Trubia

Trubia is a parish and a place of said parish, belonging to the Asturian council of Oviedo (Spain).

Located just 12 kilometers from the city of Oviedo, at the confluence of the Nalón River and the Trubia River, which gives its name to the town and the valley, Trubia serves as the gateway to the Valle del Oso. The town is especially known for its arms factory founded in the XVIII century and still in operation, an activity that generated a large heritage industry in the town.

History

The first traces of human settlements found in the current parish are the recently discovered cave paintings, located 7 kilometers from Trubia and between San Andrés de Trubia and Tuñón (Santo Adriano).

Regarding the vestiges preserved from the Celtic era, there are two sites; one in Las Cuestas and another in Perlín, located one on each side of the Trubia River, in the highest parts of the valley of this river. These settlements are the Castro del Pico El Cogollo, in Las Cuestas, which measures 50 by 60 meters, and the Castro del Pico Castiello, in Perlín, 120 meters long and 50 meters wide.

The first documentary record that is preserved of Trubia is a letter that Cladila, Bishop of Braga, sent in 863 to some monks, with which he granted them the concession to settle in the area of Trubia, next to the church of San Pedro and San Pablo and several other estates.

Although it is not an event directly related to the parish of Trubia, it is worth mentioning that the second battle of the Reconquest, after that of Covadonga, is located by historians in the area of Olalíes, population that has been tried to locate on the banks of the Trubia river, near Proaza.^{[citation required]}

Late 18th century and early XIX is the site of the Trubia Royal Weapons Factory, which had a smelting furnace.^{[citation required]} This This fact led to a demographic boom in the parish.

In 1885 the parish of Trubia became dependent on Oviedo, together with the parishes of Pintoria and Udrión, all of them belonging until then to the council of Grado. Historically, this territory is also known by the name of Trubia in its and therefore includes the three aforementioned parishes (Trubia, Udrión and Pintoria), as well as the Soto neighborhood (Soto de Arriba and Soto de Abajo), which currently belongs to the Godos parish.^{[citation required]}

Industry

Arms Factory

Among the numerous attractions of Trubia, the coexistence between industry, history and nature stands out. The left bank of the Trubia River houses the modernized industry that gave rise to the town, the Trubia Weapons Factory.

At the end of the 18th century, Spain declared war on revolutionary France, which had executed the former king, Louis XVI, then called Luis Capeto. The war went disastrously for Spain, which was forced to sign the Peace of Basel on July 22, 1795. The Spanish government feared losing the territories near the French border. The Navarrese factories of Eugui and Orbaiceta had been besieged and assaulted. The Government commissioned a location away from the border and chose in Asturias the one where a military industry could be installed, with the aim of meeting the needs of the Spanish Army and the Royal Navy for war material, and thus making up for the deficiencies they presented other establishments due to their proximity to the Pyrenean border.

In 1794 it was decided to install this factory in a place where the deposits of those raw materials to be used, such as wood, iron and coal, were not far away, "the point of union of the Trubia river with the Nalón, in the vicinity of Udrión». This operation meant displacing thousands of people from the Basque Country to Asturias. Not only workers, but also their families, who would be distributed by trades in Trubia, as well as in other municipalities. The production was taken to Trubia, where the parts were assembled and the weapons were built.

The place chosen for the installation of the company was ideal, the closed valley helped to defend the company with few soldiers, while the proximity of the two rivers favored the use of water without any type of restriction or haulage problem. The proximity of numerous forests also favored the choice, since in this way the raw material for obtaining coking coal was guaranteed.

Despite its little industrial activity these days, Trubia retains an industrial spirit that coexists in perfect harmony with its rural character, despite being located just twelve kilometers from the capital of the Principality.

The Trubia Factory, thanks to the appointment of its director, Colonel Antonio de Elorza, a soldier who had trained at the Corps Academy in Palma de Mallorca. He was persecuted by Ferdinand VII, which is why he was forced to emigrate, traveling throughout Europe and stopping precisely in those countries that were leading industrial methods, the steel mills in Belgium, Germany, England, made him one of the most qualified engineers, and for this reason, directing the Trubia factory, he would end up creating in 1850 what was the first School of Arts and Crafts, the famous School of Apprentices so that the children of workers could be trained in those trades that the factory would need in successive years. In addition to the arms industry, the carboquímica, installed in 1943, the Química del Nalón, which has a second plant in Langreo, also stands out. It is considered a benchmark company in the sector both nationally and internationally.

Thus Trubia had since the XIX century a theater, a university, schools of arts and crafts, a polyphonic choir, a band of music and football team, etc.

Administrative organization

The parish of Trubia consists of ten singular population entities: Camales, Las Cuestas, Perlavia, Perlín, San Andrés, Trubia itself, La Quintana, La Riera, La Vega and Molina.

Demographics

Graph of Trubia demographic evolution between 2000 and 2014

Historical heritage

Old factory chapel

• Royal Arms Factory
  • Offices
  • Workshops
  • Cannon workshop
  • Chapel
• Working circle (theater)
• Former engineer casino
• Old engineering hotel
• Ancient apprenticeship
• Barrio de Junigro
• Railway station
• Church of Santa Maria de Trubia

Transportation

Access to Trubia by road can be done through:

• A-63: Oviedo-La Espina motorway.
• N-634: Carretera San Sebastián-Santiago de Compostela, which connects it to Oviedo and Grade.
• AS-228: Trubia-Puerto Ventana Road, which connects it to Proaza and Teverga.
• AS-233: Avilés-Trubia Road.

In addition, Trubia has a railway station integrated into the FEVE network that is connected to the Ferrol-Oviedo, Oviedo-San Esteban de Pravia and Trubia-Gijón lines.

Due to its belonging to the council of Oviedo, Trubia has a connection with the capital through urban buses- TUA (L2), with a frequency of 30 minutes from Monday to Saturday, and 1 hour on Sundays

Featured Characters

Fernando Fuertes de Villavicencio (1901-1996), soldier. Head of the Civil House of Franco (1974-1975). Managing Director of National Heritage (1963-1981). He was also a player and vice president of Atlético de Madrid.