Castrillón

Municipality

Streets in Salinas

Flag

Coat of arms

Location of Castrillón

Castrillón

Location in Spain

Coordinates: 43°33′N 5°58′W / 43.550°N 5.967°WCoordinates: 43°33′N 5°58′W / 43.550°N 5.967°W

Country

Spain

Asturias

Government

• Alcalde

Ángela Vallina (IU)

Area

• Total

55.34 km² (21.37 sq mi)

Elevation

434 m (1,424 ft)

Population

• Total

22,843

• Density

410/km² (1,100/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Castrillonense

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

33450, 33405 (Salinas, Raices y Coto Carcedo) y 33456-33459

Official language(s)

Asturian

Website

Official website

Castrillón is a municipality in Asturias, located on the central coast. It has an area of 56.70 km² and a population of 22,361 inhabitants (in 2005). The most important population centres are the capital Piedras Blancas, Salinas, and Raíces.

Situated on the littoral plain, the county is one of the flattest areas in Asturias. Its coast is formed by a series of beaches and cliffs. For this reason, the county is known as "the county of the 7 beaches", even though there are more than seven beaches along its long coastline.

Inland, the area is characterized by the smoothness of the landscape, mainly formed by fertile valleys with a small river network that crosses the county. The altitude increases steadily towards the Southwest, with the peak in the Alto del Marqués (438 m).

Castrillón has eight parishes (administrative divisions):

Castrillón contains seven locations that do not belong to any parish. This political division in unique in Asturias. The seven are six localities (Coto Carcedo, La Cruz de Illas, La Laguna, Miranda, Raíces Nuevo and San Juan de Nieva) and the village of San Cristóbal.

Its oceanic climate means that there is little temperature variation. It has an annual average temperature of 13°C, a moderate summer and mild winter with frequent rain. In this way it is similar to adjacent regions.

The first evidence of a human presence in Castrillón is in Astur settlements from the Celtic and Roman periods. In Peñarrey, an altar with an inscription has been found, together with some pottery. There are also some silver coins in Quiloño and some other places. The earliest known written documents found date from the 9th century. Castrillón appears named as Castilione in the Liber Testamentorum of the Cathedral of Oviedo, sourced as a copy of a document from 857 AD. In that period Castrillón was part of the Alfoz of Gozón (later on it would be part of the Alfoz of Avilés); this is the origin of the first coat of arms of the county. In these documents, and others from the 10th century, there are references to the various contributions of the Kings to the Church of Oviedo, like the one dated on 921 where the donations from Ordoño II, including the Sancti Saluatoris de Petris Albis church (San Salvador de Piedras Blancas).

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Wikipedia