Castilla y Leon Tourist Information
There are nine separate provinces in the autonomous community of
Castilla y León, making it Spain’s largest region. An amalgamation of the former
regions of Castilla la Vieja and León, some of Spain’s most fabulous Heritage
Cities can be found here. The nine provinces are Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia,
Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora.
Geography of Castilla y Leon
Castilla y León is located between Madrid and the Portugese
border and, apart from Burgos – which is in the Ebro Depression –most of the
region is part of the lower northern plateau. The Iberian mountain range crosses
the north of the region with the Sistema Central range in the southern section.
The plateau lies basically in the middle of these mountain zones.
The most important river is the Duero, with its source in Soria,
along with the Tietar and Alberche, which are tributaries of the Tagus. These
rivers enter the Atlantic in Portugal. Castilla y Leon Map
History of Castilla y Leon
Castilla La Vieja was so-named because of the many castles built
there in the eighth and ninth centuries – more than 300 in total - by Christians
in their defence against the Moorish invaders. One of Spain’s most celebrated
heroes, El Cid el Campeador, was born near Burgos and is buried in the
magnificent 13th century cathedral there. In 1218, the ‘golden city’ of
Salamanca became the home of Spain’s oldest university.
Even before these times, though, Atapuerca, near Burgos, was the
site at which fossils from the earliest known hominids in Europe were
discovered, along with stone tools dated at more than 780,000 years old.
Segovia, as well as being home to the castle which reputedly inspired that in
Walt Disney’s Snow White, also boasts an incredible 2,000 year old Roman
aqueduct – one of the best preserved in the whole world. Constructed with 20,400
stones, it was still supplying the city with water during the 20th century.
Another fascinating Roman site can be seen at Las Medulas near León, where they
devised a method of employing hydraulic power to help mine for gold.
Other interesting historical footnotes concerning the area
include the history of Valladolid, which was an insignificant village until the
eleventh century but then became the home of the Kings of Castilla and capital
of the Kingdom of Spain until 1561 and then again from 1601 until 1606.
Language of Castilla y Leon
Castilian Spanish dialects started to develop during Alfonso X’s
reign in the 13th century. Alfonso, the learned, encouraged, from his base in
Toledo, scholars to write works in Castilian and also to translate the major
religious, scientific, historical and literary texts into the language. As the
catholic kingdoms began to dominate Spain, the language spread until it was
declared to be the national language by Ferdinand and Isabella. The publication
in 1492 – that year of such importance in Spanish history - of Antonio de
Nebrija’s Arte de la lengua castellana, the first textbook attempting to define
the grammar of a European language, helped cement its position. There are,
however, some residents of León, Zamora and Salamanca who continue to speak a
Leónese dialect of Castilian.
Economy of the Region
The development of tourism in this region has had a tremendous
impact on the economy, providing employment for the many people migrating from
the countryside to the capital cities of the provinces. Agriculture is still
important, including wheat, sugar beet and potatoes alongside animal husbandry
and forestry in the mountainous areas. Salamanca and Zamona provinces generate
more than 25% of Spain’s hydroelectricity. Castilla y Leon Flag
Climate of the Region
The climate here is notable for its very hot, short summers and
quite often bitterly cold winters; in fact, locals claim, only partly in jest,
that the climate in Burgos is ‘nine months of winter followed by three months of
hell’. Rainfall in the central lands can be between 400mm and 600mm whereas in
the mountains it is far higher, with snow often permanent.
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Castilla y Leon Tourism |
