a city in northern Spain, in the Cantabrian Mountains. It is the principal city of the Asturias region and the administrative center of Oviedo Province. Population, 154,100 (1970). Gijón Airport, situated on the Bay of Biscay, is outside Oviedo. The city, an important transportation junction, is the center of Spain’s largest coal basin. Oviedo and its suburbs have metallurgy, chemical, heavy machine-building, cement, ceramic, textile, and food-processing industries. The city is the site of a university.
Oviedo was founded in the eighth century on the site of a Roman settlement. In the second half of the eighth century it became the principal city of the Asturian Kingdom and the center of the Reconquest (until the transfer of the capital to the city of León in the tenth century). During the Spanish Revolution of 1808–14 an Oviedo junta was one of the first groups to revolt against French occupational forces. In the 19th century, Oviedo took on great economic importance in connection with the development of the Asturian mining region. During the October battles of 1934, the city was the principal resistance point for the workers fighting against fascism. In 1936, during the fascist revolt, the city was captured by Franco’s forces.
Oviedo’s architectural landmarks include the cathedral (primarily in the flamboyant Gothic style, 1388 to the 16th century), the university building (in the Herreresco style, 1598–1604, architects G. de Bracomonte and J. del Rivero), and the baroque Hospicio Provincial (1752, architect M. Requera, based on a design by V. Rodriguez). Modern buildings occupy the area southwest of the city’s center. Located near Oviedo are examples of pre-Romanesque architecture (the Church of San Miguel de Lillo, c. 848).