León, Spain

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City of León
(In details)	(In details)

Province	León
Autonomous community	Castilla y León
Postal code	240xx
Coordinates - Latitude: - Longitude:	42°59' N 5º57' W
Altitude	838 m
Surface	39,20 km²
Distances	333 km to Madrid 134 km to Valladolid
Population	City: 136.985 (2006) Urban area: 185.391 (2003)
Demonym	Sp. Leonés/Leonesa, legionense, legionés Leonese. Llïonés/a.
Anthem	Himno a León
Local festivals	San Juan and San Pedro (24th June and 29th June) San Froilán (5th October)
Rivers	Bernesga Torío
Mayor (2003- )	Mario Amilivia (Partido Popular)
Local council website	Ayuntamiento de León

The city of León (Llión in the Leonese language), located at 42.59°N latitude, 5.57°W longitude, is the capital of León province in the autonomous community of Castile and León, in northwest Spain. Its population of 136,985 (2006) makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for over one quarter of the province's population. Its urban area population is calculated at 185,391 (2003).

1 History
2 Monuments and places of interest
3 Folklore and customs
4 Government
5 Food
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Cathedral of León

León is famous for its Gothic León Cathedral and many other monumental buildings, such as the Real Colegiata de San Isidoro (which holds the Royal Pantheon, a mausoleum in which medieval Kingdom of León's royal family were buried, and also has one of the world's best collections of Romanesque paintings); Casa de Botines (an early work of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, nowadays occupied by a bank); San Marcos (originally the Military Order of Santiago's home, built in the 16th century); or the new MUSAC, the Castile and León Museum of Contemporary Art. León is also known for its "fiestas", like Easter. Leonese processions are declared to be of International Interest and, on those days, many people from all over the world visit León to see and participate in its traditions.

[edit] History

León was founded in the 1st century BC by the Roman legion Legio VI Victrix. In 68 CE Legio VII Gemina created a permanent military camp, which was the origin of a later city. Its modern name is derived from the city's Latin name Legio VII Gemina (Itin. Ant. p. 395; Λεγίων ζ Γερμανική, Ptol. ii. 6. § 30), from the Roman legion recruited by Galba from Iberians, which established the site of the city to protect the territory from the wild mountaineers of Asturias and Cantabria, and to secure the transport of gold extracted in the province, especially in Las Médulas. (Dion Cass. iv. 24; Tac. Hist. ii. 11, iii. 25; Suet. Galba, 10.) Tacitus calls the legion Galbiana, to distinguish it from the old Legio VII Claudia, but this appellation is not found on any inscriptions. It appears to have received the appellation of Gemina (respecting the use of which, and Gemella, see Caesar B.C. iii. 3) on account of its amalgamation by Vespasian with one of the German legions, not improbably the Legio I Germanica Its full name was Legio VII Gemina Felix. After serving in Pannonia, and in the civil wars, it was settled by Vespasian in Hispania Tarraconensis, to supply the place of the Legio VI Victrix and Legio X Gemina, two of the three legions ordinarily stationed in the province, but which had been withdrawn to Germany. (Tac. Hist. ii. 11, 67, 86, iii. 7, 10, 21--25, iv. 39; Inscr. ap. Gruter, p. 245, no. 2.)

That its regular winter quarters, under later emperors, were at León, we learn from the Itinerary, Ptolemy, and the Notitiae Imperii, as well as from a few inscriptions (Muratori, p. 2037, no. 8, A.D. 130; p. 335, nos. 2, 3, A.D. 163; p. 336, no. 3, A.D. 167; Gruter, p. 260, no. 1, A.D. 216); but there are numerous inscriptions to prove that a strong detachment of it was stationed at Tarraco (modern Tarragona), the chief city of the province.

The post-Roman history of the city is largely the history of the Kingdom of León. The station of the legion in Asturias grew into an important city, which resisted the attacks of the Visigoths till A.D. 586, when it was taken by Leovigild; and it was one of the few cities which the Visigoths allowed to retain their fortifications. During the struggle with the Muslim invaders, the same fortress, which the Romans had built to protect the plain from the incursions of the mountaineers, became the advanced post which covered the mountain, as the last refuge of Spanish independence. After yielding to the first assault of the Moors, in 712, it was recovered was restored by Ordoño I of Asturias around 850.

Old local council

Towards the year 846, a group of Mozarabs (Christian Spaniards who did not flee for the Muslims and lived under the Muslim regime) tried to repopulate the city, but a Muslim attack prevented that initiative. In the year 856, under the Christian king Ordoño I, another attempt at repopulation was made and was successful. Ordoño II made León the capital of his Kingdom of León (914) and the most important of the Christian cities in Iberia.

Sacked by Almanzor in about 987, the city was reconstructed and repopulated by Alfonso V, whose Decree of 1017 regulated its economic life, including the functioning of its markets. León was a way-station for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago leading to Santiago de Compostela. Suburbs for traders and artisans sprang up, who, after the 13th century, began to influence the municipal government. During the early Middle Ages, the livestock industry produced a period of prosperity for the city. In the 16th century, economic and demographic decline set in and continued until the 19th century. In July 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, León joined the war against the Republicans.

During the 1960s, León experienced much growth due to inmigration from the rural zones of the province.

The Palacio de los Guzmanes, the provincial parliament (Diputación) in the capital

In 1983 León was joined to the neighbouring region of Castile, to form the Autonomous Community of Castile and León. A popular and local political movement was opposed to that claiming centralism practised from Valladolid, the city where autonomous govern is. Since then, León is the center of a minor politic (and always pacific) movement for Leonese autonomism. Some of leonese people support the idea of creating a Léonese autonomous community formed by the provinces of Salamanca, León and Zamora, which have traditionally composed Leonese Region.

[edit] Monuments and places of interest

León possesses impressive monuments, from outstanding mediaeval to avantguarde modernity buildings.

Gaudí's Casa de los Botines (built 1892-1894)

The most notable monuments are the Rayonnant gothic Cathedral, with its excellent stain glassed windows, the Basilica de San Isidoro, with its Romanesque paintings, and the old monastery of San Marcos (currently a luxurious parador) with an exuberant plateresque façade.

The Palacio de los Guzmanes, the site of the provincial diputación (parliament), contains an impressive patio in the plateresque style by Gil de Hontañón. The old quarter of the city conserves a large part of the medieval wall and some remains of the original Roman wall. One can also find the Casa de Botines, a neogothic styled building and an excellent example of the arquitecture of Antoni Gaudí.

Image:MUSAC Fachada.jpg

MUSAC facade

León is the headquarters of the MUSAC - Castile and León Museum of Contemporary Art. Its building has an impressive modernist structure designed by the architectural team of Mansilla & Tuñón. One of the building's most distinctive features is its facade formed by thousands of large stained-glass panels. The nearby León Auditorium, also by Mansilla & Tuñón, has an equally stricking presence of crisp white cubes perforated by irregularly set windows.

Other points of interest include the Barrio Humedo (the drinking and partying area) and the Plaza del Grano.

[edit] Folklore and customs

Among the Leonese customs, Semana Santa (Easter), during which there are numerous processions through the centre of the city, stands out. One of the most beautiful is the so called Procession of the Meeting which acts out the meeting of three groups representing Saint John, the Virgin Mary and Christ in the explanade in front of the Cathedral. Associated with Semana Santa is the pagan procession for the burial of Genarín, a poor person run over by the first rubbish truck in León. The procession consists of a march through the city with Orujo (an alcoholic drink) at the head of the procession to the front of the city walls where the man was supposedly run over and then leaving cheese, a bottle of Orujo and two oranges at the spot.

[edit] Government

In the last municipal elections (25 of May 2003) the results were:

People's Party (Spain)|Partido Popular (38.5% of the votes and 12 council seats)
Partido Socialista Obrero Español (34.24% and 10 seats)
Unión del Pueblo Leonés (19.24% and 5 councillors)
Izquierda Unida (2.59%)

Currently the mayor is Mario Amilivia from the Partido Popular.

[edit] Food

Within the wide range of Leonese cuisine the following dishes are the most representative: cecina (cured, smoked beef), morcilla (a superb variant of blood sausage), botillo (a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine), garlic soup, el cocido leonés (a mix of meat with vegetables and chickpeas, served after a vegetable-vermicelli soup) and mantecadas (a sweet). Another very important part of the gastronomy of León are the tapas that you can get in most of the many bars in the city. The most important thing about these tapas is that they are free unlike in most cities in Spain. It is a very common thing to do to go "de tapas" i.e. to go for a few drinks ("un corto", which is a very small beer, "una caña", which is roughly half a pint of beer or "un vino," a glass of wine) just before lunch but more normally as a light form of dinner.