GIJON

town and commercial centre situated in Asturias provincia and comunidad autnoma (autonomous community), northwestern Spain, located on the Bay of Biscay at the foot of the Cerro (hill) de Santa Catalina, just northeast of Oviedo city. Known to the Romans and Goths as Gigia, it was captured by the Moors early in the 8th century but was retaken about 737, and was the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias until 791. Gijn was burned during civil wars in 1395 and, in the 16th and 17th centuries, suffered many corsair attacks. The remnants of the Spanish Armada took refuge there in 1588. Historic monuments include Roman baths and several medieval palaces. Gijn is the seat of the Universidad Laboral (Labour University), founded in 1955 for the sons of workers, and of the Instituto de Jovellanos (1797), a commercial and nautical school named after the 18th-century philosopher Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos y Ramrez, a native of the town. Gijn's seaport, Puerto del Musel, leads Spain in the coasting trade and is an international port of call. Coal (the chief export) and iron taken from the Asturian mines and fishing are of economic importance. Industries include iron, steel, and chemical manufactures, petroleum refining, liquor distilling, and food processing. Bathing beaches have made Gijn a leading summer resort on the Costa Verde. Pop. (1981) 255,969.