Onís is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. As of 2023, the population of the municipality equaled 746. Onís is bordered on the north by

Llanes Llanes (the ''Concejo de Llanes'', ''Conceyu de Llanes'' in Asturian language) is a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bound ...

, on the south by the

province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...

, to the east by

Cabrales Cabrales is a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias, Spain. It is situated between the Sierra de Cuera and the Picos de Europa, and is a region famous for its Cabrales cheese. It is divided into nine parishes; Las Arenas is the ...

and to the west by

Cangas de Onís 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 in the north ...

. The area of the municipality is 75 km², with more than a third of its territory falling within

Picos de Europa National Park The Picos de Europa National Park () 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 Castile and León, which are represented on th ...

. the Pico de Verdilluenga, one of the peaks of the

Picos de Europa Picos is a municipality in the state of Piauí in the Northeast region of Brazil. Picos is the state's third-largest city, located in the south-central region of Piauí and is the most economically developed city in the region. The city's fin ...

, is the highest point in the municipality, standing at 2,129 m. The municipality comprises three

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

: *Onís, which contains the settlements of Benia (the municipal capital), Avín, El Castru, Los Menores, Pandellavandes, Silviella, Talaveru, and Villar; *Bobia, which contains the settlements of Bobia de Abajo (Bovia Baxu), Bobia de Arriba (Bovia Riba), Demués, and Gamonéu; and *La Robellada, which contains the settlements of La Robellada and El Pedroso (Pedrosu).

History

Onís has been inhabited by humans since the

Neolithic period The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

following the last Ice Age. Artifacts from both the

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and Moorish conquests of the area have both been discovered, though both peoples were later expulsed from the region. Onís was recorded as sending a representative, Pedro Suárez, to support Pedro I before the Castilian Civil War in the 14th century. It was first recognized as a municipality in 1504 and had its first representative, Juan González de Acebos, in the

General Junta of the Principality of Asturias The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Junta General del Principado de Asturias'', in Asturian Language, Asturian: ''Xunta Xeneral del Principáu d'Asturies'') is the parliament of Asturias, an autonomou ...

in 1594. During the

French invasion of Spain The "Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" was the popular name for a French army mobilized in 1823 by the House of Bourbon, Bourbon King of France, Louis XVIII, to help the Spanish Bourbon royalists restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to the ...

, the French army inhabited the area during its occupation of Asturias. The municipality would suffer further damage as a result of the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War (), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier Second Carlist War, "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relative ...

and 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 ...

. In modern times, the

agricultural sector Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

continues to be the largest employer in Onís, as it has been throughout its history. The municipality was home to the recipients of the 1994 Premio al Pueblo Ejemplar de Asturias, which recognizes Asturian peoples and villages which are deemed remarkable in their defense of their cultural heritage and values.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onis Municipalities in Asturias *