A tour of the old military positions on Mount Naranco, in Asturias

@ElentirENG ES 11·26·2023 · 23:25 0

Asturias is one of the most beautiful regions in Spain (the second, after Galicia, obviously), and its capital is the city of Oviedo.

The ruins of the old military camp 'Alférez Rubio Moscoso' of the Spanish Army
El Arteal: the ghost town used by the Spanish Legion as a training ground

Near this city is Mount Naranco, 634 meters high. This place is the protagonist of a new video from the excellent YouTube channel Aventuras Entresierras (to which I recommend you subscribe), which tours its old military positions, today in ruins.

The route, with spectacular landscapes, begins with two old bunkers of the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The reason for its construction is that to the east of Oviedo the front line was located during the offensive launched against Asturias by the national side, which advanced in two lines from Galicia and León. The bunkers consisted of two machine gun positions and several foxholes for riflemen.

The tour continues through Pico el Paisano, the top of Naranco, where there is a beautiful monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that dominates the city of Oviedo. Nearby you can still see trenches from the Spanish Civil War, which appear relatively restored, as well as a cave that appears to have been used as a powder magazine.

Finally, Aventuras Entresierras reaches an old military barracks, called Cuartel de Llugarín, quite hidden and whose past is surrounded by a certain mystery. About him, the author of the video entrusts me with finding information (I take this opportunity to thank him for the mention he makes of me in the video). As the video points out, there are sources that indicate that it was an old 19th century Cavalry Barracks, called "Our Lady of the Rosary."

However, José Luis García López de Vallado points out that this barracks was built in 1915 by General Bernardo Álvarez del Manzano to be used as a shooting range until 1919, according to Armando Murias Ibias. This same author disagrees with these versions and points out the possibility that it was a powder magazine for the La Vega Weapons Factory, built in 1857. Murias points out that the barracks would have been abandoned in 1865, when it was built the La Manjoya Explosives Factory, so it is possible that this barracks never came into operation, which is why there is so little information about it. Their stables would have been built for the pack and draft animals in charge of transporting the explosives. He leaves you with the video:

You can see some screenshots from the video here (I limit myself to military positions, because if I included here screenshots of all the beautiful images included in the video, the selection would be much more extensive). This is the first of the Republican bunkers in Naranco. On the left we see the main position for the machine guns and on the right the foxholes.

The entrance to the second of the Republican bunkers. It seems like the access to the cave from a fairy tale, its construction surprised me considering it was a military position.

The old trenches of Pico el Paisano. Trenches from the Civil War are also preserved in other places in Spain, but they are almost covered. These are in very good condition.

The enigmatic Llugarín Barracks, a formidable building of which only the walls remain and which was hidden for many years, until a mountaineer brought it to light a decade ago.