Province of León

The province of León was established in 1833 with the new Spanish administrative organisation of regions and provinces to replace former kingdoms. The greater Leonese Region was composed of the provinces of León, Salamanca, Valladolid, Palencia and Zamora.

The Kingdom of León was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the Iberian peninsula shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of León. The eastern, inland part of the kingdom was joined dynastically to the Kingdom of Castile, first in 1037–1065, then in 1077–1109 and again in 1126–1157, 1230–1296 and from 1301 onward (see: historic union of the Kingdoms of Castile and León). The western and Atlantic provinces became the Kingdom of Portugal in 1139.

The independently administered Kingdom of León, situated in the northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula, retained the status of a kingdom until 1833, although dynastic union had brought it into the Crown of Castile. The Kingdom was composed of Adelantamientos Mayores, where the Leonese Adelantamientos consisted of the territories between the Picos de Europa and the Duero River. The political and military chiefs of these territories were referred to as Adelantados; those chiefs began to convene as an assembly in the early 12th century, while the crown appointed the Merinos as minor and appellate judges.{{Cite book|title=Los Adelantados y Merinos Mayores de León (siglos XIII-XV)|last=Jular Pérez-Alfaro|first=Cristina|date=1990|publisher=Universidad de León|isbn=84-7719-225-1|location=León, Spain}}

According to UNESCO, in 1188 the Kingdom of León developed the first Parliament in Europe, the Cortes de León, which included the elected representatives of towns and cities.{{Cite web|url=https://en.unesco.org/memoryoftheworld/registry/251|title=The Decreta of León of 1188 - The oldest documentary manifestation of the European parliamentary system {{!}} United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|website=www.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2023-07-07}} In 1202, that Parliament approved economic legislation to regulate trade and guilds.{{Cite book|title=Democracy|last=Keane|first=John|date=2016-01-31|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231539500|location=New York Chichester, West Sussex|doi = 10.7312/blau17412-110|chapter = 91. The Life and Death of Democracy}}

The historical population is given in the following chart:

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Period = from:0 till:600

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color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till

bar:1877 from:0 till:358 text:357,944

bar:1887 from:0 till:389 text:389,233

bar:1900 from:0 till:401 text:401,172

bar:1910 from:0 till:419 text:419,226

bar:1920 from:0 till:436 text:436,369

bar:1930 from:0 till:462 text:461,560

bar:1940 from:0 till:509 text:508,613

bar:1950 from:0 till:551 text:551,072

bar:1960 from:0 till:591 text:591,130

bar:1970 from:0 till:563 text:562,766

bar:1980 from:0 till:524 text:523,607

bar:1990 from:0 till:526 text:525,896

bar:2000 from:0 till:489 text:488,751

bar:2010 from:0 till:493 text:493,312

bar:2020 from:0 till:456 text:456,439

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pos:(35,20) fontsize:M

text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

{{unreferenced section|date=September 2023}}

{{See also|Leonese language}}

The Provincial Government of León signed accords with language associations for promoting the Leonese language.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Leonese is taught in the city of León, Mansilla de las Mulas, La Bañeza, Valencia de Don Juan or Ponferrada for adult people, and in sixteen schools of León.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} The City Council of León writes some of its announcements in Leonese in order to promote the language.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

In the western part of the El Bierzo, the westernmost region of the province, Galician language is spoken and taught at schools.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

File:Arquitectura tradicional de El Bierzo.jpg, a medieval village in El Bierzo.]]

As for the temperatures, in general it is a cold climate due to the altitude and the abundance of frost (which persist from November to May), being more intense in the mountainous areas reaching -18 °C. Vega de Liordes, an enclave in the León sector of Picos de Europa belonging to the municipality of Posada de Valdeón registered {{convert|-35.8|C|F}} on January 7, 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.eldiario.es/castilla-y-leon/provincias/leon/vega-liordes-leon-bate-jueves-record-historico-temperatura-minima-espana-35-6-grados_1_6732862.html|title=Vega de Liordes (León) bate este jueves el récord histórico de temperatura mínima en España con -35,8 grados|publisher=elDiario.es|date=7 January 2021|access-date=12 January 2021|language=Spanish |trans-title=Vega de Liordes (León) beats this Thursday the historical record for the minimum temperature in Spain with -35.8 degrees}}{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/01/07/spain-records-coldest-ever-temperature-at-35-8-c|title=Spain records coldest ever temperature at minus 35.8 degrees Celsius|access-date=12 January 2021}}

Embutidos

• Cecina de León: from beef. In the Leonese language, cecina means "meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke". Cecina de León is made of the hind legs of beef, salted, smoked and air-dried in the province of León, and has PGI status.
• Botillo: from pig. Traditionally made in the western Leonese regions, botiellu in Leonese or botelo in Galician, is a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine. It is a culinary specialty of the county of El Bierzo and also of the region of Trás-os-Montes in Portugal. This type of embutido is a meat product made from different pieces left over from the butchering of a pig, including the ribs, tail, and bones with a little meat left on them. These are chopped; seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and other spices; stuffed in the cecum of the pig; and partly cured via smoking. It can also include the pig's tongue, shoulder blade, jaw, and backbone, but never exceeding 20% of the total volume. It is normally consumed cooked, covered with a sheet. In some parts of the province, specially close to Orbigo river it's also known as Yosco. It has PGI status.

Cheese

• Queso de Valdeón (Valdeón cheese): a blue cheese produced in Posada de Valdeon, traditionally wrapped in chestnut or sycamore maple leaves before being sent to market.

Wines

• Bierzo: in the west of the province of León and covers about 3,000 km². The area consists of numerous small valleys in the mountainous part (Alto Bierzo) and of a wide, flat plain (Bajo Bierzo). The denominación de origen covers 23 municipalities.
• Tierra de León: in the southeast of the province of León.

Sweets

• Mantecadas de Astorga
• Hojaldres de Astorga
• Lazos de San Guillermo
• Nicanores de Boñar

• List of municipalities in León

• El Bierzo
• Maragatería
• Tierra de Campos
• La Montaña
• La Ribera
• La Cabrera
• Tierras de La Bañeza
• Tierras de León

• Matar judíos ({{lit|killing Jews}})
• Santiago de Peñalba
• Castrillo de los Polvazares
• Cave of Valporquero
• Kingdom of León
• Leonese language
• List of municipalities of León
• Montes de León
• Asturica Augusta

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|Province of León}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090302044956/http://www.turisleon.com/ The Official Tourism Website of the Province of Leon]
• [http://www.dipuleon.es Leonese Provincial Government]
• [http://www.aytoleon.es Leonese City Council]
• San Isidro Ski Resort

{{Provinces of Spain}}

{{Municipalities in León}}

{{Portal bar|Spain}}

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