La Felguera

La Felguera is the largest parish in the municipality of Langreo, Asturias, in the north of Spain, with 21,000 inhabitants. It is the fifth largest town in Asturias, after Gijón, Oviedo, Avilés and Mieres. It is 18 minutes by car to Oviedo, the capital of Asturias. La Felguera is close to the Nalón River.

History

In the 19th and first half of the 20th century, La Felguera was one of the most important metallurgical centers in Spain located inside the mining region of Asturias. In 1858, Pedro Duro founded the Felguera Factory (currently Duro Felguera), one of the most influential coal and iron 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 place at the workers' struggle. In addition, La Felguera was declared the greatest cultural point of Europe by UNESCO in 1961. Before the 19th century, La Felguera was a group of small villages dedicated to livestock and agriculture.