Castile and León

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Comunidad de Castilla y León
—  Autonomous Community  —
Flag of Castile and León
Flag		 Coat-of-arms of Castile and León
Coat of arms
Map of Castile and León
Coordinates: 41°23′N 4°27′W / 41.383°N 4.45°W / 41.383; -4.45Coordinates: 41°23′N 4°27′W / 41.383°N 4.45°W / 41.383; -4.45
Country Spain Spain
Capital Valladolid
Government
 - President Juan Vicente Herrera (PP)
Area (18.6% of Spain; Ranked 1st)
 - Total 94,222 km2 (36,379.3 sq mi)
Population (2005)
 - Total 2,510,849
 - Density 26.6/km2 (69/sq mi)
 - Pop. rank 6th
 - Percent 5.7% of Spain
ISO 3166-2 CL
Parliament Cortes Generales
Congress seats 33 of 350
Senate seats 30 of 259
Website Junta de Castilla y León

Castile and León (Spanish: Castilla y León), known formally as the Community of Castile and León, is one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain. It was constructed from Old Castile (Spanish: Castilla la Vieja) and León, first as a preautonomía—a "pre-autonomous" region—in 1978 and then as an autonomous community in 1983. It is the largest autonomous community in Spain, covering an area of 94,223 square kilometres (36,380 sq mi) with an official population of around 2.5 million (2005).

The supreme law of Castile and León, under the Spanish Constitution of 1978, is the region's Statute of Autonomy. The statute lays out the basic laws of the region and defines a series of essential values and symbols of the inhabitants of Castile and León, such as their linguistic patrimony (the Castilian language, which English-speakers common refer to simply as "Spanish", as well as Leonese and Galician), as well as their historic, artistic, and natural patrimony. Other symbols alluded to are the coat of arms, flag, and banner; there is also allusion to a regional anthem, though as of 2009 none has been adopted. April 23 is designated Castile and León Day, commemorating the defeat of the comuneros at the Battle of Villalar during the Revolt of the Comuneros, in 1521.

Contents

[edit] Geography

"Las Médulas" ancient Roman gold mines.

Castile and León borders on Asturias and Cantabria to the north; Aragon, the Basque Country, and La Rioja to the east; the autonomous community of Madrid and Castile-La Mancha to the southeast; Extremadura to the south; and Portugal and Galicia to the west.

Castile and León is roughly coterminous with the Spanish part of the Douro River basin, on the northern half of the Meseta Central, a vast plateau in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula. It also extends to some adjoining valleys, such as El Bierzo (León) and many secluded mountain valleys including Laciana (León), Valle de Mena (Burgos, and Valle del Tiétar (Ávila.

[edit] Terrain

Most of the terrain of Castile and León consists of a large portion of Spain's Meseta Central, surrounded by mountainous regions. The Meseta is a dry, arid high plain, with an average altitude of about 800 metres (2,600 ft), covered by deposits of clay soil.

In the north are the mountains of the provinces of Palencia and León, with high, spindly peaks and the mountains of the province of Burgos, divided in two by the Pancorbo Pass, leading from Castile to the Basque Country. Of those two parts, the more northerly belongs to the Cantabrian Range and continues to the city of Burgos; the mountains of the east and southeast are part of the Sistema Ibérico. In the northeast are the mountains of Zamora, whose peaks have been eroded into mesas. In the east, the mountains of Soria are also part of the Sistema Ibérico, including its highest peak, El Moncayo. Separating the northern Meseta from the southern and from Castile-La Mancha and Madrid, the Sistema Central includes the Sierra de Gata and the Sierra de Gredos in the western half and the Sierra de Guadarrama and Sierra de Ayllón in the eastern half.

[edit] Geological evolution

The northern Meseta is constituted of Paleozoic plinths. After the Variscan orogeny raised Central Europe and the Galician area of Spain at the beginning of the Mesozoic, deposits were eroded away by rivers. During the Alpine orogeny, the materials that formed the plateau were broken at multiple points. This fracturing raised the relatively low mountains of León, constituting a dorsal spine of the Meseta, the Cantabrian Range and the Sistema Central, formed of materials such as granite or metamorphic slates.

One result of this geology was to create medicinal mineral water springs and/or hot springs in Almeida de Sayago, Boñar, Calabor, Caldas de Luna, Castromonte, Cucho, Gejuelo del Barro, Morales de Campos, Valdelateja, and Villarijo.

[edit] Rivers

The Douro, in Zamora.

The most prominent hydrographic feature of Castile and León is the River Douro (Spanish: Duero) and its tributaries. The Douro runs 897 kilometres (557 mi) from its headwaters in the Picos de Urbión in Soria to its mouth at the Portuguese city of Oporto. Flowing into the Douro from the north, on its right bank, are the Pisuerga, the Valderaduey and the Esla, its most capacious tributaries, and from the east, on its left bank, the lesser flows of the Adaja and Duratón. After passing the city of Zamora, the Douro flows through a canyon in the Arribes del Duero Natural Park where it constitutes the border with Portugal, flowing north. From its left bank, it receives the waters of such important tributaries as the Tormes, Huebra, Águeda, the Côa and the Paiva, all originating in the Sistema Central. From the right bank, it receives the waters of the Sabor, the Tua and the Támega, originating in the Galician Massif. Beyond the Arribes, the Douro turns west, flowing through Portugal to the Atlantic.

Nonetheless, the Douro and its tributaries are not the region's only important rivers; the Jalón in Palencia, Burgos, and Soria flows via the Ebro to the Mediterranean Sea. The River Minho (Miño) flows from León into Portugal, the Alagón in Salamanca flows to the Tagus and several provinces containing portions of the Cantabrian Mountains have waters flowing north into the Cantabrian Sea.

The Tormes, in Salamanca.

Rivers played an important part in the development of the region. Each of the provincial capitals of Castile and León is on the banks of a river.

Rivers and capitals of provinces through which they run
Capital where river flows River Mouth Other places where river flows
Ávila Adaja Duero in Villamarciel Tordesillas and Arévalo
Burgos Arlanzón Arlanza Arlanzón, Pampliega
León Bernesga Esla La Robla
Palencia Carrión Pisuerga in Dueñas Guardo, Carrión de los Condes, Palencia and Dueñas.
Salamanca Tormes Duero in Fermoselle Guijuelo and El Barco de Ávila
Segovia Eresma Adaja in Matapozuelos Coca
Soria and Zamora Duero Atlantic Ocean in Porto Almazán, Aranda de Duero, Toro, Tordesillas, Aldeadávila de la Ribera, and Vilvestre
Valladolid Pisuerga Duero in Geria Aguilar de Campoo, Cervera de Pisuerga, Venta de Baños, Dueñas, Tariego de Cerrato, and Simancas

[edit] Lakes and reservoirs

Laguna Negra, Picos de Urbión, Province of Soria

Besides these rivers, the Douro basin also has a great number of lakes and lagoons, such as the Laguna Negra, in the Picos de Urbión, the Laguna Grande in Gredos, the Sanabria Lake in Zamora or the Laguna de la Nava in Palencia. There are also a great number of reservoirs, fed by the snows and rains in the mountains and by glacial meltwater. Despite having relatively little rainfall, Castile and León has one of Spain's largest quantities of water held in reserve.

[edit] Climate

Castile and León has a continentalized Mediterranean climate: a Mediterranean climate with a marked character of a continental climate. The continentalized Mediterranean climate is similar to a typical Mediterranean climate, but with more extreme temperatures typical of a continental climate. Winters are long and cold, with average temperatures between 4 °C (39 °F) and 7 °C (45 °F) in January. Summers are short and hot (averages between 19 °C (66 °F) and 22 °C (72 °F)), with the three or four dry summer months typical of a Mediterranean climate. Rain averages only 450 millimetres (18 in) to 500 millimetres (20 in) annually, mostly in the lower altitudes.

[edit] Climatic factors

The mountains surrounding Castile and León block the winds from the seas, reducing precipitation in the region. Consequently, the rains fall very unequally through the Castilian-Leonese region. While the center of the Douro basin receives an annual rainfall of 450 millimetres (18 in), in the western comarcas (roughly shires) of the mountains of León and the Cantabrian Range precipitation can be as much as 1,500 millimetres (59 in) per year.

The high altitude of the Castilian-Leonese Meseta and mountain ranges contributes not only to the contrast of summer and winter temperatures, but also to a marked contrast of day and night temperatures.

[edit] Climatic regions

Although the climate throughout Castile and León is predominantly a continentalized Mediterranean climate throughout, there are distinctive climatic regions.

In the north, Castile and León includes the southern face of the Cantabrian Range; the northern slope, facing the Atlantic, falls within other provinces. The highest portion of the Cantabrian Range in Castile and León experiences the oceanic climate from the Atlantic, with milder winters (at least relative to the altitude) and more temperate summers. The lower slopes of the same range share these temperate summers, but have the colder winters more typical of the Meseta.

Nearly all of the central portion of the Meseta has the continentalized Mediterranean climate discussed above, although the eastern part of Zamora has a much drier climate.

The mountainous regions of the northeast, east, and south have a typical Mediterranean mountain climate, with little rain, hot summers, and cold winters.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Airports

The last years have seen a big improvement in accessibility from the rest of Europe, mainly through the operations of low-cost airlines at the airport of Villanubla (Valladolid). There are three other airports in Castile and León: León, Salamanca, and Burgos. The main airport of the neighbouring region of Madrid (Barajas) is close as well, if not yet with a direct communication through public transportation.

[edit] Road communications

The region is the land communication hub of northern Spain. It is crossed by the International E-roads E80 and E05. These are the main roads connections between Portugal and the south of Spain with the rest of Europe.

Castile and León is also crossed by two major ancient routes:

  • The Way of St. James (Spanish: Camino de Santiago), now a hiking trail and a motorway, from east to west.
  • The Roman Silver Way (Spanish: Vía de la Plata), now a main road, through the west of the region.

[edit] Regional administration and government

Provinces of Castile and León

Castile and León is divided into nine provinces:

Each of these provinces is named after its respective provincial capital.

Seat of the Courts of Castile and León in Valladolid.

Although the "Statute of Autonomy" for Castile and León does not specify any city to be the capital of the autonomous community, the city of Valladolid serves that purpose in certain contexts. Initially, the Courts (Cortes, the legislature) met provisionally in Burgos; Tordesillas was discussed as a possible capital, and at one point, the Courts met, also on a provisional basis, at the Castle of Fuensaldaña. Finally, a law adopted in 1987 established the Junta of Castile and León—the Regional Executive government of the Community—and the Courts—the legislature—in Valladolid. Thus, Valladolid is now effectively the capital.

However, other institutions of government and administration are distributed through the region. The Economic and Social Council is in Valladolid, but the Superior Tribunal of Justice—the highest regional judiciary body—is in Burgos, the Consultative Council (Consejo Consultivo) is in Zamora, the Board of Auditors (Consejo de Cuentas) in Palencia, and the Ombudsman (Procurador del Común, literally "Common Attorney") in León.

[edit] Autonomous Executive

The executive of Castile and León is known as the Junta de Castilla y León in Spanish.

It has one head of the Regional Executive (Spanish: Presidente de la Junta) and twelve departments: Two Vicepresidencias and ten ministries (Spanish: Consejerías).

[edit] Regional Legislature

Catedral Nueva, One of the two main cathedrals of Salamanca.

The Regional Courts of Castile and León (Spanish: Cortes de Castilla y León) is the elected legislature of the Autonomous Community. The tradition of the Regional Courts is traced back to the Royal Council (Latin: Curia Regis) of León (1188). The Curia Regis was a king's summons of the estates of the realm. Although the practical outcome of the Curia Regis of 1188 is still disputed, its charter seems to be an early movement towards the rule of constitutional law, much like the Magna Carta. The Regional Courts meet in Valladolid.

Three parties have parliamentary representation in Castile and León:

Partido Popular de Castilla y León
Associated with the national center-right People's Party (PP): 48 seats in the Regional Courts, 18 seats in the Cortes Generales (the national legislature of Spain).
Partido Socialista de Castilla y León
Associated with the national center-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE): 33 seats in the Regional Courts, 14 seats in the Cortes Generales.
Unión del Pueblo Leonés ("Leonese People's Union")
A Leonese nationalist party: 2 seats in the Regional Courts.

Two other parties, the left-wing United Left (Izquierda Unida, IU) and the left-of-center Castilian Nationalist Tierra Comunera - ACAL, contest elections and have held seats in the Regional Courts in the past, but as of 2009 neither is represented in that body.

Political party Autonomic elections, 2007[1] Autonomic elections, 2003 Autonomic elections, 1999
Percentage Seats Percentage Seats Percentage Seats
Partido Popular de Castilla y León 49.41% 48 48.56% 48 51.96% 48
Partido Socialista de Castilla y León 37.49% 33 36.74% 32 33.86% 30
Unión del Pueblo Leonés 2.74% 2 3.88% 3 3.81% 3
Izquierda Unida LVCyL 3.09% 0 3.43% 0 5.59% 1
Tierra Comunera - ACAL 1'16% 0 1'19% 0 1'42% 1

[edit] Regional judiciary

[edit] Ombudsman

The Ombudsman of Castile and León (Spanish: Procurador del Común) is appointed by the Regional Courts.

  • Seat of the Ombudsman of Castile and León: León

[edit] Consultative Committee

The Consultative Committee of Castile and León (Spanish: Consejo Consultivo) is a group of five legal analysts. They are appointed by the Regional Courts and the Junta. The Committee delivers reports on legal issues both to the Regional Government and to incumbent municipal governments.

  • Seat of the Consultive Committee: Zamora

[edit] Languages

Besides the dominant Castilian Spanish, three other regional languages figure in the linguistic patrimony of Castile and León. Two of these are recognized explicitly in the Statute of Autonomy. The Leonese language, according to the Statute, "will be the object of specific protection […] for its particular value in the linguistic patrimony of the Community"[2]. The Galician language, according to the statute, "merits respect and protection in the places where it is habitually used,[3] which is effectively to say the portions of the comarcas of El Bierzo and Sanabria bordering Galicia. In addition, although unmentioned in the Statute, in the comarca of El Rebollar in the province of Salamanca, people speak a variety of Extremaduran[4] known as Habla del Rebollar ("the speech of Rebollar").

[edit] Education

[edit] Universities

[edit] History

The Roman Aqueduct of Segovia.

[edit] Immediate background of the autonomous community

The autonomous community of Castile and León resulted from the union in 1983 of nine provinces: the three that, after their creation in the territorial division of 1833, constituted the Region of León and six of the provinces of Old Castile (Castilla la Vieja). The Old Castilian provinces of Santander and Logroño were omitted from the new entity of Castile and León.

At the time of the formation of Castile and León, Santander and Logroño each became a separate autonomous community in its own right. Santander is now the autonomous community of Cantabria and Logroño the autonomous community of La Rioja. The separation of Cantabria was motivated by historical, cultural, and geographic differences from the rest of Old Castile. The separation of La Rioja was more a matter of compromise. In principle, looking at history and culture, La Rioja could have been united either with Castile and León, united in a Basque-Navarrese region, or left as a separate region of its own. The center-right UCD favored the former course of action, the center-left PSOE, and leftist CPE the second,[citation needed] but the populace preferred the third option.

El Bierzo is the only comarca whose juridical identity is explicitly recognized by the Castilian-Leonese Statute of Autonomy, although many other comarcas have been established. There are some movements there that wish to increase its autonomy, either by enhancing the powers of its Comarcal Council, recuperating the status it had in the 1820s as a province in its own right, gaining the status of a separate autonomous community, or removing all or part of it from Castile and León and forming a new union with Galicia.

[edit] Historic union of the Kingdoms of Castile and León

Walls of Ávila.

Castile and León traces back to the historic kingdoms (or Crowns) of León and Castile. Together with other Christian Iberian kingdoms, the separate monarchies of Castile and León participated in the Reconquista, the reconquest of Iberia from the so-called Moors, its medieval Muslim rulers. Other kingdoms participating in the Reconquista were, first, Galicia, and later other kingdoms carved out of lands won back to Christendom over the centuries: the Kingdoms of Toledo, Badajoz, Seville and others.

The first dynastic union of León and Castile came about in 1037, when Ferdinand, the 20-year-old Count of Castile, defeated his brother-in-law Bermudo III of León in battle and claimed the Crown of León through the rights of his own wife, Sancha, Bermudo's sister. Although he declared himself Emperor of All Spain in 1056, the union ended with Ferdinand's death in 1065, when Castile, León, and Galicia each passed to a different one of Ferdinand's sons and certain cities to his daughters, with a further division of spheres of influence in the Muslim taifas. The arrangement did not hold. The sons soon fought; eventually one son, Alfonso VI of León again created an effective union and in 1077 again claimed the title of Emperor of All Spain. However, his death in 1109 left the kingdoms again disunited.

Alfonso VII managed another personal dynastic union from 1126 until his death in 1157. Finally, Ferdinand III of Castile, later canonized, achieved the third and definitive union of the two Crowns. After his father Alfonso IX of León died in 1230, Ferdinand, already ruler of Castile, conquered León from his own half-sisters Sancha and Dulce, much against the desires of the Leonese clergy and nobility. His son and successor Alfonso X, unusually highly educated for a monarch of that era, established Castilian as a language of learning and culture, beginning the process by which the Castilian language would become the dominant language of much of Spain, with other languages—including Leonese—increasingly seen as local dialects.

[edit] UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The Alcázar of Segovia.
Arenas de San Pedro Castle.
There are many Templar and Medieval castles in Castile and León. Here, the Templar Castle of Ponferrada.

There are six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Castile and León:

[edit] List of Castles in Castile and León

These are some castles of Castile and León:

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Resultados autonómicos de Castilla y León (Cinco Días).
  2. ^ "será objeto de protección específica […] por su particular valor dentro del patrimonio lingüístico de la Comunidad"
  3. ^ "gozará de respeto y protección en los lugares en que habitualmente se utilice"
  4. ^ Hablas de Extremadura: Frontera Leonesa.

[edit] External links

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