Asturias

Comunidad Autónoma del Principado de
Asturias

Area
- total
- % of Spain

Ranked 10th
10 604 km²
2,1%

Population
- Total (2003)
- % of Spain
- Density

Ranked 12th
1 056 789
2,5%
99,65/km²

Demonym
- English
- Spanish

Asturian
asturiano/a, astur

Statute of Autonomy

January 11, 1982

ISO 3166-2

Parliamentary
representation
Congress seats
Senate seats

8
2

President

Vicente Alberto Álvarez Areces (PSOE)

Gobierno del Principado de Asturias

Anthem

Asturias, patria querida

The Principality of Asturias (Asturian: Asturies) is a province and an autonomous community of Spain on the north coast facing the Bay of Biscay (Spanish: Golfo de Vizcaya or Mar Cantábrico).

The capital is Oviedo; Asturias was formerly called the province of Oviedo. Other noteworthy cities are the major seaport Gijón; and the industrial city of Avilés;. Other towns include Cangas de Onís;, Cangas del Narcea, Grado, Langreo, Mieres, Villaviciosa, and Llanes. See also List of municipalities in Asturias.

The autonomous community is bordered on the east by Cantabria, on the south by Castile-Leon (Castilla y León, province of León;), on the west by Galicia (province of Lugo), and on the north by the Bay of Biscay.

At one point, Asturias was one of the last remnants of Christian Spain; for this reason, the heir to the Spanish throne automatically takes the title of Prince of Asturias, much as the heir to the British throne is the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay.

Asturias shares the Parque Nacional Picos de Europa (in the Picos de Europa mountain range) with Cantabria and with León province.

In 1934, the worker movements fought the government of the Second Spanish Republic in the so-called Revolution of Asturias. Troops led by Francisco Franco were brought from the North African colonies to suffocate the rebellion.

Economy of Asturias

The traditional resource of Asturias was mountain farming. The mountain pastures feed milk cows. The mountains also held rich coal miness; however, lately Asturian coal can't compete with off-EU imports and is maintained by tariffs and subventions. The main mining company is the state-run Hunosa. There was also a steel industry, grouped around the state-run Ensidesa. The difficulties to compete with foreing imports led to a troubled reconvertion process, heavily protested with strikes.

Gastronomy

Asturias is known for its fine lamb and seafood, but its most famous dish is Fabada Asturiana, a stew made with large white beans (fabes), shoulder of pork (lacón), black sausage (morcilla), spicy sausage (chorizo) and saffron (azafrán).

The apple trees sustain the production of alcoholic cider. The Cabrales cheese is also famous for its poignant odour. Salmons climb Asturian rivers; the first fish of the season is called campanu (from campana, a bell tolled to signal the catch) and reaches a high price.

External links

Government of Asturias (in Spanish)

Autonomous Communities of Spain
Andalusia \| Aragon \| Asturias \| Balearic Islands \| Basque Country \| Canary Islands \| Cantabria \| Castile-La Mancha \| Castile-Leon \| Catalonia \| Extremadura \| Galicia \| La Rioja \| Madrid \| Murcia \| Navarre \| Valencia \| Ceuta \| Melilla \| Plaza de soberanía