LEON, an episcopal see and the capital of the Spanish province of Leon, situated on a hill 2,631 ft. above sea-level, in the angle made by the Torio and Bernesga, streams which unite on the south, and form the river Leon, a tributary of the Esla. Pop. (1930) 29,337. Leon is on the main railway from Madrid to Oviedo, and is connected with Astorga by a branch line. Leon (Arab. Liyun) owes its name to the Legio Septima Gemina of Galba, which, under the later emperors, had its headquarters here.
About 54o Leon fell into the hands of the Gothic king Leovigild, and in 717 it capitulated to the Moors. Retaken about 742, it ultimately, in the beginning of the loth century, became the capi tal of the kingdom of Leon (see SPAIN : History). About 996 it was taken by Almansur, but on his death soon afterwards it re verted to the Spaniards. It was the seat of several ecclesiastical councils between 1012 and 1288.
The cathedral, founded in 1199 and finished only at the close of the 14th century, is built of a warm cream-coloured stone, and is remarkable for simplicity, lightness and strength. It is one of the finest examples of Spanish Gothic, smaller, indeed, than the cathedrals of Burgos and Toledo, but exquisite in design and workmanship. The chapter library contains some valuable manu scripts. The collegiate church of San Isidoro was founded by Ferdinand I. of Castile in 1063 and consecrated in 1149. The church contains some fine plate, including the shrine of St. Isidore of Seville and a silver processional cross dating from the 16th century, which is one of the most beautiful in the country. The convent and church of San Marcos, planned in 1514 by Ferdinand the Catholic, founded by Charles V. in 1537, and consecrated in 1541, are Renaissance in style.