A more likely possibility[citation needed] is that the name simply means "The Crown", which in Galician is A Coroa and in Spanish is La Corona.

The lighthouse atop a skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules' slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of A Coruña, Loukeris (2019).

Autumn is usually mild with spring-like temperatures, but winter is often unsettled and unpredictable, with strong winds and abundant rainfall coming from Atlantic depressions.

In 62 BCE Julius Caesar came to the city (known at the time as Brigantium) in pursuit of the metal trade, establishing commerce with what are now France, England and Portugal.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, A Coruña still had a commercial port connected to foreign countries, but contacts with the Mediterranean were slowly replaced by a more Atlantic-oriented focus.

Some privileges, such as those of disembarking and selling salt without paying taxes, were granted to the city, and it enjoyed a big growth in fishing and mercantile business.

Later, in 1522, Charles V conceded to the city of A Coruña the license to establish the House of Spices, being this the port chosen by Jofre Garcia de Loysa to set his expedition to conquer the Moluccans.

In the late Middle Ages, before the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, a thriving Jewish community created a rich artistic heritage in the city.

In 1520, king Carlos I of Spain, met in the courts of A Coruña and embarked from its harbour to be elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (as Charles V).

A local woman, María Pita, took her dead husband's spear during the siege and killed an enemy captain, rallying support to deny a breach in the wall to the attackers.

Spanish resistance during the war in Galicia was led by Sinforiano López,[citation needed] and A Coruña was the only Galician city that achieved success against the French troops.

were slowly established, but it was maritime trade and migrant travel that attracted Catalan, Belgian, French and English investments.

The international oil shocks of the mid and late 1970s severely disrupted the economy, causing many bankruptcies and high unemployment until the mid-1980s, when slower but steady economic development was resumed.

Another downside's of Mr Vazquez legacy would be his town-planning policies, with big-money pharaoh-like projects with little social impact (shopping centres, Millennium obelisk, etc.).

On 20 January 2006 Vázquez was named ambassador to the Vatican City, and was later replaced by Francisco Javier Losada de Azpiazu.

In the 2011 Municipal Elections, the conservative candidate Carlos Negreira (PP) obtained a majority, the first one for the People's Party in the city since the arrival of democracy.

His remit was to improve the town planning of the city rather than to leave it to the mercy of corrupt, unregulated free-market policies which have left a negative legacy in many areas of the municipality.

[20][21] During the administration of the marquess of Molina, Minister for Naval affairs in the mid-19th century new activities sprang up, but Ferrol never fully returned to its former glory.

The meteoric increase in the population of the City of A Coruña during the years which followed the Spanish Civil War in the mid-20th century was accompanied by the decline in the villages and hamlets of the province as it industrialized.

This fashion started in nearby Ferrol in the 18th century when some of the technicians working for the Royal Dockyards had the idea of using the shape of the back of a warship in a modern building.

In 1208 King Alfonso IX refounded the city at the present site of the Old Town and put it under his personal control, free from allegiance to the clergy or feudal lords.

Companies have grown, especially in sectors such as finance, communication, planning, sales, manufacturing and technical services, making A Coruña the wealthiest metropolitan area of Galicia.

El Corte Inglés, the main department store chain in Spain, has two centers in the city, one of them in the new commercial area Marineda City, opened in April 2011, one of the biggest shopping centers in the EU, which also includes, among others, IKEA and Decathlon stores, cinemas, an ice rink, a bowling court and a kart circuit.

Following a significant oil spill when the Aegean Sea wrecked and exploded, considerable resources have been used in the recovery of the shoreline and strengthening the tourist sector.

International artists like David Copperfield, Maná, Mark Knopfler, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Judas Priest among others have performed there.

Another very popular festival is St. John's Day, which is celebrated on 23 June with bonfires under the night sky on beaches and neighbourhoods all over the city.

It serves mainly Spanish destinations, although there is regular service to London and Lisbon and, in the summer season, to Amsterdam and Paris.

In 2007 the Termaria Casa da Auga complex was opened, which has a gymnasium, a thalassotherapy centre and an indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The mayor between 2015 and 2019 was Xulio Ferreiro, from the Marea Atlántica ("Atlantic Tide") party, who was largely elected in 2015 on an anti-corruption mandate.

One of his main priorities was to reverse some of the very worst examples of town planning policy which has left a negative legacy in many areas of the city and its immediate suburbs.