GIJÓN GIJÓN

Inhabitants There are 270,211 inhabitants in Gijón.

Rivers and lakes Piles river: it is between 10 and 15 kilometres long. The source is Gijón, it passes throw Gijón. Its main tributary is the Granda river. It flows into Cantábrico sea, exactly in San Lorenzo beach. Aboño river: it is between 10 and 15 kilometres long too. It’s born in Llanera, it passes throw Aboño (Carreño), Veriña (Gijón), Fresno (Gijón), Tacones (Gijón), Villardeveyo (Llanera). It flows into Aboño beach and its tributaries are Frade river and Pinzales river with its tributary La Pontica.

Economy During recent years industry developed a lot but it had difficulty in the steel and shipbuilding. Gijon is now very important in tourism, at the university and services. It contains a vast network of roads, highways and railways.

Famous People :Luis Fernandez de la Vega: Born in 1600 and died in It was a great sculptor of Spain.

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos: Born in 1744 and died in He was a writer and also created several institutes, Nautical and Mineralogy.

Evaristo Valle ( ) and Nicanor Piñole ( ): Both great painters and museum itself in Gijon. Evaristo Valle

Rosario de Acuña: Famous writer and participant in the feminist movement. She was born in 1851 and died in 1923.

Manuel del Busto: Worked in Gijon as an architect for 45 years. Born in 1874 and died in He built many important buildings in Gijon, which still remain. Melquiades Alvarez: Born in 1864 and died in He was a founder and leader of a political party, which disappeared with the Civil War.

Important buildings The Church of San Pedro Campo Valdés, Gijón Spain The Church of San Pedro was first built in the 15th Century and, after various changes and reforms, it was destroyed in August 1936 during the Civil War. Ten years later, the present church was built to the plans designed by Oviedo architects Francisco and Federico Somolinos. The church has been constructed in the neo-Romanesque style and it is located at Campo Valdes in the fishing quater of Gijon.

Munuments Cerro de Santa Catalina: This sculpture was made by Chillida in 1990, its material is concrete and measures 10 mts. It is located in the Santa Catherine Hill, Gijón, Spain. This Basque artist was inspired by the nature to make his sculpture forms. Cimadevilla The historic quarter of Gijón is formed by the hill of Santa Catalina and the fishing neighbourhood of Cimadevilla. The first settlers established communities on top of this hill and it has been chosen as the site for the “Elogio del Horizonte” (Eulogy of the Horizon), a monumental work by the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida. This point provides some of the best views of the Cantabrian Sea, the Costa Verde and Cimadevilla. The streets between the beach of San Lorenzo and the marina gather together Roman remains large mansions and the old houses of the fishermen.

Natural places Arbeyal beach, which is located in the neighborhood of La Calzada in Gijón Poniente Beach: Artificial beach, very busy, located near the Gijón marina. Nudist beach in the West area San Lorenzo beach: The bay of Gijón, where the San Lorenzo Beach is found, is one of the most beautiful in the north of Spain Peñarrubia beach is a long, narrow beach located at the foot of high cliffs, rich is fossils. Nudist beach

Typical food The typical food from Gijón is obviously the fish and the shellfish, because Gijón is near the coast. The typical food : sardines, clams, hake, octopus with ships, cod, fish soup or shellfish soup. The people from Gijón cook sardines with sauce of “bixigona” or “trechaes”. A typical drink from Asturias is cider. But you can not drink it because it’s got alcohol!

Important feasts Black week: Starts July 8 and ends on July 16. It is a feast in honour of literature police, was driven by the writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II. There are bars outdoors, attractions, food stalls and fairs. The first Black week was in 1988.

Feast of Begoña: Begins on August 6 and end on August 15. This festival is in honor of the Virgin Begoña. There are free concerts, parades and fireworks as well. There are also festivals of bagpipes, theaters, folk dances and more activities.

Feast of cider: The festival takes place between 24 and August 26. The council distributes thousands of free bottles of cider, but the people carry the glasses. This festival is being done since 16 years ago. In this event the only thing they do is take to the streets to enjoy cider and food derived from the apple.

National Party of Cabueñes: Takes place at the end of the spring. Move underway for 15 years. On this day, children perform many activities. In this holiday adults play popular games like "The Frog" and also make a cycling competition.

THE ANTROXU: A feast of great interest to tourists and is being held on the evening of Monday before the carnival. During this festival there are dances, parades, etc.. It also conducted contests to disguise and bands

Mountains Musel: it is a port. It is in the Cantábrico sea.

Enjoy Gijón Claudia Martín Collar Paula María Trueba Alejandro Vázquez González Marina Vilela Vázquez