Huelva is a city in Andalucia in southwestern Spain. With a location close to the Atlantic coast, there has been trade here for thousands of years, and archaeological finds have been made from the time of the Phoenicians. It is believed that Huelva then became a prosperous city under both Carthage and the Roman Empire, but that there were times of decline with subsequent Visigothic and Moorish periods. Huelva was recaptured by Spain in 1257 under Alonso X. Huelva remained a minor town and was partially destroyed by the earthquake that struck near Lisbon in 1755. In the 19th century, large-scale mining began along the river Rio Tinto and the British made Huelva boom from a small town to a large industrial city during this time. The presence of the British also meant that the football club Recreativo Huelva was established in 1889 as Spain’s first.

Today, Huelva is a cozy city for a walk, and there are several sights. Plaza de la Merced is one of the city’s fine squares, and Huelva’s beautiful cathedral is located here. The church belonged to a monastery that was founded in 1605. However, after several earthquakes in the 18th century, the church had to be rebuilt. The oldest church in Huelva is the Parroquia Mayor de San Pedro de Huelva, located in the beautifully landscaped Plaza San Pedro. The church was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. And you can also see the fine Concepción Church from the 16th century in the city’s streets.

Huelva’s central meeting place is the Plaza de las Monjas square, which, with its palm trees and fountains, is beautifully landscaped like the rest of the city’s spaces. In Huelva, you can see some fingerprints from the British industrial age as well, which left quite a big mark on the city. The neighborhood of Barrio Reina Victorias with many identical houses from 1917 is a good example of this, and the long pier, Muelle de Riotinto, into the Odiel River is another. You can also see Casa Colón, which opened as the Hotel Colón in 1883 to house foreign staff and guests associated with the mining industry.

When visiting Huelva, it is natural to follow in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus. Much of the story took place in the immediate surroundings of the city. To the south lies the confluence of the rivers Tinto and Odiel. On the eastern bank you can see the monastery Monasterio de La Rábida from 1412. This is where Columbus was in 1491-1492, when he was waiting for funding for the planned voyage of discovery. North of the monastery is the port Muelle de las Carabelas, where you can see 1:1 replicas of Columbus’s three ships, Niña, Pinta and Santa María.

North of this is the village of Palos de la Frontera, and it was from here that Columbus set sail on 3 August 1492 towards the west. You can go to Rio Tinto at Muelle De La Calzadilla and imagine the historic moment. You can continue a little to the northeast to the town of Moguer, where Columbus swore allegiance to the Spanish crown before leaving in 1492. It happened in the Convento de Santa Clara monastery.

North of the center of Huelva is the chapel and refuge Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cinta. At this place Columbus and his fellow sailors prayed before leaving for the west, and Columbus promised to visit again after a successful return home. Finally, south of Huelva you can see the Columbus monument, officially called Monumento a la Fe Descubridora or the Monument to the Discovering Faith. The 37-meter-high monument was erected 1927-1929 at the confluence of the rivers Odiel and Tinto. The monument shows a figure leaning on a cross, and it is believed to represent Christopher Columbus, who left Europe in these waters and led the European rediscovery of America.