Castile and León: Difference between revisions

Comunidad de Castilla y León
Autonomous Community
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Castile and León
Capital	Valladolid
Government
• President	Juan Vicente Herrera (PP)
Area (18.6% of Spain; Ranked 1st)
• Total	94,222 km2 (36,379 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	2,510,849
• Density	27/km2 (69/sq mi)
• Pop. rank	6th
• Percent	5.7% of Spain
Demonym
ISO 3166-2	CL
Official languages	Spanish
Statute of Autonomy	March 2, 1983
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 in 1983. This region is the largest in Spain, covering an area of 94,223 km² with an official population of around 2.5 million (2005).

Geography

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 roughly overlaps 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: Laciana (León), Valle de Mena (Burgos), Valle del Tiétar (Ávila), etc.

Rivers

Rivers and capitals of province through which they run

The Duero river for Zamora.

The Tormes river for Salamanca.

capital for go over	River	Mouth	Other localities for where go over
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

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.

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.

Regional Administration and Government

"Las Médulas" ancient Roman gold mines

Castile and León is divided into nine provinces:

• Avila
• Burgos
• Leon
• Palencia
• Salamanca
• Segovia
• Soria
• Valladolid
• Zamora

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

Although the "Statute of Autonomy" for Castile and Leon does not specify any city to be the capital of the autonomous community, the city of Valladolid serves that purpose in certain contexts, and is the city of residence for the Regional Executive, the Courts, and several other important arms of the regional parliament and government.

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).

• Seat of the Regional Executive: Valladolid
• Seat of the Accounting Committee: Palencia

Regional Legislature

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 home is in Valladolid.

Parties with parliamentary representation in Castile and León:

• Partido Popular de Castilla y León 48 Autonomical seats, 18 Congress seats.
• Partido Socialista de Castilla y León 33 Autonomical seats, 14 Congress seats.
• Unión del Pueblo Leonés, 2 autonomical seats.

Regional Judicature

• Regional High Court: Burgos

Other regional bodies

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

Consultive Committee

The Consultive 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

Education

Universities

• Catholic University of Ávila
• Miguel de Cervantes European University (Valladolid)
• Pontifical University of Salamanca
• IE University (Segovia)
• University of Burgos
• University of León
• University of Salamanca
• University of Valladolid

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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

• The Way of Saint James, that crosses both regions of Castile and León.
• Gothic-style cathedral of Burgos
• Old city and aqueduct of Segovia
• Old city and wall of Ávila
• Old city of Salamanca
• Las Médulas in the province of León, Roman gold mines
• Archaeological deposits of Atapuerca, near the city of Burgos, where fossils of the one of the earliest known hominids in Europe have been found

List of Castles in Castile and León

These are some castles of Castile and León:

Alcázar of Segovia Castle of Almenar de Soria Castle of Ampudia Castle of Arenas de San Pedro Castle of Arévalo Castle of Bonilla de la Sierra Castle of Burgos Castle of Henry II of Castile Castle of Castilnovo Castle of Coca Cornatel Castle Cuéllar Castle Castle of El Barco de Ávila

Gormaz Castle Castle of Íscar Castle of La Adrada Castle of La Mota Castle of Miranda de Ebro Castle of Monleón Castle of Peñafiel Castle of Ponferrada Castillo de Portillo Castle of Puente del Congosto Castle of Simancas Castle of Turégano Castle of Zamora

See also

• Kingdom of Castile
• Kingdom of León
• Old Castile
• Castilian-Leonese cuisine

External links

• Cortes de Castilla y León (Regional Parliament) (in Spanish)
• Junta de Castilla y León (Regional Government) (Mostly in Spanish)
• Consejo Consultivo de Castilla y León (in Spanish)
• The Cortes of Castile-León, Joseph F. O'Callaghan (historical)
• Tourist Information