Castile and León

Antecedents of autonomy

In June 1978, Castile and León obtained the pre-autonomy, through the creation of General council of Castile and León by Royal Decree-Law 20/1978, of June 13.^[19]

In times of the First Spanish Republic (1873-1874), the federal republicans conceived the project to create an federated state of eleven provinces in the valley of the Spanish Douro, that would also have included the provinces of Santander and Logroño.^[20] Very few years before, in 1869, as part of a manifesto, federal republicans representatives of the 17 provinces of Albacete, Ávila, Burgos, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, León, Logroño, Madrid, Palencia, Salamanca, Santander, Segovia, Soria, Toledo, Valladolid and Zamora proposed in the so-called Castilian Federal Pact the conformation of an entity formed by two different "states": the state of Old Castile -that is presently built for the current Castilian-Leonese provinces and the provinces of Logroño and Santander-, and the state of New Castile -which conforms to the current provinces of Castile-La Mancha plus the province of Madrid-. The end of the Republic, at the beginning of 1874, thwarted the initiative.^[21]

Manifestation of 1978 in Valladolid that sued a Statute of Autonomy for the region.

In 1921, on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the Battle of Villalar, the Santander City Council advocated the creation of a Castilian and Leonese Commonwealth of eleven provinces, idea that would be maintained in later years. At the end of 1931 and beginning of 1932, from León, Eugenio Merino elaborated a text in which the base of a Castilian-Leonese regionalism was put. The text was published in the Diario de León newspaper.^[4]

During the Second Spanish Republic, especially in 1936, there was a great regionalist activity favorable to a region of eleven provinces, and even bases for the Statute of Autonomy were elaborated. The Diario de León advocated for the formalization of this initiative and the constitution of an autonomous region with these words:

Join in a personality León and Old Castile around the great basin of the Douro, without to fall now into provincial rivalries.

— Diario de León, May 22, 1936.

The end of the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of Franco regime ended the aspirations of the autonomy for the region. The philosopher José Ortega y Gasset collected this scheme in his publications.^[22]

After the death of Francisco Franco, regionalist, autonomist and nationalist organizations (Castilian-Leonese regionalism and Castilian nationalism) as Regional Alliance of Castile and León (1975), Regional Institute of Castile and León (1976) or the Autonomous Nationalist Party of Castile and León (1977). Later after the extinction of these formations arose in 1993 Regionalist Unity of Castile and León.^[23]

At the same time, others of Leonesist character arose, such as the Leonese Autonomous Group (1978) or Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (1980), which advocated the creation of a Leonese autonomous community, composed of provinces of León, Salamanca and Zamora. The popular and political support that maintained the uniprovincial autonomy in León became very important in that city.

After the entry into operation of the Castilian-Leonese pre-autonomous body, which was created by the Provincial Council of León in its agreement of April 16 of 1980, the same institution of León revoked in January 13 of 1983 its original agreement, just when the draft Organic Law entered into the parliament existence of contradictory agreements and which was valid was resolved by the Constitutional Court in the Sentence 89/1984 of September 28 in its foundation of law declares that the subject of the process is not already integrated, as in its preliminary phase, by the councils and municipalities, but it is a new body that is born because it has already manifested the driving will and expresses now that of the territory as a whole; and that will already has a different object, the future legal regime of the territory that has already manifested its will to become an autonomous community through initiatives that have exhausted its effects.

Coinciding with that sentence, there were several demonstrations in León, some of them numerous, in favor of the option only León, which according to some sources brought together a number close to 90 000 attendees,^[24] This is the highest concentration held in the city in the Democracy until the subsequent rejection of the 2004 Madrid train bombings.^[25]

In an agreement adopted on July 31, 1981, the Provincial Council of Segovia decided to exercise the initiative so that Segovia could be constituted as a uniprovincial autonomous community, but in the municipalities of the province the situation was equal between the supporters of the uniprovincial autonomy or with the rest of Castile and León.

Celebration of the Villalar Day in 1985.

The City Council of Cuéllar initially adhered to this autonomic initiative in agreement adopted by the corporation on October 5 of 1981. However, another agreement adopted by the same corporation dated December 3 of the same year revoked the previous one and the process was paralyzed pending the processing of an appeal filed by the provincial deputation against this last agreement this change of opinion of the city council of Cuéllar inclined the balance in the province towards the autonomy with the rest of Castile and León, but it was an agreement that arrived out of time. Finally the province of Segovia was incorporated into Castile and León along with the other eight provinces and legal coverage was given through the Organic Law 5/1983 for "reasons of national interest", as provided for in article 144 c of the Spanish Constitution for those provinces that have not exercised their right on time.

Today, the Villalar Foundation is responsible for the realization of cultural activities on the art, culture or identity of Castile and León.^[26]

The community grants each year, on the occasion of the Castile and León Day, the Castile and León Awards to the Castilian-Leonese outstanding in the following areas: arts, human values, scientific research, social sciences, restoration and conservation, environment and sports.^[27]

Location

Castile and León is an autonomous community with no exit to the sea that is located in the north-western quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula. Its territory borders on the north with the uniprovincial communities of the Principality of Asturias and Cantabria as well as with the Basque Country (Biscay and Álava); to the east with the uniprovincial community of La Rioja and with Aragon (province of Zaragoza), to the south with the Community of Madrid, Castile-La Mancha (provinces of Toledo and Guadalajara) and Extremadura (province of Cáceres) and to the west with Galicia (provinces of Lugo and Ourense) and Portugal (Bragança District and Guarda District).

Orography

Picos de Europa in the Province of León.

Sierra de Gredos range in the Sistema Central.

The morphology of Castile and León is formed, for the most part, by the Meseta and a belt of mountainous reliefs. The plateau is a high plateau, which has an average altitude close to 800  m.a.s., is covered by deposited clay materials that have given rise to a dry and arid landscape.

Following the morphology of the area can be seen: to the north, the mountains of the provinces of Palencia and of León with high and spiky summits and the mountains of province of Burgos, divided into two parts by the Pancorbo gorge, link between the Basque Country and Castile. Of these, the northern part belongs to the Cantabrian Mountains and reaches the city of Burgos. The east-southeast zone, belonging to the Sistema Ibérico. In the northwest part the mountains of Zamora extend, with peaks inplateauted by the erosion. To the east, in the Soria mountains, you can see the Sistema Ibérico, presided over by the Moncayo Massif, its highest peak. Separating the northern plateau from the southern, to the south, the Sistema Central rises, where the mountain ranges of Gata, Francia, Béjar and Gredos in the western half and those of Ávila, Guadarrama, Somosierra and Ayllón in the eastern half.

Geology

The Northern Plateau (Meseta Norte) is constituted by Paleozoic sockets. At the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, once the Hercynian folding that raised the current Central Europe and the Gallaeci zone of Spain, the deposited materials were dragged by the erosive action of the rivers.

During the alpine orogeny, the materials that formed the plateau broke through multiple points. From this fracture rose the mountains of León, with mountains of not much height and, constituting the spine of the Plateau (Meseta), the Cantabrian Mountains and the Sistema Central, formed by materials such as granite or metamorphic slates.

The karst complex of Ojo Guareña, consisting of 110 km of galleries^[28] and its caves formed in carbonatic materials of Coniacian which are situated on a level of impermeable marls, is the second largest of the peninsula.

This geological configuration has allowed upwellings of mineral-medicinal or thermal water, used now or in the past, in Almeida de Sayago, Boñar, Calabor, Caldas de Luna, Castromonte, Cucho, Gejuelo del Barro, Morales de Campos, Valdelateja and Villarijo, among other places.

Hydrography

Rivers

Douro basin

The Douro on its way through Zamora.

The main hydrographic network of Castile and León is constituted by the Douro river and its tributaries. From its source in the Picos de Urbión, in Soria, to its mouth in the Portuguese city of Porto, the Douro covers 897 km. From the north descend the Pisuerga, the Valderaduey and the Esla rivers, its tributaries more plentiful and by the east, with less water in its flows, highlight the Adaja and the Duratón. After passing the town of Zamora, the Douro is confined between the canyons of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park, bordering with Portugal. On the left bank are important tributaries such as Tormes, Huebra, Águeda, Côa and Paiva, all from Sistema Central. On the right they reach the Sabor, the Tua and the Tâmega, born in the Galician Massif. After the Arribes area, the Douro turns west into Portugal until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

Other watersheds

Several rivers of the community pour their waters into the Ebro basin, in Palencia, Burgos and Soria (Jalón river), that of Miño-Sil in León and Zamora, that of the Tagus in Ávila and Salamanca (rivers Tiétar and Alberche and Alagón respectively) and Cantabrian basin in the provinces through which the Cantabrian Mountains extends.

Rivers and provincial capitals where they pass

River	Capital	River mouth	Other locations where it passes
Adaja	Ávila	Douro in Villamarciel	Tordesillas and Arévalo
Arlanzón	Burgos	Arlanza in Quintana del Puente	Arlanzón and Pampliega
Bernesga	León	Esla	La Robla
Carrión	Palencia	Pisuerga in Dueñas	Guardo and Carrión de los Condes
Tormes	Salamanca	Douro in Fermoselle	El Barco de Ávila, Guijuelo, Alba de Tormes and Ledesma
Eresma	Segovia	Adaja in Matapozuelos	Coca
Douro	Soria and Zamora	Atlantic Ocean in Porto	Almazán, Aranda de Duero, Tordesillas, Toro, Aldeadávila de la Ribera and Vilvestre
Pisuerga	Valladolid	Douro in Geria	Aguilar de Campoo, Cervera de Pisuerga, Venta de Baños, Dueñas, Tariego de Cerrato and Simancas

Lakes and reservoirs

El Burguillo Reservoir in Valle de Iruelas Natural Reserve.

In addition to the rivers, the Douro basin also hosts a large number of lakes and lagoons such as the Negra de Urbión Lake, in the Picos de Urbión, the Grande de Gredos Lake , in Gredos, the Sanabria Lake, in Zamora or the La Nava de Fuentes Lake in Palencia. Also emphasize a great amount of reservoirs, fed by the water coming from the rains and the thaw of the snowy summits. Thus, Castile and León, despite not having abundant rainfall, is one of the communities in Spain with the highest level of water dammed.

Many of these natural lakes are being used as an economic resource, boosting rural tourism and helping to conserve ecosystems. The Sanabria Lake was a pioneer in this.

Climate

Puebla de Sanabria

La Alberca, Sierra de Francia.

Castile and León has a continentalized Mediterranean climate, with long, cold winters, with average temperatures between 3 and 6 °C in January and short, hot summers (average 19 to 22 °C), but with the three or four months of summer aridity characteristic of the Mediterranean climate. Rainfall, with an average of 450–500 mm per year, is scarce, accentuating in the lower lands.

Climatic factors

In Castile and León the cold extends almost continuously for much of the year, being a very characteristic element of its climate. The coldest periods of winter are associated with invasions of a continental polar front and strata of marine arctic air, rare is that they do not reach temperatures of the order of -5 ° to -10  °C. Likewise, in situations of anticyclone, in the interior of the region they cause persistent fogs, creating prolonged cold situations due to radiation processes. The intense "cold waves" of the winter central months are typical, showing a particular tendency to occur from the second fortnight of December to the first of February. During its course the most extreme minimum temperatures occur, whose values vary between -10 ° and -13  °C of its westernmost sector and -15 ° and -20  °C of the central plains and high moorlands. The lowest recorded records reach -22  °C of Burgos, -21.9  °C in Coca (Segovia), -20.4  °C in Ávila, -20  °C in Salamanca and -19.2  °C in Soria. The high altitude of the Meseta and its mountains accentuates the contrast between winter and summer temperatures, as well as day and night temperatures.^[29]

Due to the mountainous barriers that surround Castile and León, the maritime winds are stopped, thus stopping the precipitations. Due to that, the rains fall in a very unequal way in the Castilian and Leonese territory. While in the middle of the Douro basin there is an annual average of 450  mm, in the western regions of the mountains of León, the Cantabrian Mountains and the southern area of the Provinces of Ávila and Salamanca, rainfall reaches 1500 mm per year, with a maximum of 3400 mm per year in the western part of the Sierra de Gredos, in the Candelario-Bejar Massif, which makes this area the rainiest not only from Spain, but from the Iberian Peninsula.^[30]

Climatic regions

La Covatilla Ski Resort. The Sierra de Béjar is one of the wettest areas of Castile and León next to the Sistema Central Mountains.

Although Castile and León is framed within the continental climate, in its lands different climate domains are distinguished:^[31]

• According to the Köppen climate classification, a large part of the autonomous community falls within the Csb or Cfb variants, with the average of the warmest month below 22  °C but above 10  °C for five or more months.
• In several areas of the Meseta Central the climate is classified as Csa (warm Mediterranean), by exceeding 22  °C during the summer.
• In high elevations of the Cantabrian Mountains and mountain areas, there is a cold temperate climate with average temperatures under 3  °C in the coldest months and dry summers (Dsb or Dsc).

Nature

Flora

Canal de Asotín Beech, a UNESCO World Heritage Natural Site.

Castile and León has many protected natural sites. Actively collaborates with the European Union program Natura 2000. There are also some special protection area for birds or SPA. The solitary evergreen oaks and junipers (Juniperus sect. Sabina) that now draw the Castilian-Leonese plain are remnants of the forests that covered these same lands long ago. The agricultural holdings, due to the need of land for the cultivation of cereal and pastures for the immense herds of the Castilian Plateau, supposed the deforestation of these lands during the Middle Ages. The last Castilian and Leonese forests of junipers are found in the Provinces of León, Soria and Burgos. They are not very leafy forests that can form mixed communities with evergreen oaks, quercus fagineas or pines.

Hoces del Río Duratón Natural Park

Orbaneja del Castillo village in the Hoces del Alto Ebro y Rudrón Natural Park.

The Castilian-Leonese slope of the Cantabrian Mountains and the northern foothills of the Sistema Ibérico have a rich vegetation. The most humid and fresh slopes are populated by large beechs, whose extension areas can reach 1,500 m altitude. In turn, the European beech forms mixed forests with the yew, the sorbus, the whitebeam, the European holly and the birch. On the sunny slopes the sessile oak, the European oak, the ash, the lime tree, the sweet chestnut, the birch and the scots pine (a typical species from the north of the Province of León).

On the lower slopes of the Sistema Central extensive extensions of holm oaks survive. At a higher level, between 1000 and 1100 masl, chestnut trees abound. Above them predominates the pyrenean oak, very resistant to the cold, whose stratum extends until the 1700 masl. However, many oak groves have disappeared, cut down by man and replaced by pine trees of repopulation. The main native pine forests are found in the Sierra de Guadarrama. The subalpine zones located between 1700 and 2200 masl are home to thickets of cytisus oromediterraneus and junipers.

Much of the Province of Salamanca, especially in the districts of Campo Charro and Comarca de Ciudad Rodrigo, is occupied by dehesas, a type of forest similar to that of the African savannas, with evergreen oaks, cork oaks, quercus faginea and pyrenean oaks. The Province of Salamanca and that of Valladolid in the region of Rueda also has the only Castilian-Leonese olive groves, since these trees do not grow in any of the other regions of the community. Also noteworthy are the wine regions with very good quality wines such as those from Toro, those from Ribera del Duero (Valladolid, Burgos, Soria) those from Rueda, or those of Cigales.

Fauna

Arribes del Duero Natural Park, which is a special protection area for birds.

Castile and León presents a great diversity of fauna. There are numerous species and some of them are of special interest because of their uniqueness, such as some endemic species, or because of their scarcity, such as the brown bear. There have been counted 418 species of vertebrates, which make up 63% of all vertebrates that live in Spain. Animals adapted to life in the high mountains, inhabitants of rocky places, inhabitants of fluvial courses, species of plains and forest residents form the mosaic of the Castilian-Leonese fauna.

The isolation to which the high summits are subject leads to the existence of abundant endemisms such as the Spanish ibex, which in Gredos constitutes a unique subspecies in the Peninsula. The European snow vole is a graceful small mammal of grayish brown color and long tail that lives in open spaces over the limit of the trees.

Small and large mammals such as squirrel, dormouse, talpids, European pine marten, Beech marten, fox, wildcat, wolf, quite abundant in some areas, boar, deer, roe deer and, only in the Cantabrian Mountains, some specimens of brown bear tend to frequent the deciduous forests, although some species also extend to coniferous forests and scrubland. The wildcat is slightly larger than a domestic cat, has a short and stout tail, with dark rings and striped fur. The Iberian lynx, however, lives almost exclusively in areas of Mediterranean scrubland.

Castile and León is the main habitat of the Iberian wolf. The naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente promoted the protection of the species.

Small reptiles such as the ladder snake, the coronella girondica and the aesculapian snake are also found in this environment. The smooth snake can be found from sea level to 1,800 m in height and in the community it tends to live on the heights. Further up, in the rocky areas of the subalpine floor at about 2,400 m altitude the Iberian rock lizard lives, one of the few reptiles adapted at this point.

In the mountain rivers live the otter and desman and in its waters the trout, anguillidae, the common minnows and some of the increasingly scarce autochthonous river crabs. The otter and the desman are two mammals with aquatic habits and very good swimmers. The otter feeds mainly on fish, while the desman seeks its food among the aquatic invertebrates that inhabit the riverbed. In lower sections of calmer waters swim barbel s and carps. Among the amphibians, the salamanders and as remarkable species: the Almanzor salamander (Salamandra salamandra almanzoris) and the Gredos toad (Bufo bufo gredosicola), which are two endemic subspecies to the Sistema Central.

Where the rivers are encased forming sickles and canyons, rock-dwelling birds such as griffon vulture, cinereous vulture, Egyptian vulture, golden eagle or peregrine falcon. The Egyptian vulture, a small vulture, is black and white with a yellow head. Downstream and on its banks between the lush vegetation form their colonies the black-crowned night heron and the grey heron and the goldcrest, the eurasian penduline tit, the eurasian hoopoe and the common kingfisher.

Western Spanish ibex, also called Gredos ibex (Capra pyrenaica victoriae), indigenous to Sierra de Gredos.

Among the birds that populate the open Mediterranean forests live two endangered species: the black stork and the Spanish imperial eagle. The black stork, much rarer than its congener the white stork, is of solitary habits and lives far from man. The Spanish imperial eagle nests in the trees and feeds mainly on rabbits, but also birds, reptiles and carrion.

Part of the Reserve of European bison in San Cebrián de Mudá, Province of Palencia.^[32]

In the coniferous forests live among others the short-toed treecreeper, the coal tit and the eurasian nuthatch, a bird of gray back and flanks reddish-orange that it nests in holes to which it narrows the entrance with mud. The western capercaillie is a very dark and large rooster that lives in forest environments, so it is very difficult to observe. Among the forest raptors are the accipiter, the eurasian sparrowhawk or the tawny owl, which frequently attack other smaller birds such as eurasian jay, european green woodpecker, fringilla, great spotted woodpecker and typical warbler.

The bustard frequents the open plains with rain-fed crops; It is large and has a grayish head and neck and a brown back. In the Castilian-Leonese wetlands during the winter many specimens of greylag goose, which breeds in northern Europe and visits the area in winter, are concentrated.

The naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (1928 - 1980), natural from Poza de la Sal, stands out in the scientific study and its dissemination. He had a great research and made the leap to fame with the television series El hombre y la Tierra (TVE).

In the Montaña Palentina, in the municipality of San Cebrián de Mudá, a program of reintroduction of the European bison,^[32] animal that had been a thousand years without presence in the Iberian Peninsula, in order to avoid the extinction of the species.

Historical evolution

Calle Mayor street of Palencia. The city is within the most dynamic axis of the community.

Many of the people of the territory, who devoted themselves mostly to agriculture and livestock, gradually abandoned the area, heading towards urban areas, much more prosperous. This situation was further aggravated at the end of the Spanish Civil War, with a progressive rural emigration. During the 1960s and 1980s, large urban centers and provincial capitals suffered a slight demographic increase due to a thorough urbanization process, although, despite this, the Castilian-Leonese area continues to suffer serious depopulation. Only the Provinces of Ávila, Valladolid and Segovia are gaining population in recent years.

There is also an increase in the population of metropolitan areas around cities such as Valladolid, Burgos or León. Due to this phenomenon, cities such as Laguna de Duero or San Andrés del Rabanedo have seen their population increase rapidly in a few years. The metropolitan area of the city of Valladolid is, by far, the largest in the autonomous community, with more than 430 000  inhabitants.

However, in absolute terms the autonomous community is losing population and aging. In 2011, it was one of only four autonomous communities that lost population along with Asturias, Galicia and Aragon.

Present-day population distribution

Burgo de Osma Cathedral. The province of Soria is one of the areas with the lowest population density of Europe.

In 1960 the urban population meant 20.6% of the total population of Castile and León; in 1991 this percentage had risen to 42.3% and in 1998 it was approaching 43%, which indicates the progressive state of rural depopulation.

The phenomenon is also reflected in the number of municipalities with less than 100 inhabitants, which was multiplied by seven between 1960 and 1986. Outside the provincial capitals, cities such as Miranda de Ebro and Aranda de Duero in Province of Burgos, Ponferrada and San Andrés del Rabanedo in Province of León, Béjar in Province of Salamanca and Medina del Campo and Laguna de Duero in Province of Valladolid.

Of the 2248 municipalities of this community, the 2014 registry registered 1986 with less than 1000 inhabitants; 204 from 1001 to 5000; 35 from 5001 to 10 000; 8 of 10 001 to 20 000; 6 of 20 001 to 50 000; 5 of 50 001 to 100 000 and 4 municipalities with more than 100 000 inhabitants. The latter are: Valladolid (306 830  hab.), Burgos (177 776  hab.), Salamanca (148 042  hab.) And León (129 551  hab.) Among the least populated are, between others: Jaramillo Quemado (Burgos), with 4  inhabitants, Estepa de San Juan (Soria), with 7, Quiñonería (Soria), with 8 and Villanueva de Gormaz (Soria), with 9.

Below is a table showing the 20 municipalities with the largest population according to the municipal census of the INE of 2015:

Largest municipalities in Castile and León Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España (2015)
	Rank		Province	Pop.	Rank		Province	Pop.
Valladolid Burgos	1	Valladolid	Province of Valladolid	303,905	11	Miranda de Ebro	Province of Burgos	36,173	Salamanca León, Spain
	2	Burgos	Province of Burgos	177,100	12	Aranda de Duero	Province of Burgos	32,880
	3	Salamanca	Province of Salamanca	146,438	13	San Andrés del Rabanedo	Province of León	31,745
	4	León, Spain	Province of León	127,817	14	Laguna de Duero	Province of Valladolid	22,601
	5	Palencia	Province of Palencia	79,595	15	Medina del Campo	Province of Valladolid	21,110
	6	Ponferrada	Province of León	66,884	16	Villaquilambre	Province of León	18,615
	7	Zamora, Spain	Province of Zamora	63,831	17	Benavente, Zamora	Province of Zamora	18,550
	8	Ávila, Spain	Province of Ávila	58,358	18	Arroyo de la Encomienda	Province of Valladolid	18,491
	9	Segovia	Province of Segovia	52,728	19	Santa Marta de Tormes	Province of Salamanca	14,970
	10	Soria	Province of Soria	39,168	20	Béjar	Province of Salamanca	13,724

Religion

Catholicism is the predominant religion in the community. According to the barometer of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) conducted in September and October 2012, 79,4 % of Castilian-Leonese are considered Catholics, non-believers represent 13,1 %, the atheists the 4,0 % and the ones assigned to another confession the 1,8 %.^[34]

However, the percentage of practitioners is much lower. According to the same study, Catholics or another religion-believers who say they do not go to mass or other religious services almost never the 43,4 %, the 17,2 % say they go several times a year, while 24,5 % say they attend religious services almost every Sunday and public holidays, 11,5 % do so once a month, and 2,3 % say they go several times a week.^[34]

Territorial organization

The community is formed from nine provinces: Province of Ávila, Province of Burgos, Province of León, Province of Palencia, Province of Salamanca, Province of Segovia, Province of Soria, Province of Valladolid and Province of Zamora. The provincial capitals fall in the homonymous cities to their corresponding provinces.

The concurrence of some peculiar geographic, social, historical and economic characteristics in the Leonese region of the El Bierzo is recognized, being created in 1991 the homonymous region,^[38] the only Castilian-Leonese recognized by law, administered by a Comarcal Council.

Provinces of Castile and León

Province	Capital	Area (km2)[39]	Population (2011)[40]	Municipalities[41]
Province of Ávila	Ávila	8 050.15	171 647	248
Province of Burgos	Burgos	14 291.81	372 538	371
Province of León	León	15 580.83	493 312	211
Province of Palencia	Palencia	8 052.51	170 513	191
Province of Salamanca	Salamanca	12 349.95	350 018	362
Province of Segovia	Segovia	6 922.75	163 171	209
Province of Soria	Soria	10 306.42	94 610	183
Province of Valladolid	Valladolid	8 110.49	532 765	225
Province of Zamora	Zamora	10 561.26	191 613	248

Provision of services

Draft of UBOST presented in September 2015.

The new territorial arrangement approved by Law 7/2013, on Planning, Services and Government of the Territory of the Community of Castile and León, establishes that the geographical spaces delimited for the provision of services are the basic unit of territorial planning and services (UBOST) -urban or rural- and functional areas -stable or strategic-.^[42] Also, the new ordination determines that the mancommunities of common interest are entities for the fulfillment of their specific purposes, which may be declared when their territorial scope substantially agrees with an UBOST or several contiguous ones.^[43]

This ordination is still in the implementation phase, and in September 2015 the draft map dividing the autonomous community was presented in 147 rural UBOST and 15 urban UBOST.^[44]

Comarcas of Castile and León

Autonomous institutions

Palacio de Justicia, seat of the Upper Court of Justice of Castile and León, in Burgos.

The Statute of Autonomy does not explicitly establish one capital. Initially the Cortes were installed provisionally in Burgos; the possibility of fixing a capital in Tordesillas was also discussed, although the final decision was to install the Cortes provisionally in the castle of Fuensaldaña.

Finally, through the autonomous laws 13/1987 and 14/1987, approved simultaneously, it was decided respectively to establish that the Junta de Castilla y León -the government of the Community-, its President, and the Cortes -the legislative body- had its headquarters in the city of Valladolid; and that the Upper Court of Justice of Castile and León had its headquarters in Burgos. The main autonomous institutions are the following:

• Junta de Castilla y León (Regional Government of Castile and León), with headquarters in Valladolid, is the regional executive, formed by the President of the Regional Government, the vice presidents and the councilors
• Cortes de Castilla y León (Parliament of Castile and León), based in Valladolid
• Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León (Upper Court of Justice of Castile and León), based in Burgos
• Consejo Consultivo de Castilla y León (Advisory Council of Castile and León), based in Zamora
• Consejo de Cuentas de Castilla y León (Council of Accounts of Castile and León), with headquarters in Palencia
• Procurador del Común (Ombudsman), based in León
• Consejo Económico y Social de Castilla y León (Economic and Social Council of Castile and León), based in Valladolid

Cortes of Castile and León

During the first legislature, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party was the party with the most representation in Cortes, being the first president of the community the Socialist Demetrio Madrid. Since the 1990s, regional policy has been framed by a series of absolute majorities of the People's Party, which continues to comfortably govern at present. Other national parties with presence in the community, either locally or regionally, are United Left (previously as Communist Party of Spain) and Union, Progress and Democracy, with a significant presence in the provinces of Ávila and Burgos. Previously Democratic and Social Centre of Adolfo Suárez also managed to be in the regional political life occupying the reformist center of the political spectrum.

The Leonesism through the Leonese People's Union, the Castilianism through Party of Castile and León, previously Commoners' Land or localistas parties like Independent Solution, Group of Zamoran Independent Electoral Members or Initiative for the Development of Soria have also had their presence, although at a lower level.

The community is governed by Juan Vicente Herrera, of the People's Party. This party obtained a simple majority of 42 procurators in the last 2015 Castilian-Leonese regional cortes. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is in opposition, with 25 representatives. The leader of the opposition is Luis Tudanca. In addition, four more formations obtained parliamentary representation in the region: Podemos (10 seats), Citizens (5), United Left-Equo: Convergence for Castile and León (1) and Leonese People's Union (1).

Unemployment rate

In July 2009, in full Great Recession, unemployment reached 14.14% of the population,^[45] when in 2007 it was half, 6,99 %.^[46] According to the survey of the employment of the fourth quarter of 2014, the employment rate is 54.91% and the unemployment rate is 20.28%, while the national figure is 59,77 % of employment and 23.70% of unemployed. Below the regional average of unemployment are Segovia (14.33%), Valladolid (16.65%), Soria (16.96%) and Burgos (18.76%), while above Salamanca (21,25%), León (22.65%), Palencia (23.22%), Ávila (25.33%) and Zamora (26.62%).^[47]

Primary sector

Villarejo de Órbigo, typical rural town of the Ribera del Órbigo and of Tierra de Campos comarcas.

Field

The fields of Castile and Leon are arid and dry although very fertile, predominating in them the dryland farming. Despite this, irrigation has been gaining importance in the areas of the valleys of Douro, Esla, Órbigo, Pisuerga and Tormes. The scarce orography and the improvement of communications has favored the entry of technical innovations throughout the process of agricultural production, especially in areas such as the province of Valladolid or the province of Burgos where the production per hectare is one of the highest in Spain. The most fertile Castilian-Leonese area coincides with the Esla valley, in León, in the fields of Valladolid and Tierra de Campos, a district that extends between province of Zamora, province of Valladolid, province of Palencia and province of León.

Use of arable land

The Meseta Central is a large plateau ranging a considerable part of the region of Castile. In the image a landscape of the Meseta Central viewed from the castle of Gormaz.

Castile and León has an agricultural area close to 5,783,831 hectares, which is more than half of the total area of its total territory. Most of the farmland is dryland, due to the climate and the low rainfall. Only 10% of the area is irrigated, with plots of intensive production, much more profitable than dryland crops.

Despite the decline of the population in rural areas, the Castilian-Leonese agricultural production still represents 15% of the Spanish primary sector and its average occupation is lower than that of other autonomous communities.

Types of crop

Wines with Denominación de Origen of Castile and León

Castile and León constitutes one of the main Spanish cereal areas. As the popular saying says: "Castile, granary of Spain". Although the most traditional crop was wheat, the production of barley has gained ground since the 1960s. These two cereals are followed, in number of hectares cultivated and volume of production, rye and oats. In addition to legumes, such as carob and chickpeas, sunflower cultivation has spread in the southern countryside.

The vineyard (56,337 ha) saw the number of hectares cultivated during the last three decades of the 20th century decrease considerably; However, the application of the most modern aging techniques has notably improved the Castilian-Leonese wines, which compete in quality with those of La Rioja and begin to be known outside the Spanish borders. The main viticultural areas of the region are Ribera del Duero (DO), Rueda (DO), Toro (DO), Bierzo (DO), Arribes (DO) and Tierra de León (DO). Irrigated land is planted with sugar beet, a product that has been subsidized by the regional authorities, potatoes, alfalfa and vegetables. In the province of León, corn, hops and legumes are also sown.

Agrarian actives

Canal de Castilla is a canal that runs along 207 kilometers, crossing 38 municipalities. Between the 18th century and early 19th century it was built, initially to transport wheat, now it is used for irrigation.

Castile and León has some 92,600 agricultural actives (around 10% of the active population), of which 88,000 are employed and 5% of the total is unemployed, according to 2001 data.

By provinces, the occupied agricultural population in Ávila is 9,400 people, in Burgos and Palencia it is 8,100, in León 18,300 people work in the sector, in Salamanca about 9,200, in Segovia some 6,400, in Soria 5,600, in Valladolid 8,300 and in Zamora about 14,600 people. The agricultural and livestock sector of the region represents 7.6% of the total in Spain.

Livestock

Morucha cow in a dehesa of Campo Charro, place of production of Jamón de Guijuelo.

Livestock represents an important part of the final agricultural production. Next to the small livestock units, which proliferate in the regions of pre-eminent agricultural dedication or in the mountain areas, now appears a modern livestock activity, with cattle, pig and sheep farms, of development. These farms are oriented both to the production of meat and to the supply of milk to the cooperatives that channel their subsequent commercialization, since the dairy production of Castile and León -more than one and a half million liters per year- is the second largest in Spain, only surpassed by Galicia.

Thus, small livestock farms tend to disappear, largely due to the effect of rural depopulation and the consequent loss of labor. Transhumant grazing is conserved in some areas; large herds, mainly sheep, travel every year hundreds of kilometers from the flat lands to the land with mountain pastures as in the El Bierzo, the Cantabrian valleys of province of León, the sierra de Gredos or Picos de Urbión. It is hard work that every time has less labor, having previously constituted a testimony of first importance on the history and cultural roots of the Castilian and Leonese people.

Pines in Valle de Valsaín.

The sheep herd is the most numerous, with 5,425,000 heads, followed by domestic pig (2,800,000) and cattle (1,200,000). A long way away is the goats (166,200 heads) and horses (71,700 horses, mules and donkeys). The highest production of meat corresponds to that of pigs (241,700 t), followed by bovine (89,400 t) and poultry (66,000 t); in wool production Castile and León leads the national balance with 7,500 t. Within the section of Protected Geographical indication (I.G.P), highlights Lechazo de Castilla y León, based in Aranda de Duero.

Forest exploitation

In Castile and León there are about 1,900,000 hectares of non-arboreal, representing 40% of the total forest area. This deforestation is mainly due to the hand of the man who, over the centuries, has made forests disappear, giving way to areas of non-arboreal vegetation. Little by little, with the abandonment of rural areas and the reforestation policy of the Castilian and Leonese governments, this situation has been reversed.

Secondary sector

Industry

BEHER is a company producer of Jamón ibérico and sausage products with worldwide fame, with headquarters in Guijuelo, in 2007, 2010 and 2013 it was awarded "Best ham in the world".

During 2000, the Castile and León industry occupied 18% of the active population and contributed 25% of GDP. The most developed industrial axis is that of Valladolid-Palencia-Burgos-Miranda de Ebro-Aranda de Duero, where there is an important car industry, paper industry, aeronautics and chemistry, and is where most of the industrial activity of the Castilian-Leonese territory is concentrated. The food industry derived from the farm and livestock, with flour, sunflower oil and wines, among others is also important, especially in the Ribera del Duero comarca, especially in Aranda de Duero.

The main industrial poles of the community are: Valladolid (21,054 workers dedicated to the sector), Burgos (20,217), Aranda de Duero (4,872), León (4,521), Ponferrada (4,270) and Ólvega (4,075).^[48]

Other industries are textiles in Béjar, roof tiles and bricks in Palencia, sugar in León, Valladolid, Toro, Miranda de Ebro and Benavente, the pharmaceutical company in León, Valladolid and mainly in Aranda de Duero with a factory of the GlaxoSmithKline group, the metallurgical and steel company in Ponferrada and the chemistry in Miranda de Ebro and Valladolid, the aeronautics in Miranda de Ebro and Valladolid. In the remaining capitals there is a food industry derived from the agricultural and livestock exploitation, with flour, sunflower oil and wines, among others. This regional agro-food industry is flagged by Calidad Pascual based in Aranda de Duero. In the agricultural industry, within the production of fertilizers, the Mirat, founded on 1812 in Salamanca, stands out.^[49]

In Soria the logging industry and furniture manufacturing is also relevant to the regional economy.

The president of the Castilian-Leonese employers' association is currently Ginés Clemente, owner of the Aciturri Aeronáutica, based in Miranda de Ebro. It is a leading international aeronautical group, with contracts with groups such as Boeing and Airbus, which makes Castile and León a benchmark in the sector.

Construction

The 16,34 % of the companies in Castile and León belong to the auxiliary sector of construction. Among the largest companies in the sector, the following stand out: Grupo Pantersa, Begar, Grupo MRS, Isolux Corsán, Llorente Corporation, Volconsa and of auxiliary construction sector, Artepref of Gerardo de la Calle Group.^[50]

Mining

Las Médulas, Province of León

In Castile and León, the mining activity acquired great importance in the Roman times, when a road was drawn, the Vía de la Plata, to transfer the gold extracted in the deposits of Las Médulas, in the Leonese comarca of El Bierzo, the route started from Asturica Augusta (Astorga) to Emerita Augusta (Mérida) and Hispalis (Seville).

Centuries later, after the Spanish Civil War, mining was one of the factors that contributed to the economic development of the region. However, the production of iron, tin and tungsten decreased notably from the 1970s, while bituminous coal and anthracite mines were maintained thanks to the domestic demand for coal for thermal power plants. The economic reconversion that affected the Leonese mining basin and Palencian mining basin during the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the closure of numerous mines, social impoverishment, with a sharp increase of unemployment and the beginning of a new migratory movement towards other Spanish regions. Despite the investments of the Mining Action Plan of the Junta de Castilla y León, traditional coal mining operations have entered into a severe crisis.

Energy sources

Aldeadávila Dam, which with 1,146 MW is the most powerful in the country.

In addition to the northern basin, in those of the Douro and Ebro rivers there are numerous hydroelectric plants that allow Castile and León to be one of the first autonomous communities producing electricity. Among others are those of Burguillo, Rioscuro, Las Ondinas, Cornatel, Bárcena, Aldeadávila I and II, Saucelle I and II, Castro I and II, Villalcampo I and II, Valparaíso and Ricobayo I and II.

The total installed hydraulic power amounts to 3,979 MW^[51][52] and annual production in 2010 was 5,739 GWH.^[53] Only in the system Saltos del Duero there are more than 3000 MW installed. In this way, Castile and León is the first Spanish autonomous community in installed capacity and the second in production.^[52]

The nuclear power is 466 MW, having produced 3,579.85 GWh in 2009. The only nuclear plant in Castile and León on August 1, 2017 was definitively and irrevocably closed.

The coal thermal produces around 16,956 GWh per year at the following plants:

Thermal power stations in Castile and León

Wind farm in the province of Ávila.

This community stands out for the importance of the production of renewable energy. Castile and León is the community that covers the largest proportion of its electricity demand through renewable energies: 82,9 % in 2009.^[55] Traditional hydroelectric power It has been added with force since the late 1990s and 2000 wind power, with more than 100 parks in operation and a production of 5,449 GWh in that same year. By provinces, it is at the top Burgos with 46, and a total of 3,128 MW of installed power.

Among the non-renewable energies is also the natural gas (194 MW of installed power) and fuel-diesel fuel (69 MW).

The provinces of Valladolid and Burgos are the most economically advanced regions, with a GDP per capita higher than the national average. Even so, the average GDP per capita of the community of Castile and León is slightly below than average, at 21,244 euros per inhabitant.

Tertiary sector

Tourism

Segovia is one of the main receptors of tourism in the region, world heritage city as well Salamanca and Ávila.

See also: Las Edades del Hombre

Throughout the 1990s, the tourist influx to Castile and León grew, favored above all by the historical and cultural value of its cities and also by the natural and scenic attractiveness of its different comarcas. In 2001, Castile and León received some 315,000,000 visitors, 42,000,000 of whom were foreigners. The World Heritage cities: Ávila, Salamanca and Segovia; the Way of St. James that passes through the provinces of Burgos, Palencia and León, and the ducal town of Lerma, are the mainstays of cultural tourism in Castile and León.

As for related tourism the practice of winter sports include several ski resorts, such as La Covatilla in the Sierra de Béjar, San Isidro and Leitariegos in province of León or La Pinilla in province of Segovia.

Another attractive increasingly booming is rural tourism. In a large number of towns in the community rural houses are being valued accommodating them for a type of tourism alternative to "sun and beach". They are usually close to natural areas or areas of high heritage or ecological value.

Episcopal Palace of Astorga. The city forms part of the route of the Camino de Santiago and of the Vía de la Plata.

Castile and León has several cities whose Holy Week is considered to be of International Tourist Interest. Examples are Holy Week in León, Holy Week in Salamanca, Holy Week in Valladolid or Holy Week in Zamora.^[56]

The region also has a wide network of Paradores, hotels of great quality that usually accommodate buildings of great historical value in privileged places to stimulate tourism in the area.

The city of Ávila is one of the places in Castile and León declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Since 1988, the foundation Las Edades del Hombre has been organizing various exhibitions of religious art in various parts of the national and international geography, highlighting for its interest the exhibitions held in Castile and León. The idea of carrying out these exhibitions was conceived in a chimney of Alcazarén with the writer José Jiménez Lozano and the priest of Valladolid José Velicia. The first "Las Edades del Hombre" were held in the Church of Santiago Apóstol of Alcazarén, with a small exhibition of sacred paintings. Later, and with the support of important personalities, the first known exhibition was held among the public, which was that of Valladolid. In 2012 the initiative was developed under the name of Monacatus in the town of Oña, being one of the most multitudinous editions with about 200 000 visitors.^[57] The last sample so far has taken place in the municipality of Arévalo, in 2013. With the title of Credo, the exhibition has revolved around the faith and has received more than 226 000 visitors.^[58]

Domestic trade and exports abroad

The internal trade of Castile and León is concentrated in the sector of food, automotive, fabric and footwear. For foreign trade, according to the region, vehicles and car chassis are mainly exported in Province of Ávila, Province of Palencia and Province of Valladolid, tires in Province of Burgos and Province of Valladolid, steel bars and slate manufactures in León, beef in Province of Salamanca, pigs in Province of Segovia, rubber manufactures in Province of Soria and goat and sheep meat, together with wine, in Province of Zamora.

Castile and León also exports a lot of wine, being Province of Valladolid the one that more bottles sells abroad. As regards imports, vehicles and their accessories, such as engines or tires, are in the lead. The Region also imports mainly products from France, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and the United States and exports mostly to the countries of the European Union and to Turkey, Israel and United States.

There is a firm commitment to the manufacture in Castile and León of electric cars, as a bet to give continuity in the future to the automotive industry of the community.

Education

Façade of the University of Salamanca in which Francisco de Vitoria created the School of Salamanca and international law.

Universities

• Public
  • University of Burgos
  • University of León
  • University of Salamanca
  • University of Valladolid
  • National University of Distance Education
• Private
  • Catholic University of Ávila (Universidad Católica Santa Teresa de Jesús de Ávila)
  • Miguel de Cervantes European University (Valladolid)
  • IE University (Instituto de Empresa Universidad, Segovia)
  • Pontifical University of Salamanca

Rail

Castilla y León has an extensive rail network, including the principal lines from Madrid to Cantabria and Galicia. The line from Paris to Lisbon crosses the region, reaching the Portuguese frontier at Fuentes de Oñoro in Salamanca. Astorga, Burgos, León, Miranda de Ebro, Palencia, Ponferrada, Medina del Campo and Valladolid are all important railway junctions.

Railways operate in several different gauges: Iberian gauge (1,668 mm (5 ft 5 ²¹⁄₃₂ in)), UIC gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)) and Narrow gauge (1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in)). Except for some narrow-gauge lines, trains are operated by RENFE on lines maintained by the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF); both of these are national, state-owned companies.

Roads

The region is also crossed by two major ancient routes:

• The Way of St. James, mentioned above as a World Heritage Site, now a hiking trail and a motorway, from east to west.
• The Roman Via de la Plata ("Silver Way"), mentioned above in the context of mining, now a main road through the west of the region.

The road network is regulated by the Ley de carreteras 10/2008 de Castilla y León (Highway Law 10/2008 of Castile and León).^[59] This law allows for the possibility of roads financed by the private sector through concessions, as well as the public construction of roads that has long prevailed.

Literature

Juan del Encina is the most important renacentist writer.

Classic baroque El Lazarillo de Tormes of the Golden Age as well as mystic San Juan de la Cruz and Santa Teresa de Jesús.

José Zorrilla wrote Don Juan Tenorio in the SXIX century.

During the XX century, Miguel Delibes wrote about the rural flight of the 50´s, in books as El Hereje, Los santos inocentes or Cinco horas con Mario.