Mahón

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

title: "Mahón" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mahón", "mediterranean-port-cities-and-towns-in-spain", "municipalities-in-menorca", "phoenician-colonies-in-spain", "populated-places-in-menorca"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahón" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Maó
official_name	Maó
settlement_type	Municipality
other_name	Mahón
image_skyline	Mahon Hafen.jpg
image_caption	Maó Harbour
image_flag	Bandera de Mahón (Islas Baleares).svg
image_shield	Escudo de Mahón (Islas Baleares) 2.svg
pushpin_map	Spain Menorca#Spain Balearic Islands#Spain
pushpin_label_position	none
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Menorca
image_map
map_caption	Location of Maó
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Spain
subdivision_type1	Autonomous community
subdivision_name1	Balearic Islands
subdivision_type2	Province
subdivision_name2	Balearic Islands
subdivision_type3	Island
subdivision_name3	Minorca
subdivision_type4	Judicial district
subdivision_name4	Maó
seat_type	Capital
coordinates
elevation_m	72
area_total_km2	117.20
established_title
population_as_of
population_footnotes
population_total
population_demonyms	maonès, maonesa (ca)
mahonés, mahonesa (es)
population_density_km2	auto
timezone	CET
utc_offset	+1
timezone_DST	CEST
utc_offset_DST	+2
postal_code_type	Postal code
postal_code	07700-07714
area_code_type	Dialing code
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Hector Pons Riudavets
leader_party	PSOE
website
::

Maó (, ; formerly spelled Mahó, in Spanish Mahón ()), and also written as Mahon and historically as Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous community of the Balearic Islands.

Maó has one of the longest natural harbours in the world: 5 km long and up to 900 m wide. The water is deep but remains mostly clear due to the port's enclosed nature. Mayonnaise is considered to have originated in Maó.

Its population in 2021 was estimated to be 29,125.

History

The name's origin is attributed to the Carthaginian general Mago Barca, brother to Hannibal, who is thought to have taken refuge there in 205 BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire; it suffered raids from Vikings and Arabs until the Islamic Caliphate of Córdoba conquered it in 903.

Maó was captured in 1287 from the Moors by Alfonso III of Aragon and incorporated into the Kingdom of Majorca, a vassal kingdom of the Crown of Aragon. Its harbour, one of the most strategically important in the western Mediterranean, was refortified.

In 1535, the Ottomans, under Hayreddin Barbarossa, attacked Maó and took 600 captives as slaves back to Algiers, in the Sack of Mahon.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Port_Mahon_1890.jpg" caption="1890 map of Maó and surrounding region"] ::

British rule

Menorca was captured in 1708 by a joint British–Dutch force on behalf of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, during the War of the Spanish Succession. The British saw the island's potential as a naval base and sought to take full control. Its status as a British possession was confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During the island's years as a British dependency, the capital was moved from Ciutadella de Menorca to Mahon, which then served as residence for the governor, the most famous being General Richard Kane. During this period the natural harbour leading to the town and surrounding settlements were sometimes collectively known as "Port Maó" (see adjacent map).

The island was lost to the French in 1756 following the naval Battle of Menorca and the final Siege of Fort St Philip, which took place several miles from the town. After their defeat in the Seven Years' War, France returned the island to the British in 1763. In a joint Franco-Spanish effort and following a long five month invasion, the British surrendered the island again in 1782; It was transferred to Spain in 1783 as part of the Peace of Paris. The British recaptured the island in 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British and the French tried (and failed) to end their hostilities with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Both nations agreed to cede or withdraw from certain territories, with the island of Menorca passing to the Spanish, with whom it has remained since.

The Royal Navy

Main article: Port Mahon Dockyard

A small but important Royal Navy Dockyard was established by the British on the north side of the harbour, opposite the town, in 1715. It served as the Royal Navy's principal Mediterranean base for much of the 18th century, and remains in use today as a Spanish Naval station. Several Dockyard buildings, dating from the 1760s, can still be seen on Illa Pinto (formerly known as Saffron Island) including a Naval Storehouse with clock tower. There recently have been moves to establish a maritime museum here. The island has a distinctive octagonal shape, formed when wharves were constructed around it in the 1760s to enable several warships to be careened there all at once.

The ruins of a former Royal Naval Hospital, founded in 1711, stand on another nearby island (Illa del Rei). They recently have been restored.

File:S'Arsenal, illa des Gegants o d'en Pintot (Maó).JPG|Naval storehouse and careening wharf on Illa Pinto File:IllaDelRei.jpg|The ruined Naval Hospital in 2008 File:Illa del Rei, Mao 2011.jpg|The hospital in 2011, following restoration

20th century

During the Spanish Civil War, the island remained loyal to the Republic, but was captured by the Nationalists in 1939. During the battle to capture the islands from the republicans, Maó was bombed by Francisco Franco's Nationalist bomber planes, with support from Benito Mussolini's Italian Fascist government.

General Franco visited the city on 11 May 1960 to open a new thermal power station. The event was used by the authorities to further promote Francoist Spain.

Modern era

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Mahon-Altstadt.jpg" caption="Historic centre of Maó"] ::

Today it serves as the seat of the Island Council of Menorca (Consell Insular de Menorca).

Towards the end of the 20th century, the renovation of its historic centre was made possible by income from tourism.

A traditional cheese made on the island (Maó cheese) is named after the city. In Spanish Maó is also the name of nankeen, especially the blue cloth.

Sport

Maó has an athletics track in the Carrer de Vasallo, as well as several other sport facilities. The city also has a sports centre with a municipal pool, and 2 tennis clubs.

Football

Maó has several football teams, including UD Maó, CD Menorca and CF Sporting de Maó. The most noteworthy and successful club in Menorcan history, Sporting Mahonés CF, was the only football club in Menorca ever to reach Segunda División B. The team disbanded in 2013, and Sporting de Maó took its place. As of 2024, no team in Maó is in the Tercera Federación or higher.

Basketball

In basketball, Maó has the Pavelló Menorca, with capacity of 5000 spectator. The venue is most known for hosting one of the few teams in the Balearic Islands to be at the Spanish first division of basketball, Liga ACB; that team was Menorca Bàsquet. After staying 5 seasons in their history at Liga ACB, the directors closed the club due to debts.

Maó had to wait 5 years to get another basketball club, CB Menorca, considered by many to be Menorca Bàsquet's phoenix club. After 5 seasons in LEB Plata, on the 2022-23 LEB Plata season CB Menorca gained promotion to LEB Oro, making Menorca host basketball second division matches after a decade, and, in their first LEB Oro season, the team finished 12th.

Notable residents

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Maó_120.PNG" caption="Traditional coat of arms of Maó"] ::

Juan Ramis, lawyer and historian (1746–1819)
Pasqual Calbó i Caldés, painter (1752–1816)
Mathieu Orfila, toxicologist (1787–1853)
Orestes Araújo, Uruguayan historian and educator (1853–1915)
José María Martín Domingo, composer and musician (1889–1961)
Francesc de Borja Moll i Casasnovas, linguist and philologist (1903–1991)
Sergio Llull, basketball player at Real Madrid (born 1987)

Climate

Maó/Menorca has a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with mild, somewhat humid winters and dry, hot summers. Autumn is the wettest season and heavy rain is not rare during October and November.

|location = Menorca Airport 91m (1981–2010) |metric first = yes |single line = yes |Jan high C = 14.1 |Feb high C = 14.2 |Mar high C = 15.9 |Apr high C = 18.0 |May high C = 21.6 |Jun high C = 25.8 |Jul high C = 28.9 |Aug high C = 29.2 |Sep high C = 26.2 |Oct high C = 22.7 |Nov high C = 18.1 |Dec high C = 15.2 |year high C = 20.8 |Jan mean C = 10.8 |Feb mean C = 10.8 |Mar mean C = 12.3 |Apr mean C = 14.3 |May mean C = 17.8 |Jun mean C = 21.8 |Jul mean C = 24.9 |Aug mean C = 25.4 |Sep mean C = 22.6 |Oct mean C = 19.4 |Nov mean C = 14.9 |Dec mean C = 12.1 |year mean C = 17.2 |Jan low C = 7.5 |Feb low C = 7.4 |Mar low C = 8.6 |Apr low C = 10.6 |May low C = 13.9 |Jun low C = 17.8 |Jul low C = 20.8 |Aug low C = 21.5 |Sep low C = 18.9 |Oct low C = 16.1 |Nov low C = 11.6 |Dec low C = 9.0 |year low C = 13.6 |Jan precipitation mm = 52 |Feb precipitation mm = 54 |Mar precipitation mm = 38 |Apr precipitation mm = 45 |May precipitation mm = 37 |Jun precipitation mm = 14 |Jul precipitation mm = 3 |Aug precipitation mm = 20 |Sep precipitation mm = 61 |Oct precipitation mm = 78 |Nov precipitation mm = 88 |Dec precipitation mm = 61 |year precipitation mm = 546 |Jan precipitation days = 7 |Feb precipitation days = 7 |Mar precipitation days = 6 |Apr precipitation days = 6 |May precipitation days = 4 |Jun precipitation days = 2 |Jul precipitation days = 1 |Aug precipitation days = 2 |Sep precipitation days = 5 |Oct precipitation days = 7 |Nov precipitation days = 8 |Dec precipitation days = 9 |year precipitation days = 64 |unit precipitation days = 1 mm |Jan sun = 144 |Feb sun = 146 |Mar sun = 202 |Apr sun = 222 |May sun = 270 |Jun sun = 311 |Jul sun = 347 |Aug sun = 312 |Sep sun = 225 |Oct sun = 183 |Nov sun = 142 |Dec sun = 130 |year sun = 2632 |source 1 = Agencia Estatal de Meteorología |date=November 2015}}

Other

thumb|Municipality of Mahon in Menorca

At , there is a large military Wullenweber antenna for radio direction finding.

Twin towns

ITA Cervia, Italy

References

(2021-02-25). "L'Ajuntament de Maó restitueix el topònim en català com a única forma oficial vuit anys després".
Mitford. (2001). "Madame de Pompadour". NYRB Classics.
"Population of Cities in Spain (2021)".
"Magon Barca".
(July 1999). "Historia antigua de Hispania".
[https://www.menorca.org/es/historia-de-menorca/saqueos-turcos-menorca/ Los saqueos turcos de Menorca] (In Spanish)
"[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTsgAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA251 Minorca]". ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' Volume 15. 8th edition. Edinburgh, Adam and Charles Black, 1858. p. 251.
(2013). "Support for the Fleet: Architecture and Engineering of the Royal Navy's Bases, 1700–1914". English Heritage.
"Information booklet (bilingual Spanish/English)".
Hauser & Wirth has established a gallery on the island.Minder, Raphael; Reyburn, Scott (26 July 2021). "Art Meets Luxury Lifestyle at a Gallery's Sunny New Location". New York Times. Vol. 170, no. 59131. p. C6. ISSN 0362-4331
"Historia".
"Nanquín".
(December 2021). "Valores Climatológicos Normales. Menorca / Aeropuerto".
(December 2021). "Valores Climatológicos Normales. Menorca / Aeropuerto".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::