Cangas de Onís (
Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of
Onís"
['' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".]) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of
Asturias
Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
in the northwest of Spain. The capital of the municipality is also Cangas de Onís.
More than seventy square kilometres of the ''conceyu'' form part of the
Parque nacional de los Picos de Europa.
History
Within the park is the village of
Covadonga, where the
battle of Covadonga (about 722), the first major victory by a Christian military force in
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
after the
Islamic conquest, marks the starting-point of the
Reconquista
The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
.
Cangas de Onís is the site of the first church constructed in post-conquest Iberia,
Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís (737), built on an ancient
dolmen
A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
.
Cangas de Onís is also very known for being the first capital of the Kingdom of Asturias.
A parish named Cangas de Onís is attested for the 14th century. The stone bridge across the Sella River was built in the 14th or 15th century.
Cangas de Onís was represented in the Junta General of the principality of Asturias in 1504.
Covadonga began to be developed as a pilgrimage site in the 16th century, attracting commerce.
The settlement of Cangas de Onís grew rapidly in the mid 19th century.
A
meteorite fall is recorded for the year 1866.
Cangas de Onís/Cangues d'Onís was bombarded several times in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
.
It served as the seat of the Regional Council in the "pre-autonomous regime" of 1978–1981 prior to the entering into force of the
Statute of Autonomy of the Principality of Asturias on 31 January 1982.
Vegetation
Given its varied height it has many types of plants, including many mountain shrubs, heather; oak, have and ash trees, rounded by grassland and copes.
Economy
The main economic activities of this region are agriculture and cattle rearing along with rural tourism. The nearby Covadonga Sanctuary and its surrounding lakes are one of the main tourist destinations in Asturias.
Parishes
Cangas de Onís is divided in eleven parishes:
*
Abamia
* Cangas de Onís
*
Con
*
Covadonga
*
Grazanes
*
Labra
*
Margolles
*
La Riera
*
Triongo
*
Villanueva
*
Zardón
The capital of the municipality is the parish of Cangas de Onís. It is in size with a population of 4,326
INE2005). The postal code is 33550 and is divided in several villages:
* Cañu
* Cabielles
* Cangues
* Cardes
* Celangu
* Ḥelgueres
* Llueves
* Ñarciandi
* Ñeda
* Onao
* Següencu
* Torió
* Tornín
Notable people
*
Berta Piñán (born 1963), writer, politician
*
Benjamina Miyar (1888–1961) Spanish photographer, watchmaker and member of the Spanish anti-fascist resistance
Gallery
File:Cangas de Onís. Puente sobre el Sella 2.jpg, 13th century bridge over Rio Sella
File:Estatua de Don Pelayo en Covadonga, Asturias.jpg, Statue of the King Pelayo
File:Cangas de Onís 05.jpg, Cangas town hall
File:EnolLake.jpg, Enol Lake at Covadonga
File:Covadonga - Cueva santa y cascada.jpg, ''Holy Cave'' of Covadonga
File:Monasterio de San Pedro de Villanueva - Iglesia02.jpg, Monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva (12th century) - Church
File:Lateral iglesia santa cruz c onis.jpg, Church of Santa Cruz - Lateral side
File:Capilla de Santo Medero (Isongo) - 04.jpg, Chapel of Santo Medero
File:Cangas de Onís - Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y Monumento a Don Pelayo 2.jpg, Cangas church
References
External links
Guía turística
www.cangasdeonis.com
Cangas de Onís
Casa Rural
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cangas De Onis
Municipalities in Asturias
Picos de Europa
*