Gijon Attractions

The busy port and industrial town of Gijón is the largest city in Asturias, with one of the best harbors on the north coast of Spain. It lies between two sheltered bays on the south side of the former rocky island of Santa Catalina and on the deposits of alluvial soil which now link it with the mainland. Gijón is the economic center of Asturias, and much of the coal mined in the province is shipped from its harbor at El Musel. There is a predominance of heavy industry (smelting works, shipyards, engineering plants); other products include glass and ceramics.

History

There was a Roman settlement called Gegio here, which developed in the eighth century into the residence of the Asturian kings. In 1588 the remnants of the "Invincible Armada" sought refuge in Gijón harbor. Here in 1744 was born Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (d. 1811), the poet and liberal reformer who became one of the leaders of the resistance to Napoleon. The town was largely destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter was rebuilt on a modern plan, so that practically no old buildings have survived.