"Mérida (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmeɾiða]) is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It is situated in to the north of the province of ...
Badajoz. The population is 60,119 in 2017. The Augusta Emerita has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993. Merida is geographically located in the centre of the region of Extremadura, at an altitude of 217 meters. Crossed by the Guadiana and Albarregas rivers, it is, together with Badajoz, ecclesiastically the metropolitan seat of the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz.
Merida was founded as a Roman colony in 25 AD under the order of the emperor Augustus to serve as a retreat for the veteran soldiers (emeritus) of the legions V Alaudae and X Gemina. The city, one of the most important in Roman Hispania, was endowed with all the comforts of a large Roman city and served as capital of the Roman province of Lusitania since its founding and as the capital of the entire Diocese of Hispania during the fourth century. Following invasions from the Visigoths, Merida remained an important city of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the 6th century. In the 713, the city was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate, and remained under Muslim rule. The Mozarabic people of the island rebelled repeatedly against the Caliphate authorities in the 9th century and the city began a slow decline. Merida was reconquered by the Christian troops of Alfonso IX of León in 1230. In 1983, it was designated the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura." - (en.wikipedia.org 02.02.2020)
- Latitude38.91667175293
- Longitude-6.3333301544189