Gijón - online puzzles

Gijón (UK:, US:, Spanish: [xiˈxon]) or Xixón (Asturian: [ʃiˈʃoŋ]) is a city in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the central-northern part of Asturias; it is approximately 24 km (15 mi) north-east of Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, and 26 km from Avilés. With a population of 271,780, Gijón is the 15th largest city in Spain.

Gijón forms part of a large metropolitan area that includes twenty councils in the center of the region, structured with a dense network of roads, highways and railways and with a population of 835,053 inhabitants in 2011, making it the seventh largest in Spain.During the 20th century, Gijón developed as an industrial city in the steel and naval industries. However, due to the decline in manufacturing in these industries, in recent years Gijón is undergoing a transformation into an important tourist, university, commercial and R&D center. Gijón is the location of the Radiotelevisión del Principado de Asturias, the neighbourhood of Cimavilla, the Universidad Laboral de Gijón, the Revillagigedo Palace, and the adjoining Collegiate Church of San Juan Bautista.

Etymology

One theory is based on some early medieval texts mention it as "Gigia", derived from the identical Greek and Latin term "gigias", meaning "giant", both of which refer to the Greek mythological giant Gigas. The medieval "Gigia" name, in turn, more specifically would refer to the ancient Roman wall built on the peninsula of the Cimadevilla district of Gijón. This wall was called the "Gegionem" by the Romans, and is itself a compound Latin term being either "geg-ionem", meaning "giant-ness/gigantic", "gegi-onem", meaning "concrete giant", or "gegio-nem" meaning "giant end".