Petrer

Petrer, in Valencian (known in Spanish as Petrel), is a town and municipality located in the comarca of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante of the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. Petrer joins together with the city of Elda to form a conurbation of nearly 100,000 inhabitants. The creek Rambla dels Molins (Riverbed of the Mills), a tributary of the river Vinalopó, runs through the urban area of Petrer. The economy of Petrer is based on the industries of footwear, furs, plastics, construction materials and pottery. The most important monuments in Petrer are the Catholic church of Sant Bartolomeu (Saint Bartholomew), the Arab castle and the hermitages of Sant Bonifaci and Christ. The Moros i Cristians (Moors and Christians) festival of Petrer attracts many tourists each year. Valencian is the main language of the town, however in neighbouring Elda the main language is Spanish.