León (, , ; ; ) is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the
Region of León
The Region of León, Leonese region or Leonese Country ( Leonese: ''País Llionés'', es, región de León and ast, rexón de Llión) is a historic territory defined by the 1833 Spanish administrative organisation. The Leonese region encompa ...
and in the northwestern part of the
autonomous community
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
of
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
.
About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the capital,
León. The climate is dry, cold in winter and hot in summer. This creates the perfect environment for wine and all types of cold meats and sausages like the leonese “Morcilla” and the “Cecina”.
There are two famous
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
cathedrals in the province, the main one in León and another in
Astorga. The province shares the
Picos de Europa National Park
The Picos de Europa National Park ( es, Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa) is a National Park in the Picos de Europa mountain range, in northern Spain. It is within the boundaries of three autonomous communities, Asturias, Cantabria and Castil ...
(in the
Picos de Europa
The Picos de Europa ("Peaks of Europe", also the Picos) are a mountain range extending for about , forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain.
The range is situated in the Autonomous Communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castil ...
mountain range) with
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
and
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
. It has 211 municipalities.
History
The province of León was established in 1833 with the
new Spanish administrative organisation of regions and provinces to replace former kingdoms. The
Leonese Region Leonese may refer to:
*Leonese people
*Leonese language
Leonese ( ast-leo, Llionés, ast, Lleonés) is a set of vernacular Romance language varieties currently spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León in ...
was composed of the provinces of León,
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
and
Zamora.
Until 1833, the independently administered
Kingdom of León, situated in the northwest region of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, retained the status of a
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
, although
dynastic union
A dynastic union is a type of union with only two different states that are governed under the same dynasty, with their boundaries, their laws, and their interests remaining distinct from each other.
Historical examples
Union of Kingdom of Arag ...
had brought it into the
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
. The Kingdom of León was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
along the
northern coast of the peninsula shifted their main seat from
Oviedo
Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...
to the city of
León. The Atlantic provinces became the
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...
in 1139.
The eastern, inland part of the kingdom was joined dynastically to the
Kingdom of Castile
The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th cent ...
first in 1037–1065, again 1077–1109 and 1126–1157, 1230–1296 and from 1301 onward. (See
Castile and León#Historic union of the Kingdoms of Castile and León.) León retained the status of a kingdom until 1833, being composed by ''Adelantamientos Mayores'', where Leonese Adelantamiento consisted of the territories between the
Picos de Europa
The Picos de Europa ("Peaks of Europe", also the Picos) are a mountain range extending for about , forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain.
The range is situated in the Autonomous Communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castil ...
and the
Duero River
The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...
.
According to UNESCO, in 1188 the Kingdom of León developed the first Parliament in Europe. In 1202 its parliament approved economic legislation to regulate trade and guilds.
Population
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7)
id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:30
PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:600
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:50 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
PlotData=
color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till
bar:1877 from:0 till:358 text:357,944
bar:1887 from:0 till:389 text:389,233
bar:1900 from:0 till:401 text:401,172
bar:1910 from:0 till:419 text:419,226
bar:1920 from:0 till:436 text:436,369
bar:1930 from:0 till:462 text:461,560
bar:1940 from:0 till:509 text:508,613
bar:1950 from:0 till:551 text:551,072
bar:1960 from:0 till:591 text:591,130
bar:1970 from:0 till:563 text:562,766
bar:1980 from:0 till:524 text:523,607
bar:1990 from:0 till:526 text:525,896
bar:2000 from:0 till:489 text:488,751
bar:2010 from:0 till:493 text:493,312
bar:2020 from:0 till:456 text:456,439
TextData=
pos:(35,20) fontsize:M
text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"
Languages
The Provincial Government of León signed accords with language associations for promoting the
Leonese language
Leonese ( ast-leo, Llionés, ast, Lleonés) is a set of vernacular Romance language varieties currently spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León in Spain (the modern provinces of León, Zamora, and Sala ...
. Leonese is taught in the city of León,
Mansilla de las Mulas
Mansilla de las Mulas (), ''Mansiella'' in Leonese language, is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2010 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,913 inhabitants.
The town is on ...
,
La Bañeza
La Bañeza () is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2010 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 11,050 inhabitants.
It is the capital of the region of Tierra de La Bañeza.
Zo ...
,
Valencia de Don Juan
Valencia de Don Juan (; ''Coyanza'' in Leonese language) is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. In 2013, the municipality had a population of 5,199.
Originally, Valencia de Don Juan was named Comeniaca and C ...
or
Ponferrada
Ponferrada () is a city of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Ponferrada, the second most populated municipality of the Province of León, is also the capital city of El Bierzo, the only ''comarca'' recognized as a ...
for adult people, and in sixteen schools of León. The City Council of León writes some of its announcements in Leonese in order to promote the language.
In the western part of the
El Bierzo
El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a ''comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital.
The territory of El Bierzo includes m ...
, the westernmost region of the province,
Galician language is spoken and taught at schools.
Climate
![Arquitectura tradicional de El Bierzo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Arquitectura_tradicional_de_El_Bierzo.jpg)
As for the temperatures, in general it is a cold climate due to the altitude and the abundance of frost (which persist from November to May), being more intense in the mountainous areas reaching -18 °C. Vega de Liordes, an enclave in the León sector of Picos de Europa belonging to the municipality of
Posada de Valdeón registered on January 7, 2021.
Cuisine
''Embutidos''
* ''
Cecina de León'': from beef. In the
Leonese language
Leonese ( ast-leo, Llionés, ast, Lleonés) is a set of vernacular Romance language varieties currently spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León in Spain (the modern provinces of León, Zamora, and Sala ...
, ''cecina'' means "meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke". ''Cecina de León'' is made of the hind legs of beef, salted, smoked and air-dried in the province of León, and has
PGI status.
* ''
Botillo
Botillo (), Butiellu () or Botelo (, ; also known as in Portuguese) is a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine. It is a culinary specialty of El Bierzo, a county in the Spanish province of León and also of the region of Trás-os-Montes, in ...
'': from pig. Traditionally made in the western Leonese regions, ''botiellu'' in Leonese or ''botelo'' in Galician, is a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine. It is a culinary specialty of the county of
El Bierzo
El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a ''comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital.
The territory of El Bierzo includes m ...
and also of the region of
Trás-os-Montes in Portugal. This type of ''
embutido
(Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese), (European Portuguese) or (Catalan) is a generic term for cured meat products. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines it as "intestine stuffed with minced meat, mainly pork; intestine stuffed with ...
'' is a meat product made from different pieces left over from the butchering of a pig, including the ribs, tail, and bones with a little meat left on them. These are chopped; seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and other spices; stuffed in the cecum of the pig; and partly cured via smoking. It can also include the pig's tongue, shoulder blade, jaw, and backbone, but never exceeding 20% of the total volume. It is normally consumed cooked, covered with a sheet. It also has a PGI status.
Cheese
* ''Queso de Valdeón (
Valdeón cheese
Queso de Valdeón (''Queisu de Valdión'', in Leonese language) is a Spanish blue cheese from León. The cheese is made in Posada de Valdeón, in the northeast of the province of León, and is wrapped in sycamore maple ('' Acer pseudoplatanu ...
)'': a blue cheese produced in Posada de Valdeon, traditionally wrapped in chestnut or sycamore maple leaves before being sent to market.
Wines
* ''
Bierzo
El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a ''comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital.
The territory of El Bierzo includes m ...
'': in the west of the Province of León and covers about 3,000 km
2. The area consists of numerous small valleys in the mountainous part (Alto Bierzo) and of a wide, flat plain (Bajo Bierzo). The ''
denominación de origen'' covers 23 municipalities.
* ''
Tierra de León'': in the southeast of the Province of León.
Sweets
*
Mantecadas de Astorga
*
Hojaldres
Puff pastry, also known as ', is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out befo ...
de
Astorga
* Lazos de San Guillermo
* Nicanores de
Boñar
The municipality of Boñar () is located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. As per the 2010 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 2,085 inhabitants with almost all of the residents living in the main town of Boñar. ...
Municipalities
*
List of municipalities in León
This is a list of the municipalities in the province of León, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain.
See also
* Geography of Spain
*List of cities in Spain
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of municipalities in Leon
Leon
Leon, Léo ...
Comarcas
*
El Bierzo
El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a ''comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital.
The territory of El Bierzo includes m ...
*
Maragatería
La Maragatería or País de los Maragatos (''Tierra de Maragatos'' in Leonese language), is an ancient historical region or traditional comarca in the landlocked Province of León, Spain. It borders with La Cepeda comarca in the north, La Val ...
*
Tierra de Campos
Tierra de Campos ("Land of Fields") is a large historical and natural region or greater comarca that straddles the provinces of León, Zamora, Valladolid and Palencia, in Castile and León, Spain. It is a vast, desolate plain with practically ...
*
La Montaña
''La Montaña'' ('The Mountain') was a revolutionary socialist periodical published in Argentina. The newspaper was directed by José Ingenieros and Leopoldo Lugones. The first issue was published on April 1, 1897. The first issue opened with a man ...
*
La Ribera
La Ribera (, 'The Shore') is one of the areas of the quarter of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera of Ciutat Vella ("the old city") of Barcelona.
Overview
Many of the buildings date from late Medieval times. It was a well-to-do quarter dur ...
*
La Cabrera
*
Tierras de La Bañeza
*
Tierras de León
Tierra de León or Tierras de León (''Tierras de Llión'' in the Leonese language) is a shire (''comarca'') in the province of León. The city of León, capital of the province, is the biggest city in the comarca.
Municipal terms
See also
* ...
See also
*
Santiago de Peñalba
*
Castrillo de los Polvazares
Castrillo de los Polvazares is a village situated in Leon, in North-west of Spain. It is part of the municipality of Astorga. It's important due to its history, as one of the few places of the “ Maragatería” which still keeps its traditions ...
*
Cave of Valporquero
The cave of Valporquero (la cueva de Valporquero" is located at the north of the Province of León (Spain), near the village of Valporquero de Torío in the municipality of Vegacervera and 47 km away from the capital city, León. Open ...
*
Kingdom of León
*
Leonese language
Leonese ( ast-leo, Llionés, ast, Lleonés) is a set of vernacular Romance language varieties currently spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León in Spain (the modern provinces of León, Zamora, and Sala ...
*
List of municipalities of León
*
Montes de León
The Montes de León ( Spanish for "mountains of León", named after the ancient Kingdom of León) is a mountain range in north-western Spain, in the provinces of León, Zamora and Ourense. This range is located at the confluence of the Cantabri ...
Notes and references
External links
The Official Tourism Website of the Province of LeonLeonese Provincial GovernmentLeonese City Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Province of