Ferrol
municipality of Galicia, Spain, in the La Coruña province
Ferrol (Galician: [feˈrɔl] , Spanish: [feˈrol] ) is a city in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in Spain, located in the Rías Altas, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern-day Cape Prior). With a population of 64,358 as of 2024, Ferrol is the 7th-largest city in Galicia. With Eume to the south and Ortegal to the north, Ferrol forms the comarca of Ferrolterra.
Around a hundred years ago, and earlier, the harbour, with its depth, capacity and overall safety, had few equals in Europe; its entrance was very narrow, commanded by forts, and could even be shut by a boom.
Ferrol has been a major naval shipbuilding centre for most of its history, being the capital of the Spanish Navy's Maritime Department of the North since the time of the early Bourbons. In the 17th century, Ferrol held the largest arsenal in Europe. Today, the city contains several major shipbuilding yards belonging to the state-owned Navantia Group.
Ferrol was the birthplace of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1892. The municipality was officially named after him as "El Ferrol del Caudillo" from September 1938 to December 1982. It was also the birthplace of the founder of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Pablo Iglesias, in 1850.
“Ferrol” enters the record as municipality of Galicia, Spain, in the La Coruña province. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ferrol, municipality and Galicia can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Ferrol” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Ferrol, municipality and Galicia provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q485329. VIAF identifies the subject as 125721039. The Library of Congress control number is n2009040913. Authority coordinates are 43.484, -8.233. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024, 1892, 1938 and 1982.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ferrol”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ferrol primary sources, Ferrol archive and Ferrol research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ferrol”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ferrol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.