Elche, in Spanish, or , in Valencian (officially: / ), is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. With of 242,317 inhabitants as of 2024, it is the 3rd-most populated municipality in the region. 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. Elche is the centre of the footwear industry in Spain. The main airport of the province of Alicante (Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport) is located inside Elche's municipality, and it serves both Elche and Alicante, being the fifth-busiest airport in Spain.
Together with Alicante and other municipalities, Elche forms a conurbation of around 0.8 million inhabitants. The city is noted for its urban Palm Grove, designated as World Heritage Site.
History Ancient Ilici
Located within the current municipal limits 3 km from the current city's location downstream of the Vinalopó, the neighbouring site of La Alcudia/Ilici achieved the consolidation of its urban structure already by the early 5th century BCE, eventually becoming the centre of power of a local Phocaean-Iberian amphictyony in the Lower Vinapoló and Segura region. It resurfaced as a colonia under Roman rule, connected to maritime transport via the , and became a bishopric in late antiquity. After the Treaty of Tudmir and particularly upon the 9th century development of Murcia as the new centre of Umayyad power in southeastern Iberia, the site underwent decay.
Middle Ages
Parallel to the decay of the site of former Ilici, the founding of scattered rural settlements (alquerías) and the new Islamic city of Madinat Ilš on the current location took place. Featuring an almost rectangular floor plan, the Islamic city of Madinat Ilš was endowed with a walled perimeter, dated from the second half of the 10th century to the first third of the 11th century. The city walls were refurbished and improved in the 12th century under the rule of Ibn Mardanīsh over the Taifa of Murcia.
In the 13th century, the taifa of Murcia underwent vassalization to Castile and, following the Mudéjar Revolt, its eventual eventual military conquest by Aragonese forces on behalf of Castile. Previously attached to the Lordship of Villena, the disputed rule over Elche was settled in favour of the Crown of Aragon following the 1304 Sentence of Torrellas and the 1305 Treaty of Elche, and so it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Valencia.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the population in the Lower Vinalopó area remained mainly Muslim, and Elche constituted, together with Crevillent, the top in terms of fiscal contributions to the Crown all over the . While being nothing more than a modest town halfway Alicante and Orihuela throughout the middle ages under Christian rule, Elche also had a small but noted Jewish community. Similarly to other Jewish communities within the Governorate of Orihuela, the local aljama was granted privileges under the reign of James II, eliciting antisemitic backslash. Likewise, although its insertion in international trade networks was handicapped by the prowess of the neighbouring port of Alicante, the town developed nonetheless a certain degree of commercial dynamism in the Late Middle Ages.
Modern era
The urban patricians consistently opposed the creation of the lordship in Elche in 1470 and its subsequent separation from royal domain. In line with the longstanding resent to the seigneurial rule of the Cárdenas, Elche was active in the early 16th-century Revolt of the Brotherhoods. As in other towns of the Kingdom of Valencia with sizeable Muslim population, the mudéjares in Elche sided with the monarchy and the aristocracy against the brotherhoods. Towards 1563, the moriscos amounted to a 40% of the population.
In a context of droughts and scarcity suffered in the area during the (one of the pulses of the Little Ice Age) in the late 18th century, an anti-seigneurial revolt erupted in Elche in the Spring of 1766. The town 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. Elche was granted the title of city by King Amadeo in 1871. The espadrille industry developed in the 19th century, eventually becoming the leading Spanish municipality at producing textile footwear. By the late century, local entrepreneurs began to invest in leather footwear factories. The footwear industry grew during the Great War and thereafter.
Geography The city is known for the Palmeral de Elche, that is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the only palm grove in Europe with North African origins and the largest on the continent. The Palm Grove also constitutes the northernmost and one of the largest palm groves in the world. Today, the city of Elche contains 97 orchards composed of 70,000 date palms, concentrated in the east bank of the Vinalopó. Outside the Elche city domain, other large plantations contain approximately 130,000 date palms. In total, Elche and its vicinity hold 200,000 palms. The Palm Grove ranges over 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi), including 1.5 km2 (0.58 sq mi) within the city of Elche. The Palm Grove of Elche comprises the National Artistic Garden, Palm Grove Museum, Route of El Palmeral, and Municipal Park.
It shares borders with Santa Pola, Guardamar del Segura, San Fulgencio, Dolores, Catral, Crevillent, Aspe, Monforte del Cid and Alicante. The most remarkable landform is Vinalopó River.
According to the Spanish Statistical Institute, there are 20 localities in the municipality besides the main town. The main town had a population of 190,821 in 2019 The number of people living in the other localities came up to 41,821 in the same year. Algoda was home to 2,650 people, Algorós has a population of 638, Altabix was inhabited by 2,829 people, El Altet was home to 5,750 people Atsavares was home to 1,328 people, Asprella had a population of 403, Las Bayas was home to 2,975 people, Carrús was inhabited by 1,300 people, Daimés had a population of 1,190, El Derramador was home to 419 people, La Foia was inhabited by 2,804 people, Jubalcoi had a population of 1,215, El Pla de Sant Josep was home to 2,411 people, Maitino was inhabited by 890 people, La Marina had a population of 2,008, La Perleta was home to 1,376 people, Puçol was inhabited by 900 people, Torrellano had a population of 7,480, Vallverda was home to 1,767 people and Los Arenales del Sol was inhabited by 2,019 people.
The local government also acknowledges Matola, which is part of Algoda according to the Spanish Statistical Institute; Penya de les Àguiles, which is part of El Pla de Sant Josep according to the same institution, and Santa Anna, which is not recognised by the Statistical Institute.
Climate Elche has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh) close to a desert climate (BWh)Clima de Elche. Universidad Miguel Hernández with mild, dry winters and hot, dry summers. The city enjoys between 2,900 and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year and the rainfall is scarce year-round.
Elche's annual average temperature is above . The hottest temperature ever recorded was on 12 July 2021 while the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 12 February 1956.
Demographics
As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 41,700, equal to 17.2% of the total population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are Colombians (7,323), Moroccans (5,975), Romanians (2,727), Argentinians (2,377) and Ecuadorians (2,014). +Foreign population by country of birth (2024)CountryPopulation7,3235,9752,7272,3772,0141,9681,6991,5811,4941,421906837835731656
Economy
The economy of Elche is based, in large part, on the footwear industry, with over 1,000 shoe factories, being one of the most important footwear centres in Spain and the rest of Europe with brands like Pura Lopez, Kelme or . There are other economic activities in Elche: agriculture (dates, olives, cereals and pomegranates), although it has lost importance in recent years; rubber industry; trade, which employs 20% of the workforce; aerospace (PLD Space); and tourism.
Elche has a conference centre (called Ciutat d'Elx), an international airport (Aeropuerto de Alicante), a public University, Universidad Miguel Hernández, and a private University, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera.
Culture
Cultural theatrical spaces
The Grand Theater The Elche Grand Theater is a theatrical space constructed at the beginning of the 20th Century, created by the architect Alfonso Garín. It was opened in 1920 with the name Kursaal Theater. The interior of the room is in a horseshoe shape, where an orchestra section in front of the stage and two amphitheaters with box seats on the sides can be found. At the beginning of the 90s, the building was acquired by the local government, becoming municipal property. After a reform, the theater was reopened on May 16, 1996, by Queen Sofía. The theater is found in the historical area of the city, very close to the Glorieta. The Grand Theater houses all types of theatrical, dance, and musical performances.
L’Escorxador Centre for Contemporary Culture Opened on November 7, 2008, in the installations of the old Elche Slaughterhouse - constructed in the decade of 1940 - is a 5000 m2 space oriented to the young public. The complex is divided into four pavilions: in the first one there is a theatrical space with more than 150 chairs, allocated for housing theatrical, resonant, and visual art shows; the second pavilion, called The Nave, is home to the multipurpose room where plastic art exhibitions, as well as open essays and special representations of performance, theater and music, are celebrated; in the third, rehearsal rooms that are available for rent, loan or assignment for the sound arts can be found; the fourth pavilion is the most spacious of the four, and houses the different studios that the center has as well as a small room of temporary exhibitions called Sala Lanart. In addition to the pavilions, the centre has - since 2009 - a terrace in which performances and projections can be carried out outside.
La Llotja Cultural Room The room is located in the remodelled installations of the old fruit and vegetable market from the Altabix neighbourhood constructed between 1941 and 1942. It was opened on April 12, 2008, and is a place where dance, theater, and music shows intended for young audiences are carried out, as well as school graduations and other events that can take place in it. In the time of elections, it is used as an electoral college.
Museums
Alejandro Ramos Folqués Archaeological and History Museum of Elche The Alejandro Ramos Folqués Archaeological and History Museum of Elche has been turned into an archaeological cultural model at a regional level of great importance. Situated in the interior of the Altamira Palace - in the Elche historical center and very close to Saint María basilica - it was opened on May 18, 2006, with a grand exhibition about Iberic culture, among where the Lady of Elche was found - one of the most significant pieces of Iberic art, transferred temporarily by the National Archaeological Museum for six months (from May 18 to November 1, 2006).
Like a permanent exhibition, the museum offers a general overview of the distinct stages that have been taking place in the city, such as the Neolithic, the Copper Age, the Bronze Age, the Iberian stage, the process of Romanization, the Visigothic era, and the Islamic settlement (current site of the city) until the present.
The archaeological remains come from, among others, the Alcudia site, Elche Park (situated in one of the gardens in the city and which has provided important sculptural remains) and El Arenero de Monforte del Cid.
Festa Museum