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.
About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the capital, León. 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".
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.[1]
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.[2] In 1202, that Parliament approved economic legislation to regulate trade and guilds.[3]
Population
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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.[4][5]
Cuisine
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.
^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. ISBN9780231539500.
