to rubble; in the same period some parts of the existing fortifications at the entrance of the
estuary were built. The town was considered more important as a royal arsenal at this time than as a harbour. With the arrival of the
Bourbons in the 18th century, Ferrol became a leading naval centre. Ferrol was made capital of the Maritime Department of the North, formed under
Ferdinand VI and
Charles III for the defence of the
Spanish Colonial Empire in America. Rapid improvements followed, notably under the leadership of the
Marquis of Ensenada, and the position of Ferrol was made almost unassailable from the sea, the difficulties of disembarking troops on its precipitous coast being strengthened by a renewed line of fortresses and newly built castles, including that of San Carlos. The
Royal Dockyards of
A Graña and Ferrol, built between 1726 and 1783, produced ships protected with copper sheets from the rolling mills of Xubia. In 1772, The
Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers of Ferrol, the first such academy in Spain, was created. For the most laborious work, six hundred
galley slaves were employed in the harbour. Ferrol is famous in the history of the struggle between the
Spanish Empire and the
British for being one of the only enclaves in the world, together with
Cartagena de Indias, that always resisted occupation successfully; Ferrol was virtually impossible to
blockade in the
age of sail, as strong westerly winds would take any blockading force away along the treacherous north coast of Spain towards the
Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), where they had no safe haven. The geography of Ferrol meant that an entire Spanish fleet could slip out on a single tide. By the time the British were able to resume the blockade, the Spanish would be safely away and out to sea. Despite these advantages, a decline set in during the reign of
Charles IV, and in 1800, during the
Ferrol Expedition, after the defences had been reduced, a British fleet of 109 vessels landed troops on the beach of
Doniños to take the Castle of San Felipe. Although only equipped with meagre artillery, the castle's small defence force under the command Count Donadio, together with a sizable number of volunteer citizens of Ferrol, successfully resisted the attack and the fleet withdrew. The alliance with the
United Kingdom during the
Peninsular War of 1808–1814 failed to prevent the deterioration in the town's fortunes. The arsenals and fortresses were abandoned and they were easily
occupied by the French in 1809. When the war with
Napoleonic France was over, many of the South American colonies chose to pursue independence from Spain and the shipyards of Ferrol went into a serious decline, losing most of their civilian, clergy and military population. By 1824, Ferrol had a population of just 10,000 civilians and about 6,000 military personnel (stationed locally, if not permanently, at least during most of the year). Its mathematical school for marine artillerists, the pilot school, and the Spanish Royal Academy of Naval Engineers were almost completely empty, in stark contrast to the glorious years of abundance before the
Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Ferrol built only two
ships of the line between 1794 and 1845, although nine frigates and a considerable number of smaller warships were also constructed in this period. After half a century of decreased activity, it lost its title of capital under
Ferdinand VII. However, there was a massive renovation during the leadership of Cardinal Alberoni and in just a few years fourteen great line-of-battle-ships were launched. New activities sprang up and Ferrol was employing 2,000 workmen in its foundries, now in full operation. A School of Naval Engineers the Spanish Minister for Naval affairs, that by 1858 the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol were launching Spain's first steam propelled ship, which was also its first
iron-hulled sailing ship. The second half of the 19th century brought to the Royal Dockyards of Ferrol not only employment, but also concomitant social and political tensions, which culminated in the failed republican uprising of 1872. Steamers between Ferrol and the port of
Havana in
Spanish Cuba were in frequent operation at the time, such that shipyard workers who got into trouble with the local authorities in Ferrol often fled to the
Spanish Main. building in Ferrol, designed by Rodolfo Ucha From the days of the Armada to the present, the Bay of Ferrol has attracted numerous ships seeking repairs or refuge after meeting with disaster or rough waters trying to cross the Bay of Biscay in bad weather. Such was the case of
Cleopatra, carrying one of the two Cleopatra Needles, which stands today on the Thames Embankment in London, UK. It arrived in Ferrol on 19 October 1877 after almost sinking off the west coast of France five days earlier. A plaque commemorating the event and those who died can be seen at the base of the Needle in London. Ten years after the
Spanish–American War of 1898, in which Spain lost
Cuba and the
Philippines, the
Antonio Maura government, in an attempt to restore the Spanish Navy and Spanish shipbuilding industry, hired the
Spanish Society for Naval Construction, whose major investors were a British-Spanish conglomerate 30%
Marquis of Comillas of the
Spanish Transatlantic Company, and 30%
Biscay Furnace Company. All the previously state-owned
shipbuilding yards,
workshops,
foundries and
dry docks at Ferrol were handed over to the technical expertise of some of the finest British shipbuilders;
John Brown,
Vickers were now in charge of building the new Spanish fleet. For a period of sixteen years, the technicians were exclusively British, and the situation was not altered till 1925, when management was taken over by Spanish engineers. This was one of the new policies introduced by the newly installed government of the dictator
Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1930). The arrival of the British coincided with the construction of a local
tram system (1924–1961). In view of the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War, and due to the fear of social unrest in the naval station, the
Foreign Office in London organized a ship to repatriate all the remaining British citizens. On 22 July 1936,
HMS Witch left Ferrol bound for Britain. At the beginning of the war, the shipbuilding yards, workshops, foundries and dry docks in Ferrol were taken over by the state. They were fully
nationalized in 1945 under the name "Bazán", later renamed "IZAR", and, from January 2005,
Navantia. The town was the birthplace of
Francisco Franco, after whom the city was officially known as
El Ferrol del Caudillo from 1938 to 1982. The end of the
Spanish State and the
arrival of democracy in 1978 did little to arrest Ferrol's economic decline, and from 1982 to the early 1990s, the city faced numerous problems due to the waning of the
naval sector. The beginning of the new millennium, however, has been a time of economic expansion and prosperity in general. A new motorway and an
outer-port have been built, as have numerous arcades and shopping centres, mostly in the outskirts of the city between Ferrol and Naron. Young shoppers and their families frequent the stores and enjoy weekend days out with amenities like bowling, cafeterias, fast food outlets, cinemas and sports facilities. The Spanish Navy Spanish Squadron still takes part in
naval demonstrations and in June 2008 Ferrol hosted the large
NATO Maritime Exercise Loyal Mariner (
RN). The Ferrol Terminus railway station, connecting
Lugo to Ferrol, branching off from the line from
Madrid to nearby A Coruña, was sanctioned by the Cortes in Madrid as early as 1865 but was not finally inaugurated until 1904. A century later, the High Speed
AVE Railway suffered similar delays, eventually opening in 2013. In September 2017, a new local railway branch serving the outer port of Ferrol (known as the Canelinas-Ferrol container port), the inside of the bay docks and the Ferrol Terminus railway station was given the green light to begin construction, and aims to move large numbers modern containers in and out of Ferrol, distributing goods throughout Galicia and the rest of Spain and Europe. A small railway local branch operated here in the early years of the 20th century. At that time, Ferrol itself and its ports were intended solely for the Royal Navy and its shipyards, ==Climate==