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Narón

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Concello de Narón
Official seal of Concello de Narón
Seal
Nickname: 
Terra de Trasancos
Location of Narón within Galicia
Location of Narón within Galicia
Parroquias13
Population
 (2005)(INE)
 • Total34,404
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CET)
Websitehttp://www.naronconcello.org/

Narón 43°32′47.55″N 8°08′53.42″W / 43.5465417°N 8.1481722°W / 43.5465417; -8.1481722 is a borough council in Ferrolterra in the Province of A Coruña in northwestern Spain. Juan Gato is the current mayor. Around 35,000 people live in the area. Geographically the town is very close to the Atlantic Ocean. Narón has eight parroquias which are Narón, San Xiao, Castro, O Val, Trasancos, Sedes, Pedroso and Doso. As Telleiras is one of the secondary schools in the town. Ferrol is 5 km away. A Coruña is 54 km away and Santiago de Compostela is 95 km away. The nearest airports to the town are situated in A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela. Narón does have a train station but to reach Madrid you have to change at Ferrol.

Climate

Due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, it could be said that Narón does not enjoy extreme oscillation in its weather conditions neither in winter nor in summer. The weather is mild all the year around almost as if we were talking about one only season, and that is very different from what happens in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Like the rest of Galicia, it is rainy and beautifully green. Still, the summers tend to be a bit dryer than the winters. If you visit during the winter months, an umbrella will almost certainly be required and used on a regular basis and it could be said that the weather during these months is very similar to Ireland or Wales. Umbrellas are so much a part of Galician way of life that there is usually a bin to place your umbrella in when you enter a shop, bar or somewhere similar.

Entertainment

If Narón had no entertainment whatsoever its proximity to Ferrol would not pose problems for those looking for it. Narón is one of the best equipped towns in Galicia for entertainment. It boasts a theatre, a 16 lane bowling alley and a 12 screen cinema within the Centro Commercial Odeón, one of the two shopping centres of the town. The centre also has 3 nightlife areas: Carretera de Castilla, Carretera de Castro and A Gándara, the three of them full of pubs, discos and traditional bars and inns.

Fiestas

In the mont of May, May Day is celebrated on the 1st along with the Dia das letras, on the 17th. An Oenach is celebrated in August, remembering Celtic origins. The Día de Narón is celebrated every year on the 23 November. Narón celebrates the National Galician Day on the 25 July with concerts and several parties at the main square in the City, the Galician Square.

It is also important to say that every weekend during the summer there are plenty of people enjoying themselves with a lot of pubs and discos being almost crowded.

In addition to all the local fiestas, Narón also observes the national Spanish fiestas.

Parishes (Parroquias)

The borough can be divided into several parishes which differ from each other in extension, population and main industries. Altogether, they number 13, and are the following ones:

  1. Castro
  2. Doso
  3. San Xiao de Narón (San Xiao)
  4. Pedroso
  5. Sedes
  6. San Mateo de Trasancos
  7. O Val
  8. Nosa Señora dos Desamparados - Piñeiros (Narón urban area)
  9. San Martiño de Xuvia - O Couto (Narón urban area)
  10. San Xosé Obreiro - Outo do Castiñeiro (Narón urban area)
  11. Santa Icía - A Solaina (Narón urban area)
  12. Santa Rita de Xuvia (Narón urban area)
  13. Santiago Apóstolo - A Gándara (Narón urban area)

However, six of them (Pinheiros, O Couto, A Gándara, Outo do Castiñeiro, Xuvia and A Solaina) belong to the city center and now they are known as neighbourghoods, rather than parishes. There are a total of 195 localities, the most prominent being A Gándara, A Solaina and Piñeiros, each of which has a population higher than 6,000. Narón town hall is located at Outo do Castiñeiro (also known, in Spanish, as Alto del Castaño).

Education

Narón is well equipped with educational facilities for the young people of the town. There are two State Infant Schools (i.e.: Escuelas Infantiles), two State Secondary Schools (i.e.: Institutos de Enseñanza Secundaria) and fourteen private schools (i.e.: Colegios Privados).

Languages

Both Castilian (Spanish) and Gallego are spoken in this area although statistics on the use and comprehension of both is not known at present. Tourists and travellers arriving to this area will most probably notice that there isn't much information or official notices either in English or in Spanish; most information and leaflets provided will be in local Galician. School children are taught in the Galician language, although a large majority speak Castilian as their first language.

Economy

File:Steel 306173 8796.jpg
The steel factory of "Megasa" is very important in Narón

Since 1900, Narón has experimented a continuous steady growth, which during the 1960s and the 1970s accelerate itself due to the flourishing of the naval industry of Ferrol and Fene and the economic expansion which Spain was experiencing during those years. Narón, absorbed during those years a substantial influx of migrant workers from the most rural areas of Ferrolterra, localities such as San Sadurniño, Cedeira and Ortigueira to mention a few, including from areas of the interior, like Terra Chá in the province of Lugo. Often other regions too, like people who were posted in the military sector to Ferrol, for example. This immigration rejuvenated the population structure and reinforced the development of different sectors like the construction industry, due to the new need of housing. All those challengers which were presented to Narón transformed the area into a non- uniquely rural borough to become a lightly industrialized one. Because it still has large green areas, along with a high population density, the houses are not very large; there are generally four or five-story apartments. That economic expansion has been stop by the economic decline of the Naval Sector during the post-Franco years in neighbouring Ferrol the 1980s and early 1990s. During those years the only Parish which was still growing has been Narón itself. Still, the early years of the new century have started very well with the arrival of a new motorway, the creation of extensive parks of wind mills (some of the largest in Europe after some parts of Germany), the Outer-Port just before the entrance of “La Ría” plus many other developments like making Ferrolterra a travel destination for big ocean liners. Altogether, with the know-how and hard work of the people of this green corner of Spain will make the entire region to flourish one again.

The most important economic sectors are the tertiary and the secondary (services and industries) sectors, which employ 49.9% and 31.2% of the working population, respectively. Narón is a suitable place to build small industries because of its good potential for industrial development. The industrial estate, Río do Pozo, is being built and will become one of the largest business parks in Galicia, Spain. A Gándara is the place where another important industrial estate is. MEGASA and POLIGAL, two of the most prominent enterprises of the Galizan iron and steel subsectors, are present in Narón. There are also other enterprises in such diverse industries as dairy, thermal insulation, electricity, electronics, construction materials, foodstuffs and distilling.

The industrial development of the borough, began in a few centuries ago, and consisted in different factories devoted to the leather tanning, textile mills and the use of water mills. Later, tile factories were stabilised in the region, together with shipyards and sawmills. Nowadays, and more recently, other industries flourished like traditional woodwork, stone, leather and ceramics workshops which in some cases can still be found.

The primary sector is the least important, comprising 5.7% of the working population. It produces cereals, potatoes, vegetables and cattle, and constitutes a complementary economic activity.

Socio-cultural and economic development

Because of the Megalithic remains of A Moura, San Mateo and O Val and the existence of hill-forts (castros), albeit in a pitiful condition, in Eiravedra, Pereiruga, Petouzal, Quintá, Revolta, San Mateo, Sequeiro, Vicás and Vilasuso, it has been established that this land has been inhabited since ancient times. In the Middle Ages, there were some small monasteries, but the most important were San Martiño de Xuvia and San Salvador de Pedroso, which were the centers of the economic, cultural and religious life of the Terra de Trasancos. An often-visited place is the Presa do Rei, located at the river Xubia. There are also two water mills from the 18th-century, with important historic-cultural value. But the most representative monument in Naron is the Romanesque Church of O Couto, which is in the ancient monastery of San Martiño de Xuvia and dates from the 12th century. The church has a basilical layout (three naves and semicircular apses). Inside, there is the Gothic grave of Rodrigo Esquío. The portico and the tower of the façade were added later, in the 18th century. It is a building of great architectural value and is notable because of the merging of different styles.

Nowadays, Narón is working towards cultural enrichment. Several years ago, the Television de Narón e Terra de Trasancos was formed and an outstanding auditorium was also built recently. It might also be noted that the whole area has undergone a period of worrisome economic uncertainty due to the crisis in the naval building sector, the conflicts with European legislation, and competition from Asia.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Narón.
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