La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción, often referred to simply as La Línea, is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, and it limits with the Gibraltar–Spain border to the south. La Línea has close economic and social links with the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is part of the comarca of Campo de Gibraltar.
The first dwellings, which date back to the 18th century, were behind the Spanish fortification lines drawn up during the Sieges of Gibraltar which took place during the 18c and 19c wars in Europe.
The population of La Línea was a part of the municipality of San Roque until the community was decreed on 17 January 1870 to be a standalone municipality.
The people of La Línea have traditionally found work in Gibraltar, from the days in the 18th century when Gibraltar was an important naval port.
La Linea was, and still is, a supplier of fresh produce from its open and fertile land area as well as its population supplying workers, mainly for the Gibraltar Dockyard.
This provision stopped with the total closure of the border by the Spanish government between 9 June 1969 and 15 December 1982 as a result of the dispute between Spain and Britain regarding the sovereignty of Gibraltar.
The border was fully reopened on 5 February 1985.
La Línea is a major supplier of fruit and vegetables to Gibraltar; other industries include the manufacture of cork, liquor, and fish paste. It also had an important military garrison with substantial fortifications and a port.
Name
Segregated from the municipality of San Roque in 1870, the municipality of 'La Línea' derives its name from the 'Line of Contravallation' defence structure built after the 1727 siege on Gibraltar. In 1883, it was first recorded under the official name of 'La Línea de la Concepción'.History
The War of Spanish Succession and the British occupation of Gibraltar
When Charles II died in 1700 without an heir to the Crown of Spain, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out between the two main pretenders to the Spanish throne: Philip of Anjou and Charles, Archduke of Austria.Philip was the grandson of Louis XIV of France, and had the support of France. Austria, England, and the Netherlands feared a possible alliance and/or a hypothetical union between the French and Spanish royal houses, and so favoured the Habsburg Charles. In November 1700, Philip was declared king.
The Grand Alliance captured Gibraltar on 3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession after abortive attempts elsewhere. It was selected for its strategic value, weak garrison and to encourage the rejection of Philip V in favour of Charles III. Following orders to respect civilians, officers tried to maintain control but discipline broke down and the men ran amok. After order was restored, despite the surrender agreement promising property and religious rights, most of the population left with the garrison on 7 August citing loyalty to Philip. Several factors influenced the decision including the expectation of a counter attack and the violence during the capture, which ultimately proved disastrous for the Hapsburg cause. The subsequent siege failed to dislodge the Hapsburg forces and the refugees settled around Algeciras and the hermitage of San Roque. In 1711, the British and French Governments started secret negotiations to end the war leading to the cession of Gibraltar to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The municipality of San Roque still has as its motto "La Muy Noble y Más Leal Ciudad de San Roque, donde reside la de Gibraltar ". The town lands included the area of the modern La Línea de la Concepción.
King Felipe V, the name by which Philip of Anjou was crowned, ordered the Marquis de Villadarías to besiege the Plaza de Gibraltar. This first attempt to regain the city was unsuccessful and the Spanish army lifted the siege. However, to monitor the isthmus and to oppose a possible invasion of the rest of the territory, a permanent garrison was established in the area, under the military government of Campo de Gibraltar.
The Contravallation Line or ''La Línea de Gibraltar''
Gibraltar was under constant surveillance and subjected to the unsuccessful Siege of Gibraltar 1727 and the Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783. After the 1727 siege, the Spanish government began the construction of a line of fortifications, the "Contravallation Line" or "La Línea de Gibraltar" thus eventually giving rise to the town La Línea De La Concepción. This would isolate the British outpost from the Spanish mainland.An order was issued on 2 November 1730 to the Director of Engineering Prospero Jorge de Verboom, for the construction of two strongholds, one located to the east and the other at west of the isthmus, both united by a line of fortification, with the aim of preventing the movement and to assert rights over the isthmus, in addition to consolidate the Spanish presence in the area.
Construction began in 1731 on the two major strongholds, known as Santa Bárbara and San Felipe. The first was named in honor of the patroness of the Artillery, located at the east beach, where their remains are still visible. The second took its name to honor King Felipe V, and is situated on the west beach. Between these two strongholds a large wall was built with central square tip diamond shaped bulwarks with their respective bodies, running from Santa Bárbara to San Felipe. All of them were located at equidistant distances and were called Santa Mariana, San Benito, semi-square and body guard of San José, San Fernando and San Carlos.
Construction of this formidable defensive line was completed in 1735; described now as 'Contravallation Line' or La Línea de Gibraltar.
Thus, La Línea originated from a provisional camp made by artisans and merchants who supplied the military and their families in the vicinity of the fortifications erected to besiege Gibraltar.
The bastions of The Line of Gibraltar would remain intact serving the purpose for which they were built until 1810 during the invasion of the Iberian peninsula by Napoleonic troops, leading to the Spanish War of Independence and the Peninsular War.
Fearing that the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte, which had already arrived in the Campo de Gibraltar, might take over the fortresses of La Línea, the Gibraltar Commanding Royal Engineer Charles Holloway decided to blast an opening through them on 14 February 1810. Gibraltar, supported by La Línea, became an important base for Spanish fighters against Napoleon's troops.
After the destruction of the physical line that blocked the passage through the isthmus, the city continued to grow with a strong dependence on Gibraltar, covering all sorts of services to Gibraltar.
In due time, traders, merchants and workers wanted the simple line of buildings to become an independent municipality of San Roque, controlled by the military, landowners and aristocrats. On 17 January 1870 the segregation of La Línea from San Roque was approved.
Some 300 inhabitants were located at Gibraltar Line, the place being named therefore, in Spanish, La Línea. The new municipality included the current Plaza de la Iglesia, Plaza de la Constitución, calle Real, Jardines Street and España Avenue. It had a cemetery, the command, and a customs post, guards and soldiers barracks being located beyond the neighborhood and Espigón far east on the beach.
Properly speaking, La Atunara or Tunara, should not be considered as a contemporary part of the line because its origins date back to some 640 years before the city itself.
On 20 July 1870 La Línea got its first mayor, Lutgardo López Muñoz, chosen by a committee of residents appointed by the provincial council. At the first meeting of the new city hall, it was unanimously decided the name should be La Línea de la Concepción, as the Immaculate Conception was deeply rooted in Spanish army tradition of the time. The name is recorded from 1883.
La Línea was granted the title of 'city' in 1913.
Relations with modern Gibraltar
Dictator Francisco Franco ordered the closure of the border gate with Gibraltar on 8 June 1969, in response to the new Gibraltar Constitution. Many people from La Línea lost their jobs in Gibraltar. The border was reopened on 15 December 1982 with full public access in 1985.Protests were undertaken against the presence of the nuclear submarine HMS Tireless in Gibraltar for repairs in 2001.
In 2010, the People's Party mayor of La Línea, Alejandro Sánchez, attempted to impose a "congestion charge" on people entering or leaving Gibraltar.
In November 2017, Apymell collective of small businesses started accepting Pound sterling as a currency for payment in the town.
2020 British exit from the EU rendered Gibraltar foreign territory, but Spain retains the 'status quo', pending further negotiations. As at 2025, an agreement to avoid a hard border between Gibraltar and Spain appears to have been reached but requires ratification.
The Línea town council has pleaded for the establishment of the town as a new autonomous community of Spain out of Andalusia, with a similar status to that of Ceuta and Melilla. The Supreme Court sentenced that the measure "affects the territorial organization of the State and of the Autonomous Communities, an extremely delicate matter in which any alteration goes beyond purely local interests", thereby bringing down the initiative.
Monuments
Strongholds of San Carlos, Santa Bárbara and San Felipe
18th century military buildings. Built during the siege of Gibraltar as part of the so-called Contravalación Line of Gibraltar, a group of fortifications whose goal was to besiege Gibraltar checking on any UK further expansionist ideas.During the War of Independence, Peninsular War, Spain had initially been allied to France while trying to invade Portugal, but France shortly after turned on its ally, Spain. Forcing the Spanish to ally itself with Great Britain and Portugal against Napoleonic France to regain control of Spain from the French, these fortifications were blown up by the British to avoid falling into the hands of France. Currently, the Ruins of Fort St. Barbara is in a recovery phase, while the Fort San Felipe remnants have appeared recently. Fort San Carlos does not seem to have left preserved evidence.
EU funding was provided in 2023 to La Linea to enable a restoration of the Santa Barbara fort.