Murcia, city in southeastern Spain, capital of Murcia Province and autonomous region, on the Segura River. The surrounding plain, the huerta, is a fertile, irrigated area that produces oranges and other citrus fruits, cereals, olives, peppers, and truck-farm produce. The city is a center for transportation, trade, and tin mining. Its industries include food processing, distilling, and the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, apparel, furniture, and building materials; the silk industry dates from the Middle Ages.
Narrow, twisting streets are found in the old city north of the river, the banks of which are lined with promenades. The baroque 17th-century Ermita de Jesús houses a museum of the art of the city's native sculptor Francisco Salzillo. The Cathedral of Santa María dates from the 14th century and was restored in the 18th century. There is an annual Holy Week procession. The city also has a university (1915) and a provincial museum. By tradition founded by the Moors in the 9th century, Murcia was the capital of an intermittently independent or vassal Moorish kingdom until it was taken over by Castile in 1243. Population (1998 estimate) 349,040.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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