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. 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 let ...

cathedrals in the province, the main one in León and another in Astorga. The province shares the Picos de Europa National Park (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, def ...

, 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 Kingdom of León was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of

along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of León. The Atlantic provinces became the Kingdom of Portugal 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

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, La Bañeza, Valencia de Don Juan 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

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

, ''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

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)'': a blue cheese produced in Posada de Valdeon, traditionally wrapped in chestnut or sycamore maple leaves before being sent to market. Wines * '' Bierzo'': in the west of the Province of León and covers about 3,000 km². 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 de Astorga * Lazos de San Guillermo * Nicanores de 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

* Maragatería *

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 Ribera * La Cabrera * Tierras de La Bañeza * Tierras de León

Notes and references

External links

The Official Tourism Website of the Province of Leon

Leonese Provincial Government

Leonese City Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Province of