Reus

[rey-oos; Sp. re-oos]

Reus, city (1990 pop. 86,407), Tarragona prov., NE Spain, in Catalonia. Since the introduction (18th cent.) by English manufacturers of a cotton-spinning industry, Reus has grown into an important commercial and industrial center.

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Reus

Reus is the capital of the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain.

The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague.

Tourism in Reus

In recent years tourism in Reus has expanded as more and more people flock to the Costa Daurada for their summer holidays or some winter sun.

Recently Reus Airport has started to receive low cost flights from Ryanair and Flybe who fly to Reus from five different European locations. From Reus Airport you can easily reach both the resort town of Salou and one of Europe's biggest theme parks at Port Aventura.

Demography

Reus was for long the second city of Catalonia with a population of 14,440 in 1787 and 27,257 in 1860. It was overtaken by Tarragona and Lleida between 1900 and 1930. According to the 2006 official Spanish census (source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística), Reus is the 9th most populated city in Catalonia and the 59th in Spain.

Flag of Reus

The first flag of Reus was in use from 1774 to 1943. The flag was dark red with the city arms in the centre.

In 1943 the flag was changed because the colour red seemed to be associated with the left, defeated in the civil war (1936-39). As the historic city arms were argent with a heraldic rose the new flag was white with a heraldic rose in the center. Minor changes to the rose in the flag were made after 1943.

Currently the rose has a new version, taken from the city emblem. The emblem itself has official status. This presumably also applies to the flag also but this has not been confirmed by the local government.

History

In 1852 the architect Antoni Gaudí was born in Reus.

On July 20 1996, a bomb planted by ETA at Reus airport injured 53 people, many of them British Further bombs exploded at Cambrils and Salou.

References

Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona:Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).