León

Capital of León province in Castilla-León, northwest Spain, situated on a plateau 821 m/2,694 ft high at the confluence of the Torio and Bernesga rivers; population (2001 est) 137,400. Linen, chemicals, pottery, and leather are manufactured. León was built on the site of a Roman camp. In the 10th century, after its recapture from the Moors, it became the capital of the kingdom of León until 1230, when it was merged with Castile. The city flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries as a trade centre, but declined after the kings of León and Castile made the city of Valladolid their favourite residence. It has an 11th-century church, a Gothic cathedral (13th-14th centuries), and remnants of the old walls.