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El Bierzo (; or El Bierzu; ) is a comarca in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital.
The territory of El Bierzo includes most of the upper basin of the Sil river. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides, which makes this area remarkably isolated from all neighbouring lands.
In the early Middle Ages, El Bierzo became part of the Kingdom of León. The region saw the establishment of several monasteries, including Santa María de Carracedo and San Pedro de Montes, which played a role in its religious and cultural development. Mozarabic art also flourished in the area, with Santiago de Peñalba standing as a notable example. This church, constructed in the 10th century, is an important representation of Mozarabic architecture and reflects the artistic influences of the time. Fortifications such as the Templar Castle of Ponferrada were also constructed during the Middle Ages, reflecting its strategic importance.
The Camino de Santiago passes through El Bierzo, significantly shaping its historical and cultural landscape. This medieval pilgrimage route brought travelers and religious influence to the region, fostering the development of Romanesque architecture. Notable examples include the Church of Santiago in Villafranca del Bierzo and other ecclesiastical structures that served the needs of pilgrims.
In the 19th century, El Bierzo was briefly a province of its own within the larger Leonese region from 1821 to 1823, with the new administrative division of Spain in 1833 the majority of the region was integrated in the province of León, with the Valdeorras municipalities becoming part of Galicia. The 19th and 20th centuries were marked by industrial developments, with mining and energy production becoming central to the local economy.
El Bierzo developed its own peculiarities as Galician people and Leonese people traditions mixed under Castilian people influence, and thus was granted the administrative status of comarca. Spanish is the official language, but local dialects of Galician and Leonese language are also spoken in the westernmost areas and are present in some village toponyms. In the 12th century there was a colony of immigrants from Poitou in the Bierzo.Richard A. Fletcher (1978) The Episcopate in the Kingdom of León in the Twelfth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 49.
The status of El Bierzo as a shire is recognized by law, and it is the only one officially recognized in the autonomous community of Castile and León.
The Galician language, in addition to Galicia, is also spoken in western El Bierzo and a small area called As Portelas in the westernmost part of the province of Zamora, both areas in the community of Castile and Leon; the teaching of Galician in public education is allowed in those areas under an agreement between the Education Departments of Galicia and Castile and Leon. In 2005–2006 there were 844 students studying in 9 municipalities of El Bierzo, with 47 teachers, and in 2008–2009 more than 1000 students enrolled in Galician courses in El Bierzo and As Portelas, although many of them are children of immigrants from Galicia. In addition to that, the Statute of Autonomy of Castile and Leon, in its article No. 5, states: "We Shall respect and protect the Galician language and language patterns in places where the language is habitually used.". The number of Galician speakers in El Bierzo is estimated to be about 35,000 people concentrated in the westernmost municipalities of the region. In the last year the Bercianos have made many campaigns to improve Galicians' use in their Comarca, even with the collaboration of members from the Royal Galician Academy, professors and students from Villafranca del Bierzo. Politically, usually the Galeguist parties defend the use of Galician language in the western Bierzo, parties as Galician Nationalist Bloc or PSdeG, but recently, even right-wing parties like People's Party defend the Galician language in the area.
Pachuezu or patsuezu is the western Asturleonese variant most entrenched in the north of El Bierzo, where there are estimated to be about 4,000 speakers of Leonese.
Starting in the late 1980s most mines were closed, and after the collapse of the mining industry the region was for a while in a crisis. However, in the late 1990s the region underwent a major transformation with the establishment of several industrial and services firms, the reintroduction of commercial wine production, the opening of a local branch of the University of León in Ponferrada offering several undergraduate degrees, and in general a radical improvement of the region's infrastructure. The economy is now based mainly on tourism, agriculture (fruit and wine), wind power generation and slate mining.
Important factors contributing to the recent boom of the tourism industry in the region are the increasing popularity of the Way of St. James (; a pilgrimage route that goes from France to Santiago de Compostela, Galicia), the designation in 1997 of Las Médulas as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the development of rural tourism lodging and wineries in the area. The Energy City Foundation was established in Ponferrada in 2006 and is currently overseeing the construction of the National Energy Museum ( ) in the city, as well as sponsoring several other initiatives that should further boost tourism and the economy of the region.
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