YourHolidays - Fun Facts about Spain

We have some interesting and fun facts about Spain you might not know.

- Spain boasts the world’s third largest number of UNESCO world heritage sites with 48.

- Spain is the fourth largest country in Europe by area, 6th in population.

- The first novel was written in Spanish, back in 1605 , Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote. It is considered the first modern novel and regarded as one of the greatest of all time.

- The bull is Spain’s national animal. 

- Corrida (bullfighting). Spain holds a nine-day festival every year in Pamplona where bulls are let go on the streets to chase people. Bull-running is a Spanish tradition dating all the way back to the 14th century. Even though there are countless injuries and even deaths, close to 20,000 adventure seekers run the race every single year.

- The Spanish are quite the inventors... the first known stapler came from Spain, it was made in the 18th century as a present for King Louis XV of France. They also created the astronaut spacesuit in 1935 and the mop and bucket in 1956.

- The tooth fairy is a mouse: in English-speaking countries (and Denmark), when kids lose a tooth, they leave it under their pillow for the Tooth Fairy, in Spain it’s similar but instead of a fairy, they have a mouse. Named Ratoncito Pérez, the little mouse was part of an 1877 story but became part of the Spanish folklore in 1894 when Luis Coloma was contracted to write a story for King Alfonso XIII, who had just lost his tooth at the age of 8. In Catalonia, there are “Els Angelets” (little angels), while in the Basque Country, the mouse is replaced by Mari Teilatukoa (Mary from the roof)!

- The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is still not finished. Construction began on the city’s famous Antoni-Gaudi designed cathedral in 1882 and has been under construction for more than 140 years. It is expected to be completed in 2026.

Find out more about Spain Holidays here: Holidays to Spain