Biescas
| Biescas | |||
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Town of Biescas.
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 Biescas
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| Coordinates: 42°37′42″N 0°19′16″W / 42.62833°N 0.32111°W | |||
| Country | Spain | ||
| Autonomous community | Aragon | ||
| Province | Huesca | ||
| Comarca | Alto Gállego | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Luís Estaún García | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 189,09 km2 (7,301 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 875 m (2,871 ft) | ||
| Population (2014) | |||
| • Total | 1,535 | ||
| • Density | 0.081/km2 (0.21/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CET (UTC+2) | ||
Biescas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbi̯es.kas]) is a municipality of northeastern Spain close to the border with France, in the midst of the Pyrenees in the province of Huesca. The name seems to provide from the term bizka, which means "hill" in a Proto-Indo-European language.
The town of Biescas is located at 875 meters altitude on the banks of the Gállego river. The municipality extends along a small plain and includes the canyon to access to the Tena Valley. At 72 km north of the main city Huesca, Biescas is a communication hub between the regions of Jacetania and Sobrarbe. The town is strategically located to crossing the Gállego river, as a link between the valleys of Tena and Ara.
The municipality extends over an area of 189.09 km². Distributing the town main parallel to the river, with two areas of different altitude delimiting two historic districts: to the west, the district of San Pedro, which includes an area for expansion and new constructions, and eastern district of San Salvador split, itself, into the neighborhood of La Peña (The Rock) and the Downtown, where are located the administration and most of the services and shops in the village.
According to the Spanish Statistics National Institute, the current municipality has 1,535 inhabitants and includes the villages of:
The municipality also includes the depopulated villages of Búbal, Polituara, Saquès, Ainielle, Susín, Berbusa and Casbas.
The economic activities in Biescas have historically been traditional farming of cereals and of fodder for livestock, logging of forests, and bovine cattle and sheep for local consumption. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Biescas highlighted in the region for its wool traditional textile industry, specialized in blankets and equipment for horses.
Since the beginning of the nineties of the twentieth century, tourism has replaced the traditional economy of the town. Residents have been gradually leaving farming and agriculture to engage in construction and services. Currently Biescas constitutes an important touristic point in the central Pyrenees, both in summer and winter.
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Wikipedia