Castellón de la Plana
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the
province of Castellón Castellón (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló) is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea ...
, in the
Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. It is located in the east of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, on the
Costa del Azahar Costa del Azahar (, literally in English "Orange Blossom Coast") or Costa dels Tarongers (, literally in English: Orange Tree Coast) is the name for the coast of the province of Castellón in Spain, from Vinaròs to Almenara. Towns on the Costa ...
(or ''Costa dels Tarongers'') by the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. The mountain range known as
Desert de les Palmes Desert de les Palmes (, es, Desierto de las Palmas), also known as Serra del Desert de les Palmes is an 18.8 km long mountain range in the Plana Alta comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Bartolo (729 m). The ''Ermit ...
rises inland north of the town. According to the 2018 census, Castellón has a population of 174,264 inhabitants (called ''castellonencs'' in Valencian), ranking as the fourth most populated city in the Valencian Community (after
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
,
Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
and
Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great c ...
, or Greenwich Meridian, intersects the 40th parallel at Castellón de la Plana and is commemorated with a monolith in Meridian Park (''Parc del Meridià'') located at the exact point where this occurs.


History

The town inherited the name from a Moorish castle on the top of the hill of Magdalena (the ), a dominating over a demarcation roughly consisting of the current-day municipalities of Castellón and
Almassora Almassora (; es, Almazora) is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Plana Alta, Valencian Community, Spain. Urbanized areas * Almassora * La Platja * L'Horta * El Secà * Polígon industrial History There are ancient Iberian remain ...
. The area capitulated to
James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...
in 1233. This was followed by a series of attempts to create new settlements in the area starting with the ''
alqueria An alquería (; ca-valencia, alqueria ; pt, alcaria ; from Arabic القرية ''al-qarīa'', "village, hamlet") in Al-Andalus made reference to small rural communities that were located near cities (medinas). Since the 15th century it makes r ...
'' of Benimahomet, the first Christian project to leave the castle, with mixed results. Following the 1247 mudéjar revolt, James I decreed the expulsion of the ''
mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...
es'' from the area in 1248. The current settlement was however not founded until the 1250s, after James I, on 8 September 1251, granted Ximén Pérez d'Arenós a privilege authorising him to move from the castle to a new unspecified place in the plains (''plana''). Tradition claims that the move was completed by the third Sunday of
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
, 1252. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the city was protected by
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
s, walls and
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
s, and a church was built, later becoming a cathedral. In the 16th century the town was one of the last
strongholds A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
in the Revolta de les Germanies (local
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s). It also supported
Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
in the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
(1701–14), but was later taken by the troops of Philip d'Anjou. In the 19th century, the city walls were torn down and it slowly began to expand, a process interrupted by the
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...
against
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
(1804–14) and the
Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...
(1833–63). In 1833 Castelló became the capital of the newly constituted province. In the second half of the 19th century, the city again began to expand, marked by the arrival of the railway, the enlargement of the port and the construction of representative buildings (Provincial Hospital,
Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
, Theater) and parks. In 1991 a university (
Jaume I University Jaume I University ( es, Universidad Jaime I, ca-valencia, Universitat Jaume I, UJI; ) is a university in the city of Castelló de la Plana, Valencian Community, Spain. It was founded in 1991, and it has approximately 14,000 students. The camp ...
) was established, set upon a modern campus. The local
economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
is based on industry, tourism and
craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
-work.


Geography and Climate

Castellón de la Plana has a
Semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''
BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...
'') with mild winters and hot, dry summers. Autumn is the wettest season and the average sunshine hours are around 2,800 per year.


Main sights

Most of the historical buildings are located in the diminutive old town, around the Plaça Major (Main Square). These include: * The '' Concatedral de Santa Maria'' (co-cathedral of Saint Mary), built in a
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
-style in the 13th century and reconstructed one century later after destruction by fire. The present building is another reconstruction after the demolition ordered by the council during the Spanish civil war (1936). * The ''Ajuntament'' (City Hall), erected at the beginning of the 18th century. It features a Tuscan-style façade rising up over a
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
. *The free-standing bell-tower of the procathedral, known as '' El Fadrí'' (the single man), built in the 15th century. * The ''Llotja del Cànem'' (
Hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
Exchange Market), built during the first half of the 17th century to be used by traders in hempen cloth and ropes, a very important activity in the area at the time. Today the building is used by the University for cultural events and temporary exhibitions. * On the northeast edge of the town, at the end of a broad avenue decorated with orange trees, stands the Basílica of Santa Maria del ''Lledó'' (European Hackberry or ''Celtis australis''), a basilica devoted to an image of the Virgin Mary found in 1366 by a farmer when he was ploughing his lands. The original 14th-century chapel was extended to its present Baroque form during the 16th century. * Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castelló, Museum for Modern Art * Teatre Principal


Events

The annual festivities in Castellón are a week of celebrations three weeks before Easter every year called
La Magdalena Magdalena may refer to: * Magdalena (given name), a given name derived from Mary Magdalene (including a list of people with the name) Entertainment * Magdalena (comics), an American comic book superheroine * ''Magdalena'' (film), a 1920 Czechos ...
. People come from all over the province and many international bands and groups participate. The city is notorious for its music festivals, among which we find: early in February the Tanned Tin music festival for
alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music: *Alternative rock *Alternative pop *Alternative R&B *Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul *Alternative reggaeton *Alternative hip hop *Alternative dance *Alternative metal *Chris ...
and
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
, in July the
Festival Internacional de Benicàssim The Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (), commonly abbreviated to simply FIB, is an annual music festival that takes place in the town of Benicàssim, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It focuses mainly on pop, rock and electronica arti ...
(also known as FIB, which translates to Benicàssim's International Festival), at the beginning of August there is the Arenal Sound and during the middle of that same month, we can find the Rototom Sunsplash Festival, known for its
reggae music Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use th ...
.


Sports

The city has the professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
team
AB Castelló Amics del Bàsquet Castelló, also known as TAU Castelló for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in Castellón de la Plana, Spain. It was founded in 1994 and currently plays in LEB Oro. Real Madrid's coach Pablo Laso started his co ...
, which plays in
LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonce ...
, Spanish second basketball division. The local professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club is
CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''No ...
, which currently plays in the Primera RFEF (Spanish third division). It holds home games at
Nou Estadi Castàlia Estadio Municipal de Castalia is a multi-purpose stadium in Castellón de la Plana, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional Spanish ...
, which has a capacity of 15,500 seats. Despite its stadium and social support, the club financial problems and unstable history brought it to play in semi-pro and amateur regional divisions, not playing in La Liga since the 1990–91 season. On 21 March 2018, Castellón beat the record of seasonal tickets in the fourth-tier division with 12,701, and is considered a giant amongst minnows. The presence of
Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...
in the adjacent town (only 8 km away) has created a fierce rivalry for geographical reasons, especially due to the success of Villarreal in the last decades. The city is host to
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
club CFS Bisontes Castellón, which under the name ''Playas de Castellón'' was one of the best Spanish and European futsal clubs in the late 90s and early 2000s, having won the premier professional futsal league in Spain twice in 2000 and 2001, and the
UEFA Futsal Cup The UEFA Futsal Champions League is an annual futsal competition for European club teams organized by UEFA. It was founded as the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2001 and replaced the Futsal European Clubs Championship, an unofficial competition held since 1984 ...
three consecutive times in 2001, 2002 and 2003.


Education

Jaume I University Jaume I University ( es, Universidad Jaime I, ca-valencia, Universitat Jaume I, UJI; ) is a university in the city of Castelló de la Plana, Valencian Community, Spain. It was founded in 1991, and it has approximately 14,000 students. The camp ...
was founded in 1991, and in 2014 there were approximately 15,000 students enrolled who share a single campus.


Twin towns

*
Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...
, France *
Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River. Târgoviște was one of the ...
, Romania * Ube, Japan *
Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...
, Spain


Notable people

*
Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born September 6, 1937) is a Spanish/Mexican cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to '' Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. Among his peers and fans, Aragonés is w ...
(born 1937), comics cartoonist. * José Luis Ballester (born 1969), Olympic butterfly swimmer. * Joan Barreda Bort (born 1983),
Rally raid Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...
motorcyclist. *
Roberto Bautista-Agut Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista ...
(born 1988), professional tennis player. *
María Egual Ana Maria Josepa Dorotea Egual i Miguel ( Castellón, January 1655 - Valencia, 23 April 1735), daughter of José Egual Borrás and Basilia Miguel, was a Spanish poet and dramatist. In 1676, she married Chrysostom Peris, Marquess of Castellfort C ...
(1655–1735), poet and dramatist. * Pablo Fornals (born 1996), professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
for
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. *
Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...
(born 1980), professional golfer. * Pablo Hernandez Dominguez (born 1985), footballer, formerly with
Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
. *
Roberto Merhi Roberto Merhi Muntan (born 22 March 1991), is a Spanish racing driver who drove in Formula One for the Manor Marussia F1 Team during the 2015 season. Merhi has also raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Pons Racing, and won the Formula 3 ...
, (born 1991), driver. * Matilde Salvador (1918–2007), musician, composer and painter artist. * Miguel Angel Silvestre, (born 1982), actor. *
Xavi Valero Vicente Javier 'Xavi' Valero Verchili (born 28 February 1973), is a Spanish former football goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach for Premier League team West Ham United. Football career Player Valero was born in Castellón de la Plana in the ...
(born 1973), professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
goalkeeping coach.


Transport

The small Castellón Airport offers charter and general aviation services, as well as scheduled passenger services to London, Bucharest and Poznań. The new Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport is designed to support large international jet flights and was completed in 2011. It has become a symbol of the wasteful spending prior to the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis.
Valencia Airport Valencia Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Valencia, ca-valencia, Aeroport de València) , also known as ''Manises Airport'', is the tenth-busiest Spanish airport in terms of passengers and second in the region after Alicante. It is situated west of ...
is about south whilst
Alicante Airport Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...
is another 185 km (115 mi) further down the coast. The city is served by the Castellón de la Plana railway station. The Euromed railway line links
Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
to
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Nowadays, this city has a new public transport called TRAM of Castellón which is a trolleybus. There is just a line, Línia 1 (TRAM of Castellón), but authorities are planning to build the second line.


See also

*
Diocese of Segorbe-Castellón In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
*
Columbretes Islands The Columbretes Islands ( ca-valencia, Les Columbretes, or ''Els Columbrets'' (), are a group of small uninhabited islets of volcanic origin, in the Mediterranean Sea, off Orpesa. Administratively they belong to Castellón de la Plana in the Va ...


Notes


References

;Citations ;Bibliography *


External links


Castellón: A virtual trip

Castellón de la Plana at Google Maps

University James I of Castellón de la Plana

News of Castellón. Noticias de Castellón

News of CD Castellón.Soccer team. Noticias del CD Castellón

News of Club Rugby Castellón.

Festival music Arenal SoundMeridian park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castellon de la Plana Municipalities in the Province of Castellón Mediterranean port cities and towns in Spain Plana Alta Populated places in the Province of Castellón Populated coastal places in Spain