The Universidad Laboral de Gijón is a large building located in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

(

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 ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) in the parish of Cabueñes. Originally built as a learning center for orphans, it currently hosts several cultural institutions.

History

Built between 1946 and 1955 by the Ministry of Labour, it is considered the most important architectural work built in the 20th century in the

region and, with its 270,000 m², the largest building in Spain, even larger than Monastery of

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

. The building was originally built to educate orphans whose parents had died as a result of working in the mining industry. It is currently a multi-use facility. Abandoned in the 1980s, the whole building was restored between 2001 and 2007. On 19 May 2016, the Universidad Laboral was listed as a

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...

heritage site. On 12 February 2020, the Gijón city council, with the votes of left-wing parties PSOE, Podemos and IU, declined to launch a campaign for promoting the Universidad Laboral as

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

by arguing it "reflects

Francoism Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

", since it was built during the dictatorship era, even though the idea of this building was born in the Second Republic.

The building

Luis Moya, who designed the facility along the lines of the Parthenon in Athens, chose to have the main gate face away from the city, so that visitors coming from Gijón would have to walk around the university before entering, and therefore fully admire its magnificence.

Entrance

The main entrance, located in the main facade, is an arch with a shaped tower. Above the arch is a shield with the eagle of Saint John and the yoke and arrows of the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

held by two angels.

Courtyard

The roofless courtyard with an area of 150×50 m². The entire building is structured around the courtyard.

Church

The church is considered the most spectacular building in the Universidad Laboral. With a surface area of 807 m², it is the biggest church with an elliptical floor in the world. Outside, there is a figure of the Virgin of Covadonga with Corinthian columns sustaining the statues of saints Joseph, Peter, Paul and Ignatius. Above, St. James on horseback with two angels sustains the

Victory Cross The Victory Cross ( Asturian and Spanish: ''Cruz de la Victoria'') is an early 10th century Asturian crux gemmata or jewelled cross, given by King Alfonso III of Asturias, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador of Ov ...

, the coat of arms of Asturias. The church has a 2,300-ton dome. The height between the floor and the highest point of the dome is 32 m. During construction, approximately 450,000 bricks were used. The floor is entirely covered with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

and the pews, which can hold one thousand people, are made of special wood from Equatorial Guinea and customized for the church. The pews have been removed. The church is unconsecrated and has no Catholic icon. It is currently used to host art exhibitions.

Theater

The theater has a Hellenic style facade and similar dimensions to the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

. Above the central

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

there is a big

coat of arms of Spain The coat of arms of Spain represents Spain and the Spanish nation, including its national sovereignty and the country's form of government, a constitutional monarchy. It appears on the flag of Spain and it is used by the Government of Spain, the ...

from 1945. The capacity of the theater is about 1,500. It was the first totally air-conditioned theater, using an underground system of air distribution. The frontispiece was decorated with a 120-m² fresco of Enrique Segura. When the building was abandoned, it was damaged by humidity and was replaced by a big shell of wood to improve the acoustics.

Tower

With a height of 117 m, the tower is modeled after that of

Giralda The Giralda ( es, La Giralda ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, Moorish Spain, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style ...

, the bell tower in the Cathedral of Seville. An elevator brings visitors to the balcony to enjoy sweeping views of Gijón. The tower of the Universidad Laboral is the tallest building in Asturias and the tallest stone building in Spain.

Current uses

Several institutions are located in the main building, such as

LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Art and Industrial Creation Centre) is an exhibition centre in Gijón, Spain, for art, science, technology and advanced visual industries. It is also a venue for artistic and technological productio ...

, faculties of the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo ( es, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón ...

, the Drama High School of Asturias and the Professional Music School of Gijón. Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura was inaugurated in 2007. In the rest of the lands bequeathed by the ''José Antonio Girón Foundation'' to the Universidad Laboral, other new facilities were created. In the Lloreda farm, a municipal golf course was created and in the Agronomic farm of Somió, the High School of the Universidad Laboral was built. The old convent of the Clarisas is now the headquarters of the Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias. The Hospital of Cabueñes, the municipal morgue, the Scienfic and Technologic Park and the Campus of Gijón, as part of the

, now occupy the former sporting grounds. The world center of Research and development of the German multinational

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg a ...

is located In the northern wing, with a building of about 2,000 m². The Universidad Laboral has been used in several films, including those of the Spanish director

José Luis Garci José Luis García Muñoz (born 20 January 1944), known professionally as José Luis Garci, is a Spanish Film director, film director, Film, producer, critic, TV presenter, screenwriter and author. He earned worldwide acclaim and his country's fi ...

, '' La gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón'' and '' Fuga de Cerebros'', which stood in for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

References

External links

Historic website

Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura
{{DEFAULTSORT:Universidad Laboral de Gijon Gijón Asturian culture Buildings and structures in Asturias Architecture in Spain Libraries in Spain Academic libraries Museums in Asturias