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Old age



The city of León arises around 29 a. C. as a Roman military camp of the Legio VI Victrix, on the fluvial terrace between the Bernesga and Torío rivers, on the occasion of the so-called Cantabrian Wars. At the end of the 1st century, from the year 74, the camp is occupied by the Legio VII Gemina, which will remain in León until approximately the beginning of the 5th century. The city belonged to the Conventus Asturum, with its capital in Asturica Augusta, which formed part of the province of Tarragona until the third century, when, with the creation of the province of Gallaecia, it was integrated into it.

Middle Ages

After the Roman period, the city was part of the Swabian Kingdom and later the Visigothic Kingdom. Between the 6th and 8th centuries, the scarcity of archaeological evidence projected an image lacking urban vitality, with a clear reduction in the inhabited space, but the discovery of ceramics ascribable to the Umayyad period of Cordoba in the Puerta Obispo area indicates that the city was not abandoned completely, but retained a certain stable population.



León was conquered by the Muslims in the year 712. However, it was not until around 846 when a group of Mozarabs tried to repopulate the city with a Christian population, since until then it had remained in a 'latent state', in the center of the fighting line; however, a Muslim attack ended that initiative. It was in 853 when Ordoño I incorporated the city to the Kingdom of Asturias, repopulating it successfully. It is with Ordoño II, who occupied the throne after the death of his brother García I, when the city became the capital of the Asturian kingdom, initiating the Kingdom of León.



Kingdom of Leon



During the existence of the kingdom, the city of León grew and evolved in its development. In this matter, the Camino de Santiago played an important role, perhaps the most important route of movement for people, ideas, culture and medieval art.



In the 12th century, the Arab geographer and traveler Edrisi wrote the following about León: ´´A very profitable trade is practiced there. Its inhabitants are thrifty and prudent. " We also have news of León through various codices, including the Codex Calixtinus, a manuscript that, among other things, contains information about the route that the pilgrims followed to Santiago de Compostela. With all this, the city knew the development of new neighborhoods, sometimes outside the walls of a city that was already small, and almost always on the side of the pilgrims' path, who entered the city through the so-called Puerta Moneda.



Middle Ages



During the fourteenth century, León experienced an economic crisis that was accentuated by a series of climatic events throughout Europe that reduced harvests, causing famines and indebtedness of the peasants. These circumstances were further aggravated if possible with the arrival of the plague in León between 1349 and 1350, which caused a great mortality in the area, depopulating towns and diminishing, according to sources of the time, by more than a quarter the number of population of the area. This series of fatalities was joined by political instability that produced continuous tensions that often led to armed conflicts.



With the turn of the century, things began to improve, with a notable increase in the population in the construction of new houses, reconstruction of the previous ones and expansion of the suburbs. In these years there was talk of making a fence that included the suburb of the eastern part of the city, including the churches of San Lorenzo, San Pedro de los Huertos and San Salvador del Nido de la Cigüeña. Thus, the city of León, at the end of the century, had a population between four and five thousand inhabitants.

Modern age



The War of the Communities in León stood out for an unusual fervor from the community in the cathedral chapter and in the extramural neighborhoods. In the local sphere, the two dominant families of that time, the Guzmanes, on the part of the comuneros, and the Quiñones, on the part of the king, made war the perfect excuse to resolve their differences.



In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, León experienced a stagnation of its population, similar to that of the cities of the northern plateau. In these years, the population increase in the city was not due to an increase in industrial or commercial activity, but to the push of agriculture in the rural areas that surrounded the city. That is why the city, with 5,500 inhabitants, was, along with Zamora, one of the least populated cities on the northern plateau.

Contemporary age



XIX century



In the days prior to the outbreak of the War of Independence, specifically April 24, 1808, a popular demonstration took place in León, at the same time as a series of incidents that occurred in other Spanish cities such as Burgos, Toledo or Madrid. in favor of Fernando VII before the fear that Carlos IV, who had the favor of the French, would reign again, supposing, therefore, a rejection of Napoleon. On July 26 of that same year, the city fell to the French general Jean-Baptiste Bessières. Regaining dominance over it in June 1812, it only returned to French hands for a brief period in 1813, but immediately afterwards the French fully retreated, returning the city to normality.



In 1833 the city acquired the rank of capital of its province, which would form part, together with Zamora and Salamanca, of the Region of León.



Between the end of the century and the beginning of the 20th, the development of coal mining made it a fundamental commercial and communications hub throughout the Northwest, with the development of various infrastructures, among which the construction of its railway station stands out (later owned by Renfe and today by Adif) for Iberian Gauge tracks, and the layout of a narrow gauge railway line, known as El hullero, which, from León, connected the main coal extraction areas with the industrial nucleus of Bilbao .









León Spanish city located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, capital of the homonymous province, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. León had 134,305 inhabitants in 2009 spread over an area of ​​39.03 km², and a metropolitan area of ​​204,212

inhabitants, distributed in twelve municipalities occupying an area of ​​708.1 km².



Born as a Roman military camp of Legio VI Victrix around 29 BC. C., its character as a country town was consolidated with the definitive settlement of Legio VII Gemina from the year 74. After its partial depopulation due to the Muslim conquest of the peninsula, León received a new boost as part of the Kingdom of Asturias . In 910 one of its most important historical stages began when it became head of the Kingdom of León, although since the Late Middle Ages the city ceased to have the importance of yesteryear, in part due to the loss of its independence after the union of the Leonese kingdom to the Castilian style, definitive from 1301.



Plunged into a period of stagnation during the Modern Age, in the War of Independence it was one of the first cities to rise up in all of Spain, and years after the end of it, in 1833, it would acquire its rank as provincial capital. The arrival of the 20th century brought with it the Ensanche Plan, which increased the urban expansion it had been experiencing since the end of the 19th century, when the city became an important communications hub in the Northwest due to the boom in coal mining.



Its historical and monumental heritage, as well as various celebrations that take place throughout the year, among which Holy Week stands out, make it a city that receives national and international tourism. Among its most representative monuments are the Cathedral, the Basilica of San Isidoro, the Monastery of San Marcos and the Casa Botines, all of them declared a Site of Cultural Interest. An outstanding example of modern architecture, and one of the city's museums, is the MUSAC.



León has a developed network of roads and railways, in addition to having an airport with domestic flights and immersed in expansion works aimed at doubling its operating capacity, currently overwhelmed.



In 2010, major projects are being carried out in the city, such as the Southern Access of León, the high-speed line, the tram, the expansion of the airport and the conference center, among others. The tram project has drawn several criticisms from the municipal opposition, who allege that its development in a city like León is a pharaonic project and of doubtful viability.



The University of León, founded in 1979 as a split from the University of Oviedo, had 13,217 students in the 2006-07 academic year; It is based in the city and is cataloged, based on criteria such as university demand, human resources or study plans, such as the 2nd university of Castilla y León, after the University of Salamanca, and the 30th from Spain. Starting in 2010, the city will host the second headquarters of the University of Washington in Europe, after its headquarters in Rome, with a capacity for 500 students interested in learning Spanish.



Geography

Location



The city of León is located on a fluvial terrace at the confluence of the Bernesga and Torío rivers, at an altitude of 840 meters above sea level. Located approximately in the center of the province, it is located in a strategic place in the Northwest of the peninsula, since it is an obligatory step to go to Galicia and Asturias. Its coordinates are 42 ° 35 e 8242; 03 e 8243; N 5 ° 39 e 8242; 00 e 8243; O e 65279; / e 65279; 42.58417, -5.65.



Its municipal term limits to the north with Sariegos and Villaquilambre, to the east with Valdefresno, to the south with Santovenia de la Valdoncina, Onzonilla and Villaturiel, and to the west with San Andrés del Rabanedo and Valverde de la Virgen.



Relief



Located in the transition from the Páramo Leonés to the Cantabrian Mountains, its location at the confluence of two rivers means that the capital of León sits in a predominantly flat area, although as it moves away from the urban nucleus the terrain rises, meeting in the north with the Monte de San Isidro and to the east with the heights where Golpejar de la Sobarriba is located. In the municipal area are the geodesic vertices of Valenciano, at an altitude of 938 meters above sea level, and of San Isidro, at an altitude of 939 meters.



Hydrography



León is bathed by the Bernesga rivers, which run through the city to the west, and the Torío, which delimits it to the east, placing most of the urban nucleus between the two channels. As they pass through the city, they are channeled and suitable for the stroller, with gardens and pedestrian walkways. The confluence of both is at the height of the La Lastra industrial park, where the Torío flows into the Bernesga.



On the river, and in the center of the city, is the Interpretation Room for Renewable Energies of León, belonging to the León City Council. It is a classroom designed to teach its visitors the complementary and alternative solutions that renewable energies provide to the current energy system, pretending to be a benchmark in this regard in the autonomous community of Castilla y León.



It is a building located on the banks of the Bernesga river next to the Puente de los Leones, built after an agreement reached by the EREN and the León City Council. The Classroom has an exhibition space on the environment and has a solar thermal installation, a photovoltaic solar installation and a mini hydroelectric plant. The electricity generated by the latter three is incorporated into the general electrical grid for later use, being capable of giving birth to 1,100 families.





León's climate is continental Mediterranean, although it is somewhat softened in the summers due to its proximity to the Cantabrian Mountains.



The precipitations are distributed, as is usual in the continental Mediterranean climate, in a very irregular way throughout the year, with minimums in the summer and maximums during spring and autumn. Average annual rainfall is 556 mm. The city enjoys 2,624 hours of sunshine per year and 78 of rain, in addition to 16 of storms.



Temperatures are cool, with an annual average of 10.9 ° C, with cold winters, frosts being frequent (74 days of frost on average per year). Snow makes an appearance in the Leonese capital for an average of 16 days a year, although heavy snowfalls are not frequent. Summer is hot, softened by the altitude of the city, with maximum temperatures of around 27 ° C.



León follows the development of the weather with an INM observatory located at the Virgen del Camino Airport.





Cultural spaces

The Ciudad de León Auditorium is located in the Eras de Renueva neighborhood, next to the historic San Marcos Convent and the Regional Government Delegation. The building is the work of Emilio Tuñón Álvarez and Luis Moreno Mansilla and has a constructed area of ​​9,000 square meters. It has three rooms, the largest being for 1,128 people, and the other two, smaller, for 388 and 100 people. In addition, the auditorium has two exhibition rooms, overhead projectors, projection equipment and the possibility of incorporating multi-conference equipment.



The building is a landmark in the architecture of the city, as it is one of the first in modern architecture. Its use is in the performing arts and representations, although it also hosts conferences of various kinds.



Emperor Theater



The Emperador Theater, opened to the public in 1951 and designed by the architect Manuel de Cárdenas, was one of the most outstanding and beautiful theaters in León for decades. At the end of the 20th century, however, its use for theatrical performances had been greatly diminished and its main function was that of a movie theater. Finally, the company that owns the property closed the building in 2006 with strong opposition from Leonese citizens. After an initial purchase agreement by the City Council, the building passed into municipal hands, which after the 2007 elections transferred the property to the Ministry of Culture, which plans to use it as the headquarters of the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Historic Music of Spain, a body attached to the INAEM.



Trianón Theater



The Trianón Theater, located on Ramón y Cajal Avenue, is one of the two theaters that are preserved in the city and the only one with a declaration of Asset of Cultural Interest. This protection measure has not prevented its deterioration until the current situation. In addition to its use as a theatrical stage, the small building was once a party room and cinema, and even, in its last use, a playground. The mastery in the use of space through its chamfered structure or its interior decoration are some of its most outstanding aspects.



Bullring



The Plaza de Toros del Parque, currently also known as León Arena, was built in 1948 on the site of a previous wooden plaza, built in 1912. It has two floors, 50 meters in diameter, and a capacity of 11,300 seats. Since 2003, after its conversion into a covered plaza (when it acquires the new name), it hosts not only bullfighting shows during the patron saint festivities, but also national and international concerts, sporting events, fairs and congresses, exhibitions and large shows.

Cultural itineraries



Due to its importance as a historical and monumental nucleus, the city of León is part of tourist or cultural networks such as the Network of Cathedral Cities or the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain.



Likewise, the Camino de Santiago passes through León, specifically the French Way, being the end of one of its stages. The city has two shelters, both open all year round, one municipal and the other one in Las Carbajalas (M.M. Benedictinas). The Association of Friends of the Camino de Santiago in León ´´Pulchra Leonina´´ is in charge of informing pilgrims, defending and conserving the cultural heritage related to the Camino, as well as promoting all kinds of cultural activities.

Holy Week



Holy Week in León is a festival declared of International Tourist Interest, indicated in the Leonese festive calendar as the most important of the year.



During the ten days that elapse from Friday of Sorrows to Easter Sunday, a total of 16 brotherhoods and brotherhoods, made up of tens of thousands of ´´papones´´ (unique term with great personality that the brother brothers receive in León) Joined by the Junta Mayor de la Semana Santa de León and the parish church of Nuestra Señora del Mercado y del Camino ´´La Antigua´´, they walk the streets of a city packed with people like at no other time of the year.

The Brotherhood of the Seven Words in a procession of Holy Week in León.



Among its most significant events is La Ronda, which is a singular and unique act, a reflection of the great tradition that surrounds Holy Week in León. He leaves at 24.00 from the Plaza de San Marcelo, in the heart of the city, where he performs the first of his official ´´toques´´ before the old Town Hall, with which he calls the people of León to the Procession of the Pasos, an authentic recreation of Calvary, which starts at 7:30 a.m. and does not end until 4:00 p.m.

Festivities and events



Throughout the year there are numerous cultural and festive events that take place in León. Chronologically, in January the CiLe (León Digital Film Festival) takes place. In February carnivals are held, in which a multitude of activities take place such as the Election Gala of the Carnival Queen, the Children's Festival, the Shrove Tuesday Parade or the Burial of the Sardine.



In March the FIMA (International Festival of Advanced Music) takes place, the last edition of which was held in 2007. Also this year, the Leer León Fair (International Children's and Youth Book Fair) was held. During Holy Week, the Burial of Genarín is celebrated, a commemorative party in honor of Genarín, a well-known leather worker in León, run over by the first garbage truck in the city while doing his business at the base of the third bucket of the wall, where the tribute is celebrated every year. At the end of April, Las Cabezadas are celebrated, in which the city, represented by the Municipal Corporation, offers a candle and two wax axes in the Basilica of San Isidoro, dialectically confronting the Cabildo.



At the end of June the festivities of San Juan and San Pedro take place, patron saint festivities of the Leonese capital; It is the biggest festival in the city and a benchmark in the rest of the province. Part of them are the Calle Ancha Street theater show and the León Flamenco Festival. Also in summer the Spanish Music Festival takes place.



In autumn, two musical events are held, the León Cathedral International Organ Festival and the Bagpipe Bands Championship of the LLïonés Country. The Sunday before San Froilán day (October 5) takes place one of the most traditional festivals of all the city of León, as it has been celebrated since the Middle Ages. These are dates on which you can attend the Pilgrimage to the Virgen del Camino, enjoy the Charmed Cars, contemplate one of the largest concentrations of Banners that occurs in the province and attend the dialectical struggle caused by the Tribute of the 100 Doncellas as well as the Forum or Offer of Las Cantaderas.

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