Asturias

This article covers the Autonomous Region of Asturias; for the medieval kingdom, see Kingdom of Asturias

Principado de Asturias  ( Spanish ) Principáu d'Asturies  ( Asturian ) Principao d'Asturias  ( Galician ) Principality of Asturias
flag coat of arms
Basic data
Country :	Spain
Capital :	Oviedo
Area :	10,602  km²
Residents :	1,022,800  (January 1, 2019)
Population density :	96.5 inhabitants / km²
Expansion:	North – South: approx. Up to 76 km West – East: approx. 214 km
ISO 3166-2 :	ES-AS
Website :	www.asturias.es
Anthem :	Asturias, Patria querida
Politics and administration
Autonomy since:	January 11, 1982
President :	Adrián Barbón Rodríguez ( PSOE )
Representation in the Cortes Generales :	Congress : 8 seats Senate : 6 seats
Structure :	78 Concejos
map

Port and industrial facilities in Avilés

Coast near Gijón

Playa de Toró near Llanes

San Salvador de Valdediós , 10th century

Map of the planned administrative structure

Asturias ( Spanish Asturias ; officially Spanish Principado de Asturias , Asturian Asturies , officially Asturian Principáu d'Asturies ; German  Principality of Asturias ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain . The territory of the Autonomous Community is identical to that of the Province of Asturias (formerly the Province of Oviedo ). The capital is Oviedo with 219,686 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019).

geography

Asturias stretches between the Cantabrian Sea in the north and the Cantabrian Mountains in the south. Politically it borders on Galicia to the west, Castile and León to the south and Cantabria to the east . The coast is called Costa Verde ; here are some of the most beautiful beaches in Spain.

The entire region has an oceanic climate that is very different from the hot and dry climate in central and southern Spain. The landscape of Asturias is therefore characterized by a lot more green ( España Verde , the "green Spain"). The Cantabrian Mountains act as a climatic divide to the central Spanish table country .

population

The population is concentrated in the valleys of the central part of the country as well as on the coast with its urban centers Gijón and Avilés , while the middle and high mountain regions are only sparsely populated.

languages

In addition to the official language of Spanish also in Asturias is Asturian and in the western border areas along the border with Galicia , a transitional dialect of Asturian and Galician speaking, the so-called Galician-Asturian or Eonaviego .

Cities

The largest cities in Asturias are the port city of Gijón ( Xixón in Asturias ) with 271,780 inhabitants, the capital Oviedo ( Uviéu in Asturias) with 219,686 inhabitants and the industrial city of Avilés with 78,182 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019).

Largest communities

local community	Residents (January 1, 2019)
Gijón	271.780
Oviedo	219,686
Avilés	78.182
Siero	51,667
Langreo	39,420
Mieres	37,959
Castrillón	22,376
San Martín del Rey Aurelio	16,074
Corvera	15,549
Cangas del Narcea	12,347
Llanes	13,568
Navia	8,380
Ribadesella	5,746

Historical population development

Source: INE Archives

history

In the region there are caves with stone age paintings, especially animal representations, that are more than 15,000 years old. About 700 dolmens were found. Most of them did not survive the millennia unscathed, although they were covered by mamaas .

The first permanent settlements are attributed to the Iberians . The region offered mineral resources, especially gold , for the extraction of which places surrounded by walls were founded by the so-called Castro culture . These were populated for a long time (> 1000 years) and are now being excavated.

Around 800 BC The region was settled by Celtic tribes . They built fortified settlements like the Castro de Coaña . Among other things, they are likely to have made their living as shepherds.

Approx. 25-19 BC The region was incorporated into the Roman Empire . But the Asturians, like other indigenous peoples, were rebellious, which can be seen as the reason for their relatively late integration into Roman rule. After its collapse, Asturias became part of the Visigoth Empire in the 5th century . After the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Muslims (711–719), the Christian resistance began from Asturias, organized by the noble Pelayo (Pelagius) († 737). He was elected king (or prince) by his followers and defeated, probably in 718 or 722, a force of the Muslim governor responsible for the region in the legendary battle of Covadonga . This success is seen as the starting point of the Reconquista .

The Kingdom of Asturias arose from Pelayo's sphere of influence, which expanded southward and thus became part of the Kingdom of León in 924 . After changeful unions and inheritance divisions of the northern Spanish kingdoms, Asturias was permanently united with the kingdom of Castile in 1230 . The Spanish heir to the throne has had the title of " Prince of Asturias" (Príncipe de Asturias) since 1388 .

In the 19th century , Asturias, together with Catalonia and the Basque Country, became the center of industrialization in Spain (especially mining and heavy industry). There was coal in Asturias, iron in the Basque Country and the America-textile monopoly in Barcelona. It was also one of the original regions of the Spanish labor movement .

In October 1934, the communist "revolución de octubre" (October Revolution) or "revolución minera" (Miners' Revolution) took place in the mining areas of Asturias, which was suppressed by the troops of the then right-wing government of the republic. The military action against the striking miners was headed by the future dictator Franco , who two years later was to start the civil war .

During the Spanish Civil War , Asturias was a center of republican resistance. However, it was geographically isolated from the main part of the Republican zone and was able to be captured by Franco's troops in the summer of 1937.

The region received its current statute of autonomy on January 11, 1982.

architecture

See also : List of pre-Romanesque buildings in Asturias

Political structure

Asturias is administratively divided into 78 Conceyos (German councils , cities and municipalities based on the model of the Municipios in the rest of Spain), which according to the Statute of Autonomy can be combined into Comarcas (corresponds roughly to administrative districts or counties), but this has not yet been done in full . From the judicial point of view, the 78 Concejos are divided into 18 judicial districts.

See also : List of comarcas and municipalities in Asturias

economy

Asturias is one of the industrial regions of Spain, especially due to the predominant mining and heavy industry. As these industries rather belong to the shrinking, there is Asturias since the 1970s in a structural change . Over the past four decades, the rate of economic growth in Asturias has lagged that of other areas of Spain.

Agriculture plays a bigger role in Asturias, as due to the humid climate and moderate temperatures, agricultural products can be produced that can only be grown in other regions of Spain with greater effort. There is also (mainly domestic) tourism.

The GDP of the region reached measured in purchasing power standards 79% of the average in 2015 the European Union (EU-28). With a value of 0.882, Asturias ranks 8th among the 17 autonomous communities of Spain in the Human Development Index .

Industry

The traditionally dominant industries in Asturias were coal and ore mining . Since the further extraction of raw materials is associated with more effort and the extracted raw materials have become more unprofitable due to cheap competition from abroad, mining has been declining continuously since the 1990s. There is heavy industry between Gijón and Avilés , with the factories being affected by a wave of closings, not least as a result of the decline in mining.

The regional government is trying to avert an economic crisis through the targeted settlement of modern companies, which, however, does not stop the number of jobs from falling. Former miners in particular have great difficulties finding work in the region. The media report a real unemployment rate between 30% and 40%.

Agriculture

Hórreo

Asturias is Spain's milk room; dairy cows are mainly kept from the coast to the Picos de Europa . An average dairy farm has 10 to 15 dairy cows, large farms are rare in the hilly and small-structured areas. Arable farming is mainly carried out as maize cultivation for ensiling and winter feeding of the cows. Grain cultivation hardly takes place, just as there is little viticulture worth mentioning. Sidra , an inexpensive cider , is an Asturian specialty .

In Asturias you can still find traditional square Hórreos , these are grain, fruit and potato stores that stand on stakes to protect against rodents. Most of the Hórreos are made of wood. In the west of Asturias, however, there are also elongated granaries made of stone materials.

The forest consists today mostly of eucalyptus - monocultures . The fast-growing and high-quality wood has the disadvantage that the forest floor is depleted. In addition, the high oil content of eucalyptus wood greatly increases the risk of forest fires.

Sports

Soccer

By Sporting Gijon a Asturian club playing in the Segunda División , the second tier in Spanish football. Another well-known club is Real Oviedo , which played 38 seasons in the Primera División and is currently also active in the Segunda División , Spain's second-highest division.

Motorsport

The two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso comes from Asturias.

politics

status

The Asturias Region has had the status of an Autonomous Community since 1982 . As in the other Autonomous Communities, its political organs are the Parliament ( Junta General del Principado de Asturias ), the Prime Minister ( Presidente del Principado de Asturias ) and the Government ( Consejo de Gobierno ). For historical and traditional reasons, the autonomous community is called "Principality of Asturias" ( Principado de Asturias ). The Spanish heir to the throne, who also traditionally bears the title " Prince of Asturias " ( Príncipe de Asturias ), has neither a political nor a legal position in Asturias.

houses of Parliament

Allocation of seats in the regional parliament and regional governments (since 1983)

Since the Statute of Autonomy came into force in 1983, eight elections to the regional parliament ( Junta General del Principado de Asturias ) have taken place. After the FAC minority government failed to find a majority in parliament for the 2012 draft budget , Prime Minister Alvárez-Casco dissolved parliament on January 30, 2012 and ordered new elections for March 25, 2012. These brought the following result:

• PSOE 32% and 16 seats
• FAC 25% and 13 seats
• PP 22% and 10 seats
• IU 14% and 5 seats
• UPyD 4% and 1 seat

(preliminary official final result)

It was not until March 28, 2012 that the votes of those eligible to vote living abroad were counted. Taking this into account, it emerged that the FAC would lose one seat to the PSOE. The FAC has filed an election review suit against this. The Tribunal Superior de Justicia of Asturias (which roughly corresponds to a German Higher Administrative Court) then ordered the re-election of the Spaniards registered in the electoral register for the constituency West to be repeated. It also stated that the sixth seat of this constituency would remain vacant until the re-election, which is why the newly elected parliament was constituted on April 27, 2012 with only 44 members for the time being. The PSOE, IU and the PSOE candidate, who was affected by the loss of his mandate, lodged an electoral constitutional complaint with the Spanish Constitutional Court against this judgment. The Constitutional Court upheld the complaint on May 11, 2012 and overturned the judgment of the Tribunal Superior de Justicia . So there will be no re-election, the final allocation of seats is: PSOE 17, FAC 12, PP 10, IU 5 and UPyD 1.

The results so far in detail

		PSOE		PP		IU		FAC		CDS		URAS		PAS		Total seats
		be right	Seats	be right	Seats	be right	Seats	be right	Seats	be right	Seats	be right	Seats	be right	Seats
I.	1983	52.17%	26th	30.35%	14th	10.76%	5			3.88%	0					45
II	1987	39.33%	20th	25.54%	13	12.24%	4th			18.78%	8th			1.29%	0	45
III	1991	41.53%	21st	30.78%	15th	15.03%	6th			6.83%	2			2.77%	1	45
IV	1995	34.24%	17th	42.50%	21st	16.62%	6th			1.80%	0			3.22%	1	45
V	1999	46.73%	24	32.83%	15th	9.14%	3			0.12%	0	7.26%	3	2.62%	0	45
VI	2003	41.43%	22nd	40.09%	19th	11.31%	4th			0.11%	0	2.90%	0	1.88%	0	45
VII	2007	43.08%	21st	42.52%	20th	9.93%	4th					2.27%	0			45
VIII	2011	30.72%	15th	20.48%	10	10.55%	4th	30.45%	16			0.51%	0			45

government

The Prime Minister elected by Parliament ( Presidente del Principado de Asturias ) heads the regional government ( Consejo de Gobierno ) and appoints its members. The governments since 1983 in detail:

Legislature	Period	Prime Minister	Political party	Remarks
I.	1983-1987	Pedro de Silva Cienfuegos-Jovellanos	PSOE
II	1987-1991	Pedro de Silva Cienfuegos-Jovellanos	PSOE	Minority government
III	1991-1993	Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil Rubio	PSOE	Minority government
	1993-1995	Antonio Ramón Trevín Lombán	PSOE	Minority government
IV	1995-1998	Sergio Marqués Fernández	PP	Minority government
	1998-1999	Sergio Marqués Fernández	URAS	Minority government
V	1999-2003	Vicente Álvarez Areces	PSOE
VI	2003-2007	Vicente Álvarez Areces	PSOE	Coalition PSOE / IU
VII	2007-2008	Vicente Álvarez Areces	PSOE	Minority government
	2008-2011	Vicente Álvarez Areces	PSOE	Coalition PSOE / IU
VIII	2011–2012	Francisco Alvárez-Cascos Fernández	FAC	Minority government
IX	2012-	Javier Fernández Fernández	PSOE	Minority government

Airport

The Asturias Airport is the only international airport in the region.

Image selection

• 

  View of L'Angliru from Monsacro

• 

  Isla de Deva

• 

  Ercina lake

• 

  Naranjo de Bulnes

• 

  Rock formation at Ribadedeva

Web links

Commons : Asturias  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Asturias  Travel Guide

• Website of the Government of Asturias
• Asturias Tourist Office website
• Official website for tourism in Spain: information about Asturias (english)
• General information portal on Asturias

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
2. ↑ ine.es (PDF) Instituto Nacional de Estadistica
3. ^ Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. Retrieved August 12, 2018 . 
4. ↑ 1983: electoral alliance from Alianza Popular , Partido Demócrata Popular (PDP) and Unión Liberal (UL); 1987: Alianza Popular
5. ↑ 1983: Partido Comunista de España ; 2003: IU and Bloque por Asturies electoral alliance ; 2007: electoral alliance of IU, Bloque por Asturies and Los Verdes de Asturias; 2011: IU and Los Verdes electoral alliance.
6. ↑ 1995: Centristas Asturianos-Centro Democrático y Social (CA-CDS); 1999: Unión Centrista-Centro Democrático y Social (UC-CDS)
7. ↑ 1999/2003: Unión Renovadora Asturiana (URAS); 2007/2011: electoral alliance of URAS and Partíu Asturianista (PAS)
8. ↑ 1991: electoral alliance of PAS and Unidá Nacionalista Asturiana (UNA); 2007/2011: electoral alliance with Unión Renovadora Asturiana (URAS)
9. ↑ After an internal party dispute, the Prime Minister Marqués Fernández and four other MPs of the PP left their parliamentary group in October 1998 and shortly afterwards founded the Unión Renovadora Asturiana. Marqués Fernández filled the government posts with his followers and remained in office until the 1999 election because a constructive vote of no confidence was not passed.

Coordinates: 43 ° 18 ′  N , 5 ° 58 ′  W