Gijón

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Gijón / Xixón
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Location o Gijon
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Gijón / Xixón is located in Spain
Gijón / Xixón
Gijón / Xixón
Location in Spain
Coordinates: 43°32′N 5°42′W / 43.533°N 5.700°W / 43.533; -5.700Coordinates: 43°32′N 5°42′W / 43.533°N 5.700°W / 43.533; -5.700
Kintra Spain
Autonomous commonty Asturias
ProvinceAsturias
ComarcaGijón
Judicial destrictGijón
Foondit5t century BC (Noega, the first dounset on record)
Govrenment
 • MayorCarmen Moriyón Entrialgo (2011) (FAC)
Area
 • Total181.6 km2 (70.1 sq mi)
Elevation
3 m (10 ft)
Highest elevation
737 m (2,418 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total271,843
 • Density1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Spainyie: Gijonés/sa Asturian: Xixonés/sa
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
33201 -33212
Offeecial leid(s)Spaingie
WebsiteOffeecial wabsteid

Gijón ([xiˈxon]; offeecially Gijón / Xixón [ʃiˈʃoŋ]),[2] is the lairgest ceety an municipality in the autonomous commonty o Asturias in Spain. Early medieval texts mention it as "Gigia".

History[eedit | eedit soorce]

Prehistory an romanization[eedit | eedit soorce]

The bronze copy o the statue "Augustus o Prima Porta" at San Lorenzo beach.

The first evidences o human presence in wha is kent nouadays as municipality o Gijón are locatit in Monte Deva, whaur exist a series o tumulus, an in Monte Areo, whaur thare are some neolithic dolmens. Thir dolmens wur discovered in 1990 an is supposed it wis biggit aboot the year 5000 BC.

The first noticit dounset (Noega) is locatit in Campa Torres. It haes its oreegin atween centuries VI an V BC. It wis populatit bi asturs (cilúrnigos) an later romanized. Noega wis progressively abandoned when the Roman waw in the peninsula o Cimavilla, cried Gegionem, wis biggit.

This waw wis the maist important ane o the Roman Asturias an it shoud be a important port o the Cantabric sea route an an aw, it crossed the centre o Asturias bi Lucus Asturum (nouadays Llanera) an linkit in Asturica Augusta wi the Ruta de la Plata (Siller route).

Some remains o this stage are the Roman baths o Campo Valdés (centuries I tae II AD), the Roman waw (centuries III tae IV) an the Roman veelage o Veranes.

Middle Ages an Modren Era[eedit | eedit soorce]

Despite the Barbarian invasions left nae trace, it seems the territory wis submittit tae the pouer o the Visigoth keeng Sisebut in the 7t hunderyear.

Gijón wis caipital o the Muslim territories in the Cantabric Sea, unner the pouer o Munuza, who dominatit the ceety atween 713 an 718. In this last year, Asturians wan the Battle o Covadonga, stairtit in 718 an led bi Pelagius, who wad became in the first Keeng o the Kinrick o Asturias.

Till 1270 thare wur nae reliable news o Gijón, wi anerly short mentions in some documents. In this year, Alfonso X o Castile concedit the category o puebla.

In the 14t hunderyear, the war atween Alfonso Enríquez o Castile an Henry III o Castile feenished wi the veelage o Gijón fenced, burned an totally destroyed, practically disappearin.

In the 15t an 16t hunderyear, Gijón developit again, specially when a new dock is biggit in the port, bringin tae the veelage fishin an commerce.

In the 17t an 18t hunderyears is when Gijón stairts tae hae a great development, producin a growthe oot o the auld ceety centre. This happened when the port o Gijón wis enable for the commerce wi the American colonies. In the 18t hunderyears, due tae the French invasions, the wars an the financial trouble in the era, stoppit the development till the last years, when the road Oviedo-Gijón wis creatit an the port wis recognisit as the best ane in Asturias, favorin the installation o the first industrial activities in the veelage.

Contemporar history[eedit | eedit soorce]

Modren piece o airt wi the ceety name.

The 19t century brocht wi it a great development, wi the commerce o coal, the road Gijón-León an later the railwey Langreo-Gijón. Aw this supposed the quick expansion o the port, due tae the hivy traffec intensity in it. A new port, El Musel, wis biggit in 1893 an it wis the first coal port o the peninsula.

Gijón wis goin throu a conversion tae an industrial veelage wi a new bourgeoise an a urban development, openin new streets an squares, wi new municipal equipments lik watter, garbage collection, lichtin. Aw this industrial development brocht new manpouer tae the ceety an the creation o new neebourheids lik Natahoyo, La Calzada, Tremañes or El Humedal.

In the 20t century, wi the Spaingie Cevil War, the ceety supported the Republican faction. The airmy wis locatit in El Coto. The resistance wis eliminatit in August 1936. Later, the veelage wis the caipital o the Sovereign Cooncil o Asturias an León till 20 October 1937, when the troops o General Francisco Franco occupee'd the ceety.

Ferrous metallurgy wis the main industry o Gijón frae the last years o the 19t century till the last decades o the 20t century. Uninsa wis creatit in 1971, an it mergit wi Ensidesa. In the last years o the century wis convertit in Aceralia, an integratit in Arcelor.

The last decades o the century brings the industrial creesis affectin mainly tae the ferrous metallurgy an the local shipbiggin. This facts brocht new terrain for the creation o new beaches, pairks an new neebourheids.

Geografie[eedit | eedit soorce]

Population of Gijón
YearPop.±% p.a.
1857 23,621—    
1860 24,802+1.64%
1877 30,591+1.24%
1887 35,170+1.40%
1897 43,392+2.12%
1900 45,544+1.63%
1910 55,248+1.95%
1920 57,573+0.41%
1930 78,239+3.11%
1940 101,341+2.62%
1950 110,985+0.91%
1960 124,714+1.17%
1970 187,612+4.17%
1981 255,969+2.86%
1991 260,267+0.17%
1998 265,491+0.28%
1999 267,980+0.94%
2000 267,426−0.21%
2001 269,270+0.69%
2002 270,211+0.35%
2003 270,875+0.25%
2004 271,039+0.06%
2005 273,931+1.07%
2006 274,472+0.20%
2007 274,037−0.16%
2008 275,699+0.61%
2009 277,554+0.67%
2010 277,198−0.13%
2011 277,559+0.13%
2012 277,733+0.06%
2013 275,274−0.89%
From 1998 to present, population as of each January 1st
Source: INE

The ceety is situatit on the coast o central Asturias, frae sea level tae a altitude o 513 metres at Picu Samartín an 672 metres at Peña de los Cuatro Jueces, bordered on the Wast bi Carreño, the East bi Villaviciosa, an tae the Sooth bi Siero an Llanera

The ceety is situatit alang the Asturian coast an is distinguished bi the peninsula o Cimavilla (the oreeginal dounset) which separates the beach o San Lorenzo an adjacent neebourheids tae the east frae the beaches o Poniente an Arbeyal, the shipyards, an the recreational port an the Port o El Musel tae the wast. It is close tae the ither main Asturian ceeties, Oviedo an Avilés.

Destricts[eedit | eedit soorce]

Gijón is dividit in sax destricts:[3] Centre, East, South, West, El Llano and Rural. In this last ane, aw the peri-urban zone an the rural parishes are integrated.

Neebourheids an pairishes[eedit | eedit soorce]

Gijón pairishes
The Eulogy tae the Horizon o Eduardo Chillida, ane o the maist kent seembols o Gijón.
Centre destrict
Eastern destrict
  • L'Arena
  • El Bibio
  • Ceares/Ciares
  • El Coto
  • Las Mestas
  • Viesques
El Llano destrict
  • El Llano
Sooth destrict
  • Contrueces
  • Montevil
  • Nuevo Gijón
  • Perchera-La Braña
  • Polígono de Pumarín
  • Pumarín
  • Roces
  • Santa Bárbara
Wastren destrict
Landwart destrict

Cultur[eedit | eedit soorce]

Upper front view o the San Lorenzo Kirk
Revillagigedo Palace
Universidad Laboral de Gijón, as seen frae the touer o the same varsity.
  • Durin the early years o the 19t century the, then vera smaw, toun o Gijón wis best kent for its college or heich-schuil kent as the "Real Instituto Asturiano" foondit bi Jovellanos.[4]
  • The Ceety Haw's sports an cultur programs for ceetizens is wide, includin the innovative Abierto Hasta el Amanecer (literally Open Till Dawn) nocturnal program, which trees tae involve teens in cultural an sportin activities as a alternative tae weekend nichtlife.
  • Gijón haes 13 librars in its Cultural Ceety Centres, which featur a wide netwirk o soummin puils an gyms.
  • Ane o the maist important cultural events in the ceety is the International Film Festival, recognisit as ane o the bests in Spain.

Museums an airt galleries[eedit | eedit soorce]

Varsities[eedit | eedit soorce]

Thare are twa campuses locatit in Gijón, ane o the Varsity o Oviedo an ither o the Naitional Varsity o Distance Eddication.

Sports[eedit | eedit soorce]

Estadio El Molinón, in a gemme o Sporting de Gijón in La Liga.

In team sports, Gijón's profeesional fitbaa team, Sporting de Gijón, plays in the Spainyie Segunda División, wi AB Gijón Jovellanos competin in Liga ASOBAL, ane o the maist important leagues o team handbaw in the warld. In weemen's sport, Gijón Hockey Club is ane o the maist important rink hockey teams in Europe.

CSI Gijón is Spain's offeecial show jumpin horse show an it's held annually in Gijon's equestrian facility.

Thare is a private sports club in Gijón wi mair nor 33,000 members an aw, Real Grupo de Cultura Covadonga, the biggest club in Asturias.

No far frae Gijón, thare are several ski resorts in Asturias, the main bein Valgrande-Pajares.

The ceety's marina hooses a important fleet o yachts an is the base for mony water sports, bein Royal Astur Yacht Club the maist important yacht club in toun.

Sports centers[eedit | eedit soorce]

The biggest sport centres in Gijón are Estadio El Molinón, wi 30,000 seats, Plaza de Toros de El Bibio wi 12,000 an Palacio de Deportes wi 5,000 seats.

The ceety haes in tot 13 public sport centres (in Spainyie: Centros Municipales Integrados) wi soummin puils, gyms an saunas. Swimmin puils are free for childer up tae age 14.

Economy[eedit | eedit soorce]

For hintle the twintiet century the toun wis hivily dependent on matur hivy industries, but at the end o the Franco era, tertiar sector employment began tae expand rapidly alang wi the ceety's population which bi 2007 stuid offeecially at 277,897 for Gijón proper, an approximately 380,000 for the tot Gijón agglomeration.

The port is at the centre o mony o the local businesses. Apairt frae directly port relatit activities, the economy is based on tourism, steel (Arcelor), ither metallurgy, livestock rearin an fisheries.

Climate[eedit | eedit soorce]

Gijón haes a humid oceanic climate, wi mild temperaturs an heichlie humidity throuoot the year. The simmers are wairm, wi baith owercast an sunny days common, whilst winters are rainy but hintle milder than maist places sae far north; frosts are vera rare an niver severe.

Climate data for Gijón
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average heich °C (°F) 13.1
(55.6)
13.8
(56.8)
14.9
(58.8)
15.6
(60.1)
17.8
(64.0)
20.2
(68.4)
22.4
(72.3)
23.2
(73.8)
21.8
(71.2)
19.0
(66.2)
15.6
(60.1)
14.0
(57.2)
17.6
(63.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 8.9
(48.0)
9.6
(49.3)
10.7
(51.3)
11.8
(53.2)
14.3
(57.7)
16.9
(62.4)
19.2
(66.6)
19.7
(67.5)
17.9
(64.2)
15.0
(59.0)
11.6
(52.9)
9.9
(49.8)
13.8
(56.8)
Average law °C (°F) 4.7
(40.5)
5.4
(41.7)
6.6
(43.9)
8.1
(46.6)
10.9
(51.6)
13.6
(56.5)
16.0
(60.8)
16.2
(61.2)
14.1
(57.4)
11.0
(51.8)
7.6
(45.7)
5.8
(42.4)
10.0
(50.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 94
(3.7)
85
(3.3)
74
(2.9)
93
(3.7)
79
(3.1)
47
(1.9)
45
(1.8)
54
(2.1)
70
(2.8)
104
(4.1)
120
(4.7)
104
(4.1)
971
(38.2)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 12 11 10 12 11 7 6 7 8 11 12 12 121
Mean monthly sunshine oors 103 109 137 151 167 180 194 190 158 132 106 92 1,721
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[5]

Transport[eedit | eedit soorce]

Airports[eedit | eedit soorce]

Gijón is servit bi Asturias Airport, aboot 38 km (24 mi) frae the centre o the ceety; it is locatit in the municipality o Castrillon. The airport is connectit tae the ceety bi the A-8 motorwey, the N-632 national highway and scheduled bus service (Alsa). It haes regular flichts tae the follaein destinations: Barcelona, Brussels, Fuerteventura, Geneva, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Lisbon, London - Stansted, Madrid, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris - Charles de Gaulle, Seville, Tenerife-Sooth an Valencia. Operatin companies are: Air France, Air Europa and Iberia.

Seaport[eedit | eedit soorce]

LD Lines ferries haes a regular service frae the Port o Gijon, El Musel tae the port of Nantes Archived 2014-07-02 at the Wayback Machine (Saint-Nazaire) wi three weekly depairturs an a voyage time o 16h. This is pairt o the Motorweys o the Sea project o the European Union. In Januar 2014 twa new regular lines wur opened, weekly wi a voyage time o 25h direct tae Poole (Ingland), an via Saint-Nazaire tae Rosslare Harbour (Ireland).[6]

Public transport[eedit | eedit soorce]

Gijón currently haes 21 bus lines, which are:

  • Line 1 BRT: Cerillero - Cabueñes Hospital
  • Line 2: El Corte Inglés - Cabueñes Hospital
  • Line 4: El Lauredal - Viesques - Varsity campus
  • Line 6: Musel - Alcampo - Polígono de Porceyo - Polígono de Zarracina
  • Line 10: Pumarín - Candenal- Cabueñes Hospital
  • Line 12: Cerillero - Montevil - Contrueces
  • Line 14: Polígono de Somonte - Tremañes - Infanzón
  • Line 15: Nuevo Roces - Viesques - Cabueñes Hospital
  • Line 16: Estación Ferrocaril - Vega
  • Line 18: Nuevo Gijón - Cabueñes Hospital
  • Line 20: Montevil - Somió
  • Line 21: Jove Hospital - La Campa Torres
  • Line 24: Monteana - La Pedrera - Mareo
  • Line 25: Tremañes - Infanzón - La Olla
  • Line 26: Gijón - Deva
  • Line 28: Pza. del Humedal - El Molinón
  • Line 30: Pza. del Humedal - FIDMA (International tred fair of Asturias)
  • Line 34: Fomento - Musel
  • Line 54: Pza. del Humedal - Las Mestas (Durin the Davis Cup semi-feenal o Tennis)

Nicht bus service (Fridays an Seturdays anerly, every day 1 Julie tae 31 August)

  • Line 41: El Cerillero - Pza. del Carmen (BUHO 1)
  • Line 42: Nuevo Roces - Pumarin - Pza. del Carmen (BUHO 2)
  • Line 43: Contrueces - Llano - Coto - Pza. del Carmen (BUHO 3)
  • Line 44: Vega - Viesques - Arena - Pza. del Carmen (BUHO 4)

Railwey[eedit | eedit soorce]

The ceety is servit bi the Gijón Railway Station.

Roads an heich-gates[eedit | eedit soorce]

Type Name Alternate name Itinerary
Highway A-8 Autovía del Cantábrico Baamonde - Gijón - Llanes - Torrelavega - Solares - Bilbao - San Sebastián
A-66 Autovía Ruta de la Plata Gijón - Oviedo - Mieres - León - Benavente - Zamora - Salamanca - Béjar - Plasencia - Mérida - Almendralejo - Sevilla
AS-I Autovía Minera Gijón - Pola de Siero - Langreo - Mieres
AS-II Autovía Industrial Gijón - Lugo de Llanera - Oviedo
GJ-10 Interior ring road Gijón seaport (El Musel) - Pumarín - El Llano
GJ-20 Wastren ring road GJ-81 (Autopista Acceso Sur a Gijón) - Tremañes - Gijón seaport (El Musel)
GJ-8 Sooth access road (A-8/A-66) - Plaza del Humedal
National road N-630 Gijón - Oviedo - Mieres - Puerto de Pajares - León - Zamora - Salamanca - Plasencia - Mérida - Almendralejo - Sevilla
N-632 Cenero - Cudillero - Muros del Nalón - Soto del Barco - Avilés - Gijón - Villaviciosa - Colunga - Caravia - Ribadesella
N-641 El Musel access Road Gijón - La Calzada - Gijón seaport (El Musel) .
Regional and local roads AS-19 Gijón-Avilés Road Gijón - El Empalme - Prendes - Tabaza - Avilés
AS-246 Carbonera Road Gijón - Alto de la Madera - Noreña - El Berrón - La Gargantada - Langreo
AS-247 Piles tae Infanzón Road Gijón - Somió - Alto del Infanzón
AS-248 Gijón-Siero Road Gijón - Vega de Poja - Pola de Siero
AS-266 Oviedo-Gijón Road Oviedo - Lugones - Pruvia - Porceyo - Gijón
AS-19a Gijón-Avilés Road Puenteseco - Muniello

Govrenment[eedit | eedit soorce]

Syne the Spainyie transition tae democracy, PSOE govrened continuously durin 32 years, frae 1979 tae 2011.

Syne 11 Juin 2011, the ceety mayor is Carmen Moriyón o Asturias Forum, who wis supportit wi the votes o the Popular Pairty.

Councillors distribution in local elections[eedit | eedit soorce]

Poleetical pairty 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
PSOE 13 17 11 12 12 16 13 13 10
FAC 9
AP / PP 1 7 7 9 11 9 11 12 5
IU 4 3 3 3 4 2 3 2 3
UCD / CDS 9 6
UGJ 3

Mayors in democracy[eedit | eedit soorce]

Name Stairt End Pairty
José Manuel Palacio 1979 1987 PSOE
Vicente Álvarez Areces 1987 1999 PSOE
Paz Fernández Felgueroso 1999 2011 PSOE
Carmen Moriyón 2011 FAC

Internaitional relations[eedit | eedit soorce]

Twin touns – Sister ceeties[eedit | eedit soorce]

Gijón is twinned wi:

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

  1. . Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Cite has empty unkent parameter: |1= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Decreto 105/2006, de 20 de septiembre, por el que se determinan los topónimos oficiales del concejo de Gijón/Xixón.
  3. Consejos de Distrito Gijón City Hall website]
  4. (in Inglis) Name o the "Instituto Asturiano" an ither details taken frae the Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer By Thomas Baldwin, Sixth Edition, (1847). [1]
  5. "Valores Climatológicos Normales. Gijon".
  6. El Musel tendrá línea de ferry con Inglaterra e Irlanda a partir de enero; El Comercio, 10 December 2013 (in Spaingie)

Freemit airtins[eedit | eedit soorce]

Template:Municipalities o Asturias