Gijón is a city in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias.
During the 20th century, Gijón developed as an industrial city in the steel and naval industries. However, due to the decline in manufacturing in these industries, in recent years Gijón is undergoing a transformation into an important tourist, university, commercial and R&D center. Gijón is the location of the Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias, the neighbourhood of Cimavilla, the Universidad Laboral de Gijón, the Revillagigedo Palace, and the adjoining Collegiate Church of San Juan Bautista.
Gijón is part of the statistical (not yet developed from an administrative standpoint) comarca of Gijón.
Culture
Gijón is the cultural centre of the region of Asturias. Cultural activities are carried out throughout the year, which increase considerably in the summer months, especially in August due to the Feast of the Assumption, with parties, music and theater. This complements the continuous programming of the Teatro Municipal Jovellanos (Jovellanos Municipal Theater). The various festivities carried out in Gijón include:
- The Iberoamerican Book Fair, in May
- The Semana Negra in July
- The Feria Internacional de Muestras de Asturias
- The Gijón International Film Festival
The Universidad Laboral de Gijón, completed in 1955, contains the LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (Laboral Center of Art and Industrial Creation). The center was inaugurated on March 30, 2007 as an interdisciplinary space to promote artistic exchange and foster the relationship between society, art, science, technology and the creative industries.
In recent years, Gijón has become a stop city for the Cirque du Soleil. The performances of the Cirque du Soleil have been very successful in the city. In July 2004, Saltimbanco arrived and in the summer of 2007, they presented Alegría in Gijón, the first time that this tour stopped in northern Spain. During the summer of 2009, Cirque du Soleil returned to Gijón with the Varekai show.
Film
José Luis Garci filmed most of the footage from the film Volver a empezar in the city during the early 1980s. The film would later win an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. In the early 1990s there was a boom in indie music bands in the town, which became known as the “Xixón Sound”. The comedy Mortadelo & Filemon: The Big Adventure was also filmed in part in the City of Culture of Gijón. In 2009, the Laboral and its surroundings were converted to the University of Oxford for Fernando González Molina’s film, Brain Drain.
Museums and art galleries
- Museum of the Asturian People
- Railway museum of Asturias
- Nicanor Piñole museum
- Roman Terms museum of Campo Valdés
- Juan Barjola Museum (A museum about a local painter, also interested in avant-garde art)
- Evaristo Valle museum (Local painter museum placed in a mansion at the outskirts)
- International Bagpipe Museum contains bagpipes from around the world, focusing on the Asturian musical heritage and bagpipes.
- Atlantic botanical garden
- Archaeological park Campa Torres.
- Revillagigedo Palace and museum (At Marqués square, near the City Hall)
- Gijón Aquarium
- Roman Town of Veranes
- LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial (An exhibition center for contemporary art, science, technology and advanced visual industries)
Universities
There are two campuses located in Gijón, one of the University of Oviedo and other of the National University of Distance Education.
University of Oviedo
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computers and Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering.
- School of Civil Navy.
- Faculty of Commerce, Tourism and Social Sciences “Jovellanos”.
Public Administration and Management, Trade and Marketing, Tourism and Social work.
National University of Distance Education (UNED)
Gijón also has a delegation of the UNED, where different disciplines can be studied by distance.
