La Felguera
La Felguera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community | Asturias |
| Province | Asturias |
| Municipality | Langreo |
La Felguera is an urban district of the city of Langreo Llangréu in the municipality of Langreo, Asturies, in the north of Spain, with 21,000 inhabitants. Langreo is the forth largest town in Asturies, after Gijón, Oviedo, Avilés. It is 18 minutes by car to Oviedo, the capital of Asturies. La Felguera is close to the Nalón River.
History
In the 19th and first half of the 20th century, La Felguera was one of the most important metallurgical centers in Spain located inside the mining region of Asturias. In 1858, Pedro Duro founded the Felguera Factory (currently Duro Felguera), one of the most influential coal and iron enterprises in Spain.
The town was the first production site in Spain for: sheet steel for shipbuilding (1887), refractory bricks (1896), railways (1868), chemical products derived from ethylene (1957) and synthetic ammonia (1925). It also had the largest blast furnace in Spain in 1943. It was also an important place at the workers' struggle. In addition, La Felguera was declared the greatest cultural point of Europe by UNESCO in 1961.[1] Before the 19th century, La Felguera was a group of small villages dedicated to livestock and agriculture.
Important buildings are the church of San Pedro, the chapel El Llungéru, the former facilities of the ancient Factory Duro Felguera, engineers' houses in the street Count Sizzo, former College of La Salle, the Engineers' Chalet, Pedro Duro's statue, the Urquijo neighborhood, railway station, the market and three parks (Dolores Duro, Sutu and García Lago).
It has numerous annual celebrations (like Saint Peter's Fiestas or Day of the Cider) and an art gallery, Pinacoteca Eduardo Úrculo. The International Tales Competition is one of the most important in the Spanish language. Today, it shelters the center of new companies and technologies Valnalón and the Museum of the Siderurgy.
