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Province of León

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Province of León
Provincia de León (Spanish)
Provincia de Llión (Leonese)
Province
Main sights from the province of León. From left to right: Pantheon of San Isidoro, Ponferrada castle, Las Médulas, Astorga, Castrillo de los Polvazares, Barrios de Luna Reservoir.
Main sights from the province of León. From left to right: Pantheon of San Isidoro, Ponferrada castle, Las Médulas, Astorga, Castrillo de los Polvazares, Barrios de Luna Reservoir.
Flag of Province of León
Flag
Coat of arms of Province of León
Coat of arms
Location of the Province of León in Spain
Location of the Province of León in Spain
Coordinates: 42°40′N 6°00′W / 42.667°N 6.000°W / 42.667; -6.000
Country Spain
Autonomous community Castile and León
CapitalLeón
Municipalities211
Area
[1]
 • Total
15,578.32 km2 (6,014.82 sq mi)
 • Rank7th in Spain
 3.1% of Spain
Population
 (2025)[2]
 • Total
448,030
 • Rank33th in Spain
 • Density28.760/km2 (74.488/sq mi)
 0.9% of Spain
Demonym(s)Leonese
Spanish: Leonés/Leonesa
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeES-LE
Websitewww.dipuleon.es

The Province of León (UK: /leɪˈɒn/, US: /leɪˈoʊn/; Spanish: Provincia de León [leˈon]; Leonese: Provincia de Llión [ʎiˈoŋ]; Leonese: [leˈoŋ]) is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northern part of the Region of León, and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.

It has a population of 448,030 in an area of 15,578.32 square kilometres (6,014.82 sq mi) across its 211 municipalities.[2][1]

The climate is dry, cold in winter and hot in summer. This creates the perfect environment for wine and all types of cold meats and sausages like the leonese "Morcilla" and the "Cecina".

There are two famous Roman Catholic cathedrals in the province, the main one in León and another in Astorga. The province shares the Picos de Europa National Park (in the Picos de Europa mountain range) with Cantabria and Asturias. It has 211 municipalities.

History

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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.[3]

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.[4] In 1202, that Parliament approved economic legislation to regulate trade and guilds.[5]

Climate

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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 −35.8 °C (−32.4 °F) on January 7, 2021.[6][7]

Municipalities

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Peñalba de Santiago, a medieval village in El Bierzo.

The province has 211 municipalities:

Comarcas

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The province has 8 comarcas/counties:

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1842223,310—    
1857348,756+56.2%
1877357,944+2.6%
1887389,233+8.7%
1900401,172+3.1%
1910419,226+4.5%
1920436,369+4.1%
1930461,560+5.8%
1940508,613+10.2%
1950551,072+8.3%
1960591,130+7.3%
1970562,766−4.8%
1981523,607−7.0%
1991525,896+0.4%
2001488,751−7.1%
2011493,312+0.9%
2021452,435−8.3%
Source: INE[8]

As of 2025, the population is 448,030, of which 48.7% are male, and 51.3% are female. Minors make up 12.3% of the population, and seniors make up 29.4%.[2]

Languages

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The Provincial Government of León signed accords with language associations for promoting the Leonese language.[citation needed] 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] The City Council of León writes some of its announcements in Leonese in order to promote the language.[citation needed]

In the western part of the El Bierzo, the westernmost region of the province, Galician language is spoken and taught at schools.[citation needed]

Immigration

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As of 2025, immigrants make up 10.1% of the population. The 5 largest foreign countries of birth are Colombia, Morocco, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Portugal.[2]

Cuisine

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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.[clarification needed] In some parts of the province, especially close to the Orbigo river, it is also known as yosco. It has PGI status.[citation needed]

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

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. 1 2 "Información Geográfica Destacada" [Geographical information data] (in Spanish). IGN.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Annual population census 2021-2025". INE.
  3. ↑ Jular Pérez-Alfaro, Cristina (1990). Los Adelantados y Merinos Mayores de León (siglos XIII-XV). León, Spain: Universidad de León. ISBN 84-7719-225-1.
  4. ↑ "The Decreta of León of 1188 - The oldest documentary manifestation of the European parliamentary system | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  5. ↑ Keane, John (2016-01-31). "91. The Life and Death of Democracy". Democracy. New York Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/blau17412-110. ISBN 9780231539500.
  6. ↑ "Vega de Liordes (León) bate este jueves el récord histórico de temperatura mínima en España con -35,8 grados" [Vega de Liordes (León) beats this Thursday the historical record for the minimum temperature in Spain with -35.8 degrees] (in Spanish). elDiario.es. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Spain records coldest ever temperature at minus 35.8 degrees Celsius". Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "INEbase. Alterations to the municipalities in the Population Censuses since 1842". INE.
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