Gijón

Prehistory and Romanization

The first evidence of human presence in what is known nowadays as the municipality of Gijón is located in Monte Deva, where exists a series of tumulus, and in Monte Areo, where there are some neolithic dolmens. These dolmens were discovered in 1990 and were supposedly built around 5000 BC.

The first noticed settlement (Noega) is located in Campa Torres. It has its origin between the 6th and 5th centuries BC. It was populated by Astures (Cilúrnigos) and later Romanized. Noega was progressively abandoned when the Roman wall in the peninsula of Cimavilla, called the Gegionem, was built.

Middle Ages and Modern Era

Despite the Barbarian invasions leaving no trace, it seems the territory was submitted to the power of the Visigoth king Sisebut in the 7th century. From this moment there appears the first Christian worship demos, where one of its places was the Roman villa of Veranes.

Gijón was capital of the Muslim territories in the Cantabric Sea, under the power of Munuza, who dominated the city between 713 and 718 or 722. In this last year, Asturians won the Battle of Covadonga, started in 718 and led by Pelagius, who would become the first King of the Kingdom of Asturias.

Until 1270 there were no reliable references to Gijón as a settlement, with only short mentions in some documents. In this year, Alfonso X of Castile conceded the category of puebla.

In the 14th century, the war between Alfonso Enríquez of Castile and Henry III of Castile finished with the village of Gijón fenced, burned and totally destroyed, practically disappearing.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Gijón was again developed. A new dock was built in the port adding fishing and commerce to the area.

In the 17th and 18th centuries Gijón started to have great development, growing out of the old city center. This happened when the port of Gijón had commerce with the American colonies. In the 18th century, due to the French invasions, the wars and the financial trouble in the era, the development stopped until late in the century, when the Oviedo-Gijón road was created and the port was recognized as the best one in Asturias, favouring the start of industrial activities in the village.

Contemporary history

Modern piece of art with the city name.

The 19th century brought with it great development, with the commerce of coal, the Gijón–León road and later the Langreo–Gijón railway. All this supposed the quick expansion of the port, due to the heavy traffic intensity in it. A new port, El Musel, was built in 1893 and it was the first coal port of the peninsula.

Gijón was going through a conversion to an industrial village with a new bourgeois and an urban development, opening new streets and squares, with new municipal equipments like water, garbage collection, lighting, and so on. All this industrial development brought new manpower to the city and the creation of new neighbourhoods like Natahoyo, La Calzada, Tremañes or El Humedal.

In the 20th century, with the Spanish Civil War, the city supported the Republican faction. The army was located in El Coto. The resistance was eliminated in August 1936. Later, the village was the capital of the Sovereign Council of Asturias and León until 20 October 1937, when the troops of General Francisco Franco occupied the city.

Ferrous metallurgy was the main industry of Gijón from the last years of the 19th century until the last decades of the 20th. Uninsa was created in 1971, and it merged with Ensidesa. In the last years of the century was converted in Aceralia, and integrated in Arcelor.

The last decades of the century brought an industrial crisis affecting mainly the ferrous metallurgy and the local shipbuilding. This facts brought new terrain for the creation of new beaches, parks and new neighbourhoods. It was also created a campus of the University of Oviedo.

Neighbourhoods and parishes

Gijón parishes

The Eulogy to the Horizon of Eduardo Chillida, one of the most known symbols of Gijón.

Museums and art galleries

• Museum of the Asturian People
• Railway museum of Asturias
• Nicanor Piñole museum
• Roman Terms museum of Campo Valdés
• Juan Barjola museum (A museum about a local painter, also interested in avant-garde art)
• Evaristo Valle museum (Local painter museum placed in a mansion at the outskirts)
• International Bagpipe Museum contains bagpipes from around the world, focusing on the Asturian musical heritage and bagpipes.
• Atlantic botanical garden
• Archaeological park Campa Torres.
• Revillagigedo Palace and museum (At Marqués square, near the City Hall)
• Gijón Aquarium
• Roman Town of Veranes
• LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (An exhibition centre for contemporary art, science, technology and advanced visual industries)

Universities

There are two campuses located in Gijón, one of the University of Oviedo and other of the National University of Distance Education.

Sports centres

The biggest sport centres in Gijón are Estadio El Molinón, with 30,000 seats, Plaza de Toros de El Bibio with 12,000 and Palacio de Deportes with 5,000 seats. Games were played in town during the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

The city has in total 13 public sport centres (in Spanish: Centros Municipales Integrados) with swimming pools, gyms and saunas. Swimming pools are free for children up to age 14.

Airports

Gijón is served by Asturias Airport, about 38 km (24 mi) from the centre of the city; it is located in the municipality of Castrillon. The airport is connected to the city by the A-8 motorway, the N-632 national highway and scheduled bus service (Alsa). It has regular flights to the following destinations: Barcelona, Brussels, Fuerteventura, Geneva, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Lisbon, London - (Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick), Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris – Charles de Gaulle, Seville, Tenerife-South and Valencia. Operating companies are: Air France, Air Europa and Iberia.

Seaport

The service offered by LD Lines has been cancelled in Gijón. The closest Ferry services are now in Santander and Bilbao. However, Gijón still has a good freight service by El Musel

Public transport

Gijón currently has 21 bus lines and four more lines that work on Fridays and Saturdays night, during the months of July and August.

Railway

The city is served by the Gijón Railway Station.

Roads and highways

Type	Name	Alternate name	Itinerary
Highway	A-8	Autovía del Cantábrico	Baamonde – Gijón – Llanes – Torrelavega – Solares – Bilbao – San Sebastián
	A-66	Autovía Ruta de la Plata	Gijón – Oviedo – Mieres – León – Benavente – Zamora – Salamanca – Béjar – Plasencia – Mérida – Almendralejo – Sevilla
	AS-I	Autovía Minera	Gijón – Pola de Siero – Langreo – Mieres
	AS-II	Autovía Industrial	Gijón – Lugo de Llanera – Oviedo
	GJ-10	Interior ring road	Gijón seaport (El Musel) – Pumarín – El Llano
	GJ-20	Western ring road	GJ-81 (Autopista Acceso Sur a Gijón) – Tremañes – Gijón seaport (El Musel)
	GJ-8	South access road	(A-8/A-66) – Plaza del Humedal
National road	N-630		Gijón – Oviedo – Mieres – Puerto de Pajares – León – Zamora – Salamanca – Plasencia – Mérida – Almendralejo – Sevilla
	N-632		Cenero – Cudillero – Muros del Nalón – Soto del Barco – Avilés – Gijón – Villaviciosa – Colunga – Caravia – Ribadesella
	N-641	El Musel access Road	Gijón – La Calzada – Gijón seaport (El Musel) .
Regional and local roads	AS-19	Gijón-Avilés Road	Gijón – El Empalme – Prendes – Tabaza – Avilés
	AS-246	Carbonera Road	Gijón – Alto de la Madera – Noreña – El Berrón – La Gargantada – Langreo
	AS-247	Piles to Infanzón Road	Gijón – Somió – Alto del Infanzón
	AS-248	Gijón-Siero Road	Gijón – Vega de Poja – Pola de Siero
	AS-266	Oviedo-Gijón Road	Oviedo – Lugones – Pruvia – Porceyo – Gijón
	AS-19a	Gijón-Avilés Road	Puenteseco – Muniello

Councillors distribution in local elections

Mayors

Twin towns/Sister cities

Gijón is twinned with: