Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, belonging to the

province of Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: / ) is a province located in eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province, containing the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Co ...

, in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,Elche supera ya los 228.300 habitantes
INFORMACION.es, December 31, 2008, Editorial Prensa Ibérica making it the third most populated municipality in the region (after

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

) and the 20th largest Spanish municipality. It is part of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

of Baix Vinalopó. Part of the municipality is coastal yet the city proper is roughly away from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. A small creek called

Vinalopó The Vinalopó is a small river flowing through the Province of Alicante, Alicante province, of Spain. It flows from north to south and, with a length of 81 km., it is the longest of the rivers which flows for its entire length within the l ...

flows through the city. Elche is the centre of the footwear industry in Spain. The main airport of the province of

(

Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is an international airport located about southwest of the city of Alicante and about east of the city of Elche in Spain. Alicante–Elche is the busiest airport in south-eastern Spain and serves bot ...

) 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 A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

of some 800,000 inhabitants. The city is noted for its urban Palm Grove, designated as

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

'' L'Alcúdia'' is 10 km from the current city's location and the immediate predecessor of current day Elche. This original location was settled by the

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

and then occupied by

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

and Romans. Greek Ionian colonists from the Achaean city

Helike Helike (; , pronounced , modern ) was an ancient Greek polis or city-state that was submerged by a tsunami in the winter of 373 BC. It was located in the Regional units of Greece, regional unit of Achaea, northern Peloponnesos, two kilometres ( ...

established their new colony, naming it ''Helíkē'' () around 600BC. It was a point of resistance against Carthaginian advance in Spain between the First and

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

s. The Romans called the city ''Ilici'' or ''Illice'' and granted it the status of colonia; after a brief

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

rule, the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

took over, establishing an episcopal see. In 1905, archaeologists uncovered a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

in Elche dating back to the fourth to sixth centuries CE. This dating marks it as the earliest known synagogue in Spain, and marks the presence of an ancient

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community. Elche lost importance during the period of

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

occupation, when it was moved slightly north to its present location.

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...

took the city from the Moors in the 13th century, during the ''

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

''. The city grew throughout the 18th century and became more important during the 19th century with the arrival of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and a booming industrial development of what used to be the traditional footwear industry. Many archaeological remains have been found in Elche, with the stone bust of the '' Lady of Elche'' (''Dama de Elche/Dama d'Elx'' in Spanish and Valencian, respectively) being the most important. This may date from the Iberian period (4th century BC). The original is in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain. Elche was granted the title of city by King Amadeo in 1871. The

espadrille Espadrilles ( or ; ; ; ; ) are casual, rope-soled shoe, rope-soled, flat but sometimes high-heeled footwear, high-heeled shoes. They usually have a canvas or cotton Textile, fabric upper and a flexible Sole (shoe), sole made of esparto rope. Th ...

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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and thereafter.

Geography

The city is known for the Palmeral de Elche, that is an

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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. Date Fruit from Palms in the National Artistic Garden

Date Fruit from Palms in the National Artistic Garden

It shares borders with Santa Pola, Guardamar del Segura, San Fulgencio, Dolores, Catral, Crevillent, Aspe, Montforte del Cid and

. 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 Jose 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.

Demographics

10.497% inhabitants are foreigners – 3.267% come from other countries of Europe, 3.369% are African, 2.46% are American, 1.139% are Asian and 15 people from Oceania and stateless people reside in the municipality. The table below shows the population trend of 20th and 21st centuries by the beginning of their decades.

Economy

The economy of Elche is based, in large part, on the

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

industry, with over 1,000 shoe factories, being one of the most important footwear centres in Spain and the rest of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with brands like

Pura Lopez Pura Lopez (born 29 September 1962 in Elche, Spain) is a Spanish shoe designer, director of the design department of the Pura Lopez brand. She is a shoe designer for Royal Family members and Spanish cinema. Early life Pura Lopez was born in El ...

, Kelme or . There are other economic activities in Elche:

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

( dates,

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

s and

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

s), although it has lost importance in recent years;

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

industry;

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

, which employs 20% of the workforce; aerospace (

PLD Space Payload Aerospace S.L. (PLD Space) is a Spanish company developing two partially-reusable launch vehicles called Miura 1 and Miura 5. Miura 1 is designed as a sounding rocket for sub-orbital flights to perform research or technology development i ...

); and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Elche has a conference centre (called ''Ciutat d'Elx''), an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

('' Aeropuerto de Alicante''), a public University, Universidad Miguel Hernández, and a private University,

Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera CEU Cardenal Herrera University (in Spanish: ''Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera'') is a private university located in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the Centro de Estudios Universitarios, CEU Foundation, being the first private sc ...

Climate

Elche has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''BSh'') close to a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(''BWh'') 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.

Main sights

* Palmeral of Elche ("The Palm Grove of Elche", ''Palmerar d'Elx'' in Valencian). It is an orchard of over 200,000

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

s that was declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 2000. * Altamira Castle, also known as ''Alcázar de la Señoría'', located next to the Municipal Park (which, in turn, is a part of the Elche Palm Grove). It was originally built in

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

times (12th-13th centuries), and was later renovated with brick exterior in the 15th century. A former fortress, in 1913 it became a fabric plant, it has also been used as the town hall and as a prison during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, while today is home to the Elche Archaeology and History Museum. * ''Baños Arabes'' (Arabic Baths), which re-uses old Roman baths. * Basilica of Santa Maria: The current temple was built in 1672. Previously, there were other temples in the same place, but they disappeared owing to several factors. It has a la Latin-cross plan, a large nave and four side chapels. A large dome has been constructed over the crossing. * Calahorra Tower, of rectangular plan and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

origin, it represents the last relic of the old city walls. * ''Municipio'' (Town Hall): it includes a tower named ''la torre del consell'', and it is the most ancient structure in the south of the

. It was built in the mid-15th century. * ''Convento de la Merced'': it was built in a place where there were Arabic baths. It dates back to 1270, when the prince Juan Manuel bestowed the baths to the grand master of a religious order. * ''

Huerto del Cura Huerto is a municipality located in the Monegros comarca, province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 253 inhabitants. Villages *Huerto * Usón * Venta de Ballerías See also * Li ...

'': it is part of the ''Palmeral of Elche'' and hosts nearly 500 palm trees''.'' There are individuals of the imperial palm species. * Elche Palaeontological Museum: more than 1,200 fossils are on display in the museum. Some elements such as remains of mastodons and replicas of dinosaurs are placed in the building. * Elche Municipal Festa Museum: it was built in 1997 and it hosts elements about the ''Misteri d'Elx'' performance. * Palm Groves Museum: This museum is allocated in a traditional 19th century building. This museum is devoted to the history, the evolution and the characteristics of the ''Palmeral of Elche''. The Mystery Play of Elx (better known as ''Misteri d'Elx'', in Valencian) is a sacral-lyrical medieval drama, dated from the 15th century, which was declared a

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage—such traditions, rituals, dance, and knowledge—and ...

in 2002. It is played every year in mid August, in the context of the local holidays dedicated to the Assumption of Virgin Mary. Also as a part of this celebration, on the 13th of August is the date of a celebration in Elche called Nit de l'Albà (Night of the Dawn) in which a citywide night-long show of fireworks takes place.

Transport

The Alicante–Elche Airport, the fifth-busiest in Spain is located in the municipality of Elche, around east from the city centre. There is a railway linking

and Murcia del Carmen which runs through a tunnel underneath the city, with two underground stations; Elche-Parque () and Elche-Carrús (). These are served by line C–1 of the

Cercanías Murcia/Alicante Cercanías Murcia/Alicante is a commuter rail service (''cercanías'') in the provinces of Alicante province, Alicante and Region of Murcia, Murcia. The line connects Alicante and Murcia with San Vicente del Raspeig, Elche, Orihuela, Totana, Lorc ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

service, along with Media Distancia trains between Valencia Nord station and Murcia. The Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network was extended to reach a new station named Elche-Matola in 2021, branching off from the line to Alicante near

Monforte del Cid Monforte del Cid is a village in the province of Alicante and autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The municipality covers an area of and as of 2011 had a population of 7,771 people. Toponymy See also: Mons Fortis (toponym) . In the thi ...

. The new

AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...

station contains parking space for 500 cars and 50 motorcycles. Urban buses ( ''Autobuses Urbanos de Elche S.A''.), operate a number of circular routes throughout the city, and since 2025, also operate services to the hamlets surrounding the city. These service the high speed AVE station Elche-Matola, Alicante–Elche Airport and nearly costal hamlets of El Altet, Arenales del Sol and La Marina. The city's bus station is serviced by a number of companies offering regional and long distance destinations. The Elx Rodalia service, operated by Vectalia Movilidad, connects the city with nearby destinations like

, Crevillente and

Santa Pola Santa Pola (; ) is a coastal town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó in the Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and has a population of 36,174 inhabitants of whom 6,000 are residents of the nearby to ...

. The transport company Alsa, offer bus services to destinations further afield like,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. The Autopista AP-7 (Autopista del Mediterráneo) which serves the east and southern coastlines of the country, serves the outskirts of the city.

Festivities

* Holy Week: as generally in Spain, several

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

s (festive religious parades) occur during the festive period. with the Elche Palm Sunday Procession being a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest * Moros i Cristians: it occurs in the first fortnight of August. The theme of this festivity is the Muslim rule that occurred in the High Middle Ages and part of the Late Middle Ages and the battles which took place between Christians and Muslims as a consequence of this occupation. A more specific subject of this festivity is the ''

''. * Nit de la Roà: it takes place in mid August. * Christmas: A nativity scene is placed in the town and a living nativity scene also occurs during the festive period. A parade which theme is the Three Wise Men is also performed in the Epiphany's Eve (5 January).

Notable people

* Marceliano Coquillat (1865–1924), architect *

Saúl Ñíguez Saul is a masculine given name of Hebrew language, Hebrew origin. It is the English form of ''שָׁאוּל‎'', the Hebrew name of the Biblical King Saul. The name translates to "asked for/borrowed". People named Saul include: * Saul Adadi (1 ...

(born 1994), footballer. He is currently playing in Liga BBVA for Atlético de Madrid. * Aarón Ñíguez (born 1989), footballer * Sílvia Soler Espinosa (born 1987), former tennis player. She played in tournaments in the WTA. Her record position was semifinalist in the Strasbourg tour. *

Francisco Mojica Francisco Juan Martínez Mojica (born 5 October 1963) is a Spanish molecular biologist and microbiologist at the University of Alicante in Spain. He is known for his discovery of repetitive, functional DNA sequences in bacteria which he named CR ...

(born 1963), microbiologist, noted for his research on the

CRISPR CRISPR (; acronym of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. Each sequence within an individual prokaryotic CRISPR is d ...

gene editing technique

Twin towns

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France (since 1981) * San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Spain (since 1982) *

Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese language, Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca (province), Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón (river), ...

, Spain (since 1984)

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 in 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

The Festa Museum, about the Mystery of Elche, originated with the intention of showing La Festa to the visitors that come to the city throughout the year. The museum is made of two rooms: the first is where scenic tradition that involves the Mystery is collected, which can be posters, sketches, crowns, costumes, guitars...and the other is a more dynamic room, where new technologies are used, combining many visual images like typical smells and sounds from La Festa. Part of the museum is located in what was Saint Sebastian's Shrine, which is also closely linked to Assumptionist drama and was restored for the purpose of creating the museum. Palm Grove Museum (Palmeral Museum)

Museo del Palmeral

The Palm Grove Museum, found in a traditional house of the Garden of Saint Placidus (Huerto de San Plácido), close to the Garden of Healing (Huerto del Cura). The museum is dedicated to recognizing the municipal relationship with the palm groves. It shows the origins, history, culture of the palm grove, as well as the uses and its evolution. In the rooms, an overview of the history of the Palm Grove is shown through videos, panels, demonstrative elements and sounds, which continues with a visit to its own garden outside.

The Traditional Culture Centre Pusol School Museum

The Traditional Culture Center Pusol School Museum was created in the year 1969 as an activity linked to the Pedagogical Project “The School and its Fear,” which developed the study of the purposes and traditions of the Field of Elche (Campo de Elche). In the museum, unique collections are housed that show distinct ethnological aspects (agriculture, business, industry, folklore, traditions, etc.) available for scientific studies at all levels. In 2009, it was included by UNESCO in the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices for Intangible Cultural Heritage. In addition to these, other museums and places of interest exist in Elche: * Paleontological Museum in the plaza of Saint Juan Church. * Alcudia Museum, situated in the archaeological site where the Lady of Elche was found. * Museum of Contemporary Art, in the Raval neighborhood. * Museum of the Assumption of the Virgin, Patron Saint of Elche Museum dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin. * Visitors center in the Municipal Park, with audiovisual projections about the city. * Municipal Centre of Exhibitions, with seasonal nature exhibitions. * The Centre of Exhibitions of the Lonja, which is situated on the first floor of the Town Hall, occasionally houses exhibitions, primarily with themes related to the city. * Espai d’Art, which is a walk near the Municipal Park where we can contemplate contemporary art sculptures. * Arabian baths, which are found in the inside of the Clarisas Convent.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. "Elche". Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Feb. 2014, https://www.britannica.com/place/Elche. * The Editors of Spain.info. “Tourism in Elche.” Spain.info, https://www.spain.info/en/destination/elche-elx/. * The Editors of WordReference. “Word Reference.” Wordreference.com, n.d., https://www.wordreference.com/. * The Editors of Wiktionary. "Dándose." Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. 25 May 2017, https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=d%C3%A1ndose&oldid=44505375. * Royuela, María. “The Register of Good Safeguarding Practices for Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Pusol School Museum.” ResearchGate, Dec. 2018, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341119955_The_Register_of_Good_Safeguarding_Practices_for_Intangible_Cultural_Heritage_The_Pusol_School_Museum. * *