Province of Spain
Province in Castilla y Leon, Spain
Leon
(
,
,
Spanish:
[le?on]
;
Leonese
:
Llion
[?i?oŋ]
;
Galician:
[le?oŋ]
) is a
province
of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the
Region of Leon
and in the northwestern part of the
autonomous community
of
Castile and Leon
.
About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the capital,
Leon
. 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
cathedrals in the province, the main one in Leon and another in
Astorga
. The province shares the
Picos de Europa National Park
(in the
Picos de Europa
mountain range) with
Cantabria
and
Asturias
. It has 211 municipalities.
History
[
edit
]
The province of Leon was established in 1833 with the
new Spanish administrative organisation
of regions and provinces to replace former kingdoms. The greater
Leonese Region
was composed of the provinces of Leon,
Salamanca
and
Zamora
.
The Kingdom of Leon was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of
Asturias
along the
northern coast of the Iberian peninsula
shifted their main seat from
Oviedo
to the city of
Leon
. The eastern, inland part of the kingdom was joined dynastically to the
Kingdom of Castile
, first in 1037?1065, then in 1077?1109 and again in 1126?1157, 1230?1296 and from 1301 onward (see:
historic union of the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon
). The western and Atlantic provinces became the
Kingdom of Portugal
in 1139.
The independently administered
Kingdom of Leon
, situated in the northwestern region of the
Iberian Peninsula
, retained the status of a
kingdom
until 1833, although
dynastic union
had brought it into the
Crown of Castile
. The Kingdom was composed of
Adelantamientos Mayores
, where the Leonese
Adelantamientos
consisted of the territories between the
Picos de Europa
and the
Duero River
. The political and military chiefs of these territories were referred to as
Adelantados
; those chiefs began to convene as an assembly in the early 12th century, while the crown appointed the
Merinos
as minor and appellate judges.
[1]
According to UNESCO, in 1188 the Kingdom of Leon developed the first Parliament in Europe, the
Cortes de Leon
, which included the elected representatives of towns and cities.
[2]
In 1202, that Parliament approved economic legislation to regulate trade and guilds.
[3]
Population
[
edit
]
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Languages
[
edit
]
The Provincial Government of Leon signed accords with language associations for promoting the
Leonese language
.
[
citation needed
]
Leonese is taught in the city of Leon,
Mansilla de las Mulas
,
La Baneza
,
Valencia de Don Juan
or
Ponferrada
for adult people, and in sixteen schools of Leon.
[
citation needed
]
The City Council of Leon writes some of its announcements in Leonese in order to promote the language.
[
citation needed
]
In the western part of the
El Bierzo
, the westernmost region of the province,
Galician language
is spoken and taught at schools.
[
citation needed
]
Climate
[
edit
]
Penalba de Santiago
, a medieval village in
El Bierzo
.
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 Leon sector of Picos de Europa belonging to the municipality of
Posada de Valdeon
registered ?35.8 °C (?32.4 °F) on January 7, 2021.
[4]
[5]
Cuisine
[
edit
]
Embutidos
- Cecina de Leon
: from beef. In the
Leonese language
,
cecina
means "meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke".
Cecina de Leon
is made of the hind legs of beef, salted, smoked and air-dried in the province of Leon, and has
PGI
status.
- Botillo
: 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
and also of the region of
Tras-os-Montes
in Portugal. This type of
embutido
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. In some parts of the province, specially close to
Orbigo
river it's also known as Yosco. It has PGI status.
Cheese
- Queso de Valdeon (
Valdeon 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 Leon 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
denominacion de origen
covers 23 municipalities.
- Tierra de Leon
: in the southeast of the province of Leon.
Sweets
Municipalities
[
edit
]
Comarcas
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes and references
[
edit
]
External links
[
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]
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