The port's history

Venue for port-related activities

The history of the Port of Santander spans more than two thousand years. We could compare the port to a living being and we wouldn't be far off the mark. Its characteristics (development, growth, reproduction and adaptability) are very similar to those of a living being, because the port has also developed, aiming to adapt to the needs and demands of its social environment over the years.

A period of twenty centuries has passed from the first recorded historical references of the port to the present day and three moments particularly stand out:

• “Portus Victoriae”, the Roman Port

  When the Romans finally conquered Cantabria at the end of the 1st century BC and up until the third century of our Era, the Bay of Santander was occupied and used by the Romans where they founded a port called "Portus Victoriae" or Port of Victory. Separately from the existence of other docking locations inland from the bay area, archaeological research has located this port next to the now disappeared ria Becedo, which today is the area between the Town Hall Square and the Calle Calvo Sotelo and the acropolis* on the Somorrostro hill, where the cathedral now stands

  This small port enclave, the beginning of what is today Santander, depended on the inland city of Julióbriga, which is the area surrounding what is now Reinosa, and was linked to this city and the Castilian massif by a road that ran parallel to the river Besaya. During this period, the Port of Victory established itself as an active centre for exporting minerals from the Cabárceno, Obregón and Navajeda sites and a fairly sizeable centre for navigation and trade carried out in this period between the ports on the Cantabrian coast.

• “Portus Sancti Emeterii”, the Medieval Port

  In the Middle Ages, the San Emeterio Church was built on the ruins of the old Roman settlement in Somorrostro. A small, sea town was built around this monastic centre. In 1187, King Alfonso VIII granted this town a number of privileges that helped its sea status and allowed it to become one of the most important gateways from Castile to the sea: a fishing port operating along the whole of the Cantabrian coast and on French and Irish coasts as well; a commercial centre where the fleets in charge of exporting Castilian wool to the north of Europe congregated; a naval base from where the royal navy was organised; and a shipyard for building and maintaining the fleets of ships.

  The boom in these activities drove the town's and the port's demographic, economic and spatial growth. The town centre, which had developed under the protection of the Collegiate Church and the San Felipe Castle, and which only had six streets at the end of the 12th century, expanded to the other side of the ria Becedo. Thus, the town was organised into two areas: the oldest area, called Puebla Vieja, perched on the top of the Somorrostro hill, and Puebla Nueva, which was built on the flat area on the other side of the port. In order to protect the inhabitants of both areas, a city wall was built.

  But the growth in population resulted in new buildings being built outside the fortified area, known as the poor quarter. The buildings were erected next to the main gates: the quarter known as "Fuera de la Puerta", located next to Puebla Vieja in what is now the Calle Alta and the quarter known as "la Mar", built on a beach in the area that is today known as the Calle de la Arrabal.

  Throughout the Middle Ages, the port remained on the ria Becedo with two towers marking the entrance. With this natural dock as the base, significant modifications and work were carried out, such as the wooden quays on the banks of the ria, the bridge that linked the two urban areas, or the Reales Atarazanas, a large building used to store warships, which considerably reduced their size. In order to increase the port's capacity during the second half of the 15th century, building started on a dock outside the city walls called the "Naos" quay, which was at the foot of the castle. This external port was finished in the Renaissance when during the middle of the 16th century, work started on the so-called "Muelle Largo" or "Long Quay", which closed the dock to the east. From then on, and up until the middle of the 18th century, the town and the port hardly underwent any changes at all.

• Santander, Colonial metropolis

Santander, Colonial metropolis

The levels of water in the bay during high tide* might make us think that the sea bed is smooth, like the bottom of a glass of water. During low tide* however, we can see that large sandbanks and marshlands* are left uncovered, particularly on the banks and at the mouths of the rias and in the central area and on the west coast of the estuary. In fact, the depth* of the bay varies greatly in different places and at some points reaches depths of up to 15 metres. Information about the topography* of the sea bed is called bathymetry.

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Vista panorámica del puerto

The bay's exceptional natural conditions have meant that a large number of communities have settled and developed on the shore. In fact, 45% of the inhabitants of Cantabria currently live in the seven municipalities located on the shore. Santander, Maliaño and Astillero have the highest number of inhabitants.

In order to provide them with everything they needed, the settlers used the resources of the bay and its surrounding area in such a way that today, important agricultural and livestock*, urban, industrial, commercial and leisure etc. activities coexist along the shores of the bay, making it Cantabria's main financial and social centre.

One of the most important and traditional activities in the Bay of Santander is transport. This includes activities designed to make the movement of people and things between different geographical areas easier. In our bay, we are lucky to have examples of the three methods of transport that have allowed us to move goods and individuals throughout history: land, sea and air.

In order to transport people and goods, we need to prepare the earth's crust and we call the result of this preparation work transport infrastructures. In terms of land transport, these infrastructures can be identified as roads, motorways, freight centres, railways and train stations; in terms of air transport the infrastructures are airports and for sea transport these infrastructures are the ports. In the Bay of Santander, these different means of transport are linked to each other and make up an important "communication hub".

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Panoramic view of the port

The size of the Bay of Santander, its depths, the fact that it is sheltered from prevailing northern winds and its entrance, which is protected from storms by the Magdalena Peninsula, make this estuary the best natural port on the Cantabrian coast.

As you will have noticed, the main port facilities at Santander are located on the northern and eastern shores of the bay, lining the channel. Currently, the Port of Santander has a surface area of around three million square metres. Can you imagine an area that big? To give you an idea, the port is the same size as 277 football pitches placed side by side.

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Panoramic view of the port

Originally, the Bay of Santander measured 44,467,000 m2. Currently, this area has been reduced to half that size. The majority of this lost space is a result of the draining, filling and enclosing activities undertaken by man since the end of the19th century when the mining, industrial and urban activities undertaken in the bay and the surrounding area were expanded.

Today, almost half of the sea area taken from the bay (41%) is used for agricultural and livestock purposes, areas that were originally filled in as a result of the dumping of mineral waste and with the contents of tips. The remaining occupied area is used for urban and industrial activities, transport infrastructures, etc. The whole area of land where port activities are carried out has been taken from the sea and now totals 13.5% in relation to the total area taken from the bay.

To give you an idea of the proportions of these figures and for you to be able to make comparisons, look at these three numbers. The biggest of them represents the bay's original surface area. The second number represents the area that man has occupied up until today and the third figure represents the area that the port currently uses.

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