Torrelavega

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

title: "Torrelavega" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["torrelavega", "municipalities-in-cantabria"] topic_path: "general/torrelavega" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrelavega" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Torrelavega
settlement_type	Municipality
official_name
native_name	Torlavega (Asturian)
image_skyline	Iglesia de la Asunción - Torrelavega.jpg
image_caption	Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.
image_flag	BanderaTorrelavega-Cantabria.svg
image_shield	Escudo de Torrelavega estilo francés moderno.svg
motto	Ave Maria
(Hail Mary)
image_map	Torrelavega (Cantabria) Mapa.svg
map_caption	Location of the Municipality of Torrelavega in Cantabria.
pushpin_map	Spain
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Spain
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Spain
subdivision_type1	Autonomous community
subdivision_name1	Cantabria
subdivision_type2	Province
subdivision_name2	Cantabria
subdivision_type3	Comarca
subdivision_name3	Valle del Besaya
coordinates
elevation_m	25
elevation_min_m	12
elevation_max_m	606
area_total_km2	35.54
established_title	Founded
established_date	14th century as Torre de la Vega
population_as_of
population_footnotes
population_total
population_demonym	Torrelaveguenses
population_density_km2	auto
blank_name_sec1	Official language(s)
blank_info_sec1	Spanish
timezone	CET
utc_offset	+1
timezone_DST	CEST
utc_offset_DST	+2
postal_code_type	Postal code
postal_code	39300
area_code_type	Dialing code
leader_title	Alcalde
leader_name	Javier López Estrada (2019)
leader_party	PRC
website
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	4
::

It is situated roughly 8 kilometres from the Cantabrian Coast and 27.5 kilometres from the capital of the Autonomous Community, Santander, halfway between the Principality of Asturias and the Basque Country. The rivers Saja and flow through the city.

It is the capital of the comarca (county, but with no administrative role) of Valle del Besaya which includes also composed of the municipalities of Suances, Polanco, Cartes, Los Corrales de Buelna, Cieza, Arenas de Iguña, Bárcena de Pie de Concha, Molledo, Anievas and San Felices de Buelna.

Its highest point is 606 metres and its lowest point is 12 metres.

Torrelavega is a regional centre for industry and transport, and its weekly livestock fair is famous in Spain. Its stadium is known as El Malecon. The Cave of Altamira, famed for the prehistoric paintings found inside, is about 10 kilometres northwest of the city.

History

Torrelavega was founded at the end of the thirteenth century by Garci Lasso de la Vega I (the elder), Adelantado Mayor of the Kingdom of Castile in the name of King Alfonso XI of Castile.

Its current name is due to the contraction of the original eponym of "Torre de la Vega". The Castle or Tower of the Vega's was built by Leonor Lasso de la Vega, daughter of Garci Lasso de la Vega II, the younger, and mother of the Íñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de Santillana in order to administer the tax and privilege due in the family's territory.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Ayuntamiento_Torrelavega.jpg" caption="Town Hall."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Avenida_de_España.jpg" caption="''Avenida de España'' (Avenue of Spain)."] ::

The name of the comarca, Valle del Besaya is derived from the Astur-Leonese Bisalia, which in turn derives from the Celtic, Bis-salia (the second Salia or Saja) from the two rivers that flow through the city.

Torrelavega was an important agricultural hub in the Kingdom of Castile since medieval times. Continuous population growth and industrial development enabled Torrelavega to attain city status in 1895 from the Queen Regent Maria Christina of Bourbon, Princess of the Two Sicilies.

The city is home to the main seat of the Spanish anarcho-syndicalist labour union the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo.

Geography

Divisions

Neighbourhoods within the Metropolitan Area

La Inmobiliaria
El Barrio de Sorravides
El Barrio Covadonga
La Nueva Ciudad
El Zapatón
El Poblado

Neighbouring municipalities

North: Santillana del Mar, Suances and Polanco.
South: Los Corrales de Buelna and San Felices de Buelna.
East: Piélagos and Puente Viesgo.
West: Reocín and Cartes.

Notable people

Óscar Freire, spanish cyclist.
Juanjo Cobo, spanish cyclist.
Dani Sordo, Rally Driver.
Antonio Resines, Actor.

Twin towns – sister cities

Torrelavega is twinned with:

SEN Louga, Senegal
CUB Old Havana, Cuba
FRA Rochefort, France
ESH Zug, Western Sahara

References

(2016-12-01). "Un hermanamiento lejano". El Diario Montañés.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::