El Bierzo is a comarca in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital.

Leonese is a set of vernacular Romance language varieties currently spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León in Spain and a few adjoining areas in Portugal, where it is known as Mirandese, sometimes considered another language. In the past, it was spoken in a wider area, including most of the historical region of Leon. The current number of Leonese speakers is estimated at 20,000 to 50,000.