The city that is now Santa Cruz had a few names throughout its history: Añazo or Añaza ( Guanche name), Puerto de Santiago Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Santiago de Tenerife, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (current), which means: 'holy cross of Tenerife,' in memory of the foundation of the city, when a Christian cross was planted in the place that is now the center of town.Ĭastle of St John the Baptist, also known as Castillo Negro Guanche period, conquest and Castilian colonization The area where Santa Cruz currently lies belonged to Menceyato Guanche Anaga, which was the most easterly of the island. 2.1 Guanche period, conquest and Castilian colonization.The city has a status of global city (in Sufficiency category). This fact makes Santa Cruz the third largest municipality in Spain with the highest percentage of natural territory, after Cuenca (87%) and Cáceres (83%). The 82% of the municipal territory of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is considered a natural area, this is due in large part to the presence of the Anaga Rural Park. In 2012, the British newspaper The Guardian included Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the list of the five best places in the world to live, next to the Cihangir district, in Istanbul the district of Sankt Pauli, in Hamburg, the north coast of Maui, in Hawaii and Portland, in the state of Oregon ( United States). In recent years the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has seen the construction of a significant number of modern structures and the city's skyline is the sixth in height across the country, behind Madrid, Benidorm, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao. Santa Cruz de Tenerife hosts the first headquarters of the Center UNESCO in the Canary Islands.

Outside the city but in its municipal district, Playa de Las Teresitas ( Las Teresitas) and a large part of the Macizo de Anaga ( Anaga Massif) stand out, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2015. Other outstanding places are the Plaza de España ( Spain Square), which is the nerve center of the city, and the Parque García Sanabria ( García Sanabria Park), a large urban park located in the center of the city. In the panoramic view of the city, the Torres de Santa Cruz ( Santa Cruz Towers) also stand out, which with 120 meters tallest twin towers in Spain. The varied architecture of the city stands out, highlighting the Auditorio de Tenerife ( Auditorium of Tenerife), which is considered one of the greatest exponents of contemporary architecture. The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife now aspires to become a World Heritage Site, and is the second largest in the world. The city also has one of the world's largest carnivals. It is important for commercial and passenger traffic as well as for being a major stopover for cruisers en route from Europe to the Caribbean. There are several faculties of the La Laguna University in Santa Cruz, including the Fine Arts School and the Naval Sciences Faculty. The city is home to the Parliament of the Canary Islands, the Audience of Accounts of the Canary Islands, the Captaincy General of the Canary Islands, the Canarias Ministry of the Presidency (shared on a four-year cycle with Las Palmas), one half of the Ministries and Boards of the Canarias Government, (the other half being located in Gran Canaria), the Tenerife Provincial Courts and two courts of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands. The city is the focus for domestic and inter-island communications in the Canary Islands. The port is of great importance and is the communications hub between Europe, Africa and Americas, with cruise ships arriving from many nations. Between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927, Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands, until 1927 when a decree ordered that the capital of the Canary Islands be shared, as it remains at present. The distance to the nearest point of mainland Spain is 1,300 kilometres (810 mi). Santa Cruz is located in the northeast quadrant of Tenerife, 210 kilometres (130 mi) off the north-western coast of Africa within the Atlantic Ocean. It is the second largest city in the Canary Islands and the main city on the island of Tenerife, with nearly half of the island's population living in or around it. The urban zone of Santa Cruz extends beyond the city limits with a population of 507,306 and 538,000 within urban area. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its administrative limits. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz ( Spanish: ), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands.

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