Map - Asturias, Asturias
Oviedo - Asturias provincial capital city
Asturias post code: 33000 - 33997
Information about Asturias, Asturias
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The Principality of Asturias (Spanish: Principado de Asturias, Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies or Asturies) is an autonomous community within the kingdom of Spain, former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. It is situated on the Spanish north coast facing the Cantabrian Sea (Mar Cantábrico, the Spanish name for the Bay of Biscay).
The most important cities are the provincial capital, Oviedo (Uviéu), the seaport and largest city Gijón (Xixón), and the industrial town of Avilés. Other towns include Mieres, Langreo,(Llangréu) (with La Felguera and Sama), Luarca, Siero, Cangas de Onís (Cangues), Cangas del Narcea, Grado (Grau), Lena (Llena), Laviana (Llaviana), El Entrego (L'Entregu), Villaviciosa, Vegadeo ( A Veiga ), and Llanes. See also List of municipalities in Asturias, Comarcas of Asturias.
Asturias is bordered on the east by Cantabria, on the south by Castilla y León, on the west by Galicia (Lugo (province)), and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.
Asturias has been occupied by humans since the Lower Paleolithic era, and during the Upper Paleolithic was characterized by cave paintings in the eastern part of the area. In the Mesolithic period a native culture developed, that of the Asturiense, and later, with the introduction of the Bronze Age, megaliths and tumuli were constructed. In the Iron Age, the territory came under the cultural influence of the Celts; the local Celtic peoples, known as the Astures, were composed of tribes such as the Luggones, the Pesicos, and others, who populated the entire area with castros (fortified hill-towns). Today the Astur Celtic influence persists in place names, such as those of rivers and mountains.
With the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus (29-19 BC), the region entered into the annals of history. After several centuries without foreign presence, the Suebi and Visigoths occupied the land from the 6th century AD to the beginning of the 8th century, ending with the Moorish invasion of Spain. However, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spain's northern coast never fully became part of Islamic Spain. Rather, with the beginning of the Moorish conquest in the 8th century, this region became a refuge for Christian nobles, and in 722 a de facto independent kingdom was established, the Regnum Asturorum, which was to became the cradle of the incipient Reconquista.
The most important cities are the provincial capital, Oviedo (Uviéu), the seaport and largest city Gijón (Xixón), and the industrial town of Avilés. Other towns include Mieres, Langreo,(Llangréu) (with La Felguera and Sama), Luarca, Siero, Cangas de Onís (Cangues), Cangas del Narcea, Grado (Grau), Lena (Llena), Laviana (Llaviana), El Entrego (L'Entregu), Villaviciosa, Vegadeo ( A Veiga ), and Llanes. See also List of municipalities in Asturias, Comarcas of Asturias.
Asturias is bordered on the east by Cantabria, on the south by Castilla y León, on the west by Galicia (Lugo (province)), and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.
Asturias has been occupied by humans since the Lower Paleolithic era, and during the Upper Paleolithic was characterized by cave paintings in the eastern part of the area. In the Mesolithic period a native culture developed, that of the Asturiense, and later, with the introduction of the Bronze Age, megaliths and tumuli were constructed. In the Iron Age, the territory came under the cultural influence of the Celts; the local Celtic peoples, known as the Astures, were composed of tribes such as the Luggones, the Pesicos, and others, who populated the entire area with castros (fortified hill-towns). Today the Astur Celtic influence persists in place names, such as those of rivers and mountains.
With the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus (29-19 BC), the region entered into the annals of history. After several centuries without foreign presence, the Suebi and Visigoths occupied the land from the 6th century AD to the beginning of the 8th century, ending with the Moorish invasion of Spain. However, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spain's northern coast never fully became part of Islamic Spain. Rather, with the beginning of the Moorish conquest in the 8th century, this region became a refuge for Christian nobles, and in 722 a de facto independent kingdom was established, the Regnum Asturorum, which was to became the cradle of the incipient Reconquista.
Posted by
Nick Storey
over 3 years ago
