Oviedo
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Oviedo Uviéu |
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| Motto: Benemérita, invicta, heroica, buena, muy noble, muy leal (Meritorious, undefeated, heroic, good, very noble, very loyal) |
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 Oviedo
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| Coordinates: 43°21′36″N 5°50′42″W / 43.36000°N 5.84500°WCoordinates: 43°21′36″N 5°50′42″W / 43.36000°N 5.84500°W | |||
| Country |
 Spain
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| Autonomous community | Principado de Asturias | ||
| Province | Asturias | ||
| Comarca | Oviedo | ||
| Capital | Oviedo | ||
| Government | |||
| • Alcalde | Wenceslao López Martinez (since 2015) (FSA-PSOE) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 186.65 km2 (72.07 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 232 m (761 ft) | ||
| Population (2014) | |||
| • Total | 222,917 | ||
| • Density | 1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | ovetense or, coloqually, carbayón | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | from 33001 to 33013 | ||
| Official language(s) | Spanish | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Oviedo (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈβjeðo]; Asturian: Uviéu) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located approximately 20 km (12 mi) to 25 km (16 mi) south of neighbouring cities Gijón and Avilés, which lie on the shoreline of the Bay of Biscay. Its proximity to the ocean causes Oviedo to have a maritime climate, in spite of it not being located on the shoreline itself.
The Kingdom of Asturias began in 720, with a Visigothic Aristocrat Pelagius's (685-737) revolt against the Muslims occupying most of Spain at the time. The Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 took control of most of the peninsula until the revolt in the northern mountains by Pelagius. The resulting Kingdom of Asturias, located in an economically poor region of the peninsula, was largely ignored by the Muslims. In 720, the area where Oviedo was located was still uninhabited.
It is said that two monks, Máximo and Fromestano (Latin: Maximus et Fromestanus), founded the city in 761. That settlement was soon to be completed with the construction of a small church dedicated to Saint Vincent. Oviedo was established on an uninhabited hillside, with no Visigothic or Roman foundation before it became an Asturian city. Following Pelagius, who died in 737, Alfonso I (739-57) founded a dynasty that would last until 1037. The Asturian Kingdom was on hostile terms with southern Moorish Spain. In 794, Oviedo was sacked and pillaged by Caliph Hisham I in one of his numerous campaigns against the Christian kingdoms.
King Alfonso I is said to have "set in place the whole order of the Goths, as it had been in Toledo, as much in the church as in the palace." The intention with Oviedo was to shape it into a city similar to that of Visigothic Toledo. Once kings had settled in Oviedo, they adopted as much of the architectural style and imagery of Toledo. Even with this in mind, Oviedo did not necessarily resemble the old Visigothic capital in Toledo. The churches and buildings of Oviedo follow instead late provincial Roman tradition. Since Asturias at the time was an agriculturally poor area of Spain the scale of the buildings is quite impressive.
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Wikipedia