La Felguera is a parish of Langreo, and the most important district in the municipality of Langreo (Principality of Asturias) in northern Spain, with 21,000 inhabitants. It is located 18 minutes by car to Oviedo, the capital of Asturias. La Felguera is close to the Nalón River.
In the 19th and first half of the 20th century, La Felguera, located in the mining region of Asturias, was one of the most important iron and steelworks centers in Spain,. In 1858, Pedro Duro founded the Felguera Factory (currently Duro Felguera), one of the most influential coal and iron-work enterprises in Spain.
The town was the first production site in Spain for: sheet steel for shipbuilding (1887), refractory bricks (1896), railways (1868), chemical products derived from ethylene (1957) and synthetic ammonia (1925). It also had the largest blast furnace in Spain in 1943. It was also an important centers for the workers' struggle. La Felguera was declared the greatest cultural point of Europe by UNESCO in 1961.
La Felguera has numerous annual celebrations (like Saint Peter's Fiestas or Day of the Cider) and an art gallery, Pinacoteca Eduardo Úrculo. The International Tales Competition is one of the most important in the Spanish language. Today, it shelters the center of new companies and technologies Valnalón and the Museum of the Siderurgy.
|
|