Come to Deltebre, the capital of the Ebro Delta

It is still uncertain how the districts of La Cava and Jesús i Maria were born. Anyway, the first news about the occupation of this territory goes back to the Christian conquest directed by Tortosa in the middle of the 12th century. At that time, the Ebro Delta became a land of ‘use and profit’ for Tortosa’s citizens, being a great source of wealth for its natural resources, such as salt, soda, fish, etc.

In the 17th century, there was a decisive fact for the current citizens of Deltebre: the river changed its course. In this way, the river left the meanders that led him to the mouth of the river by the lands of the Marquesa and Goleró and went straight ahead, just as it does today.

The course of the river could have changed due to the construction of a ditch or ‘cava’ between the curve the river made in the midst of the present urban area of Deltebre and some gaps in the lower part (between the town and the Catxa). In fact, this ditch could have been the origin of the name of La Cava.

There is evidence of the existence of several population centres that lived in isolation in the Pregó, Racó de Bomba and the Galatxo. The change of the course of the river forced them to move to areas closer to the river where there were more natural resources, such as the top of the river bank (Hortets area) and the bottom (former area of La Cava). In this way, both areas welcomed more people who cultivated and built in the middle of the old meander. In the 19th century the new population centre was important enough and in 1818 the bishopric of Tortosa commanded the church of Sant Miquel.

The most significant change for the districts of Jesús i Maria and La Cava was produced with the arrival of the two canals, especially with the left canal in 1912. This canal allowed rice farming to become the main economic resource. The development of this crop was reinforced with the Cambra Arrossera de La Cava, which was founded in 1955, and the Cooperativa Arrossera de Jesús i Maria, which was founded a year after. This would lead to a great population growth in the villages on the left side of the Ebro Delta.

For years, the river, the sailboats for freight transport and the vaporet for passengers, where the main means of transport due to the lack of roads and their bad state. For this reason, the arrival of the Carrilet in 1927 was a real revolution in the transport of this area as it led to external openness. Over the years, all these means of transport disappeared with the improvement of the roads.

Both districts were always completely ignored administratively and in municipal services. That situation generated a great discomfort, so that in the 1930s, both districts joined forces for their first attempt of separation from Tortosa. After years of arduous struggle, on 20th May 1977 both districts gave birth to the village of Deltebre and could finally separate from Tortosa.

This event meant the most relevant change in the provision of necessary services and infrastructure for the future development of Deltebre. Currently, Deltebre is the second largest city in the region of Baix Ebre with about 12,000 inhabitants.