Castellón (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló) is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
in the northern part of 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 wi ...
. It is bordered by the provinces of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
to the south,
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...
to the west,
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...
to the north, and 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 ...
to the east. The western side of the province is in the
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
ous
Sistema Ibérico
The Iberian System ( es, Sistema Ibérico, ) is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain.
It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of th ...
area.
Geography
Castellón's capital is
Castellón de la Plana
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, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...
(). The province had a population of 579,962 at the start of 2019, 30% of whom were residing in the capital, 60% in its metropolitan area, and 85% along the coastline. As of the 2011 Census, the population had grown to 594,423 people, but has since declined.
[Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Madrid, 2019.] The province, and in particular its idle large
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
, has become a symbol of the wasteful spending prior to the
2008-14 Spanish financial crisis.
It is a bilingual territory whose inhabitants speak both Spanish and the local co-official language
Valencian.
Other major cities of the province include
Vila-real
Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
,
Borriana,
La Vall d'Uixó and
Vinaròs. There are 135 municipalities in Castellón; see
List of municipalities in Castellón.
Castellón is the home of
Penyagolosa, the highest mountain of the province and the second highest one 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 wi ...
. It is widely considered to be one of the most emblematic Valencian mountains.
The
Greenwich Meridian
The historic prime meridian or Greenwich meridian is a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. The modern IERS Reference Meridian widely used today is based on the Greenwich m ...
(the Prime Meridian) passes through the province; there are localities with commemorative monuments such as La Pobla Tornesa, Castellón or Almassora (Paseo Marítimo), and in Castellon it intersects the 40th parallel, and the exact point can be visited at the Meridian Park.
Population development
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7)
id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30
PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:600
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
AlignBars = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
PlotData=
color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till
bar:1877 from:0 till:289 text:288,765
bar:1887 from:0 till:293 text:292,822
bar:1900 from:0 till:318 text:318,260
bar:1910 from:0 till:334 text:334,181
bar:1920 from:0 till:325 text:325,211
bar:1930 from:0 till:318 text:317,899
bar:1940 from:0 till:320 text:320,443
bar:1950 from:0 till:330 text:330,257
bar:1960 from:0 till:343 text:342,649
bar:1970 from:0 till:387 text:386,516
bar:1980 from:0 till:432 text:431,893
bar:1990 from:0 till:447 text:446,744
bar:2000 from:0 till:485 text:484,566
bar:2010 from:0 till:594 text:594,423
bar:2020 from:0 till:586 text:585,590
TextData=
pos:(35,20) fontsize:M
text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"
Economy
Traditionally, the economy of Castellón has been focused on the production of citrus and vegetables (
Nules and
Benicarló
Benicarló () is a city and municipality in the north of the province of Castelló, part of the Valencian Community, in the Mediterranean Coast between the cities of Vinaròs and Peníscola, not too far south from the Ebre River.
Tourism, agr ...
). Since the 17th century, Castellón has developed an important ceramic and ceramic tile industry (
Onda
Onda or Ondas may refer to:
Places
* Onda, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in Washington County
* Onda, Castellón, a municipality of province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain
* Onda, Bankura, a village in Bankura district, West Ben ...
,
L'Alcora
L'Alcora ( is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alcalatén, Valencian Community, Spain.
History
Traces of human presence in the area date from the Bronze Age. Also present are remains from the Iberian, Roman and Moorish ages, the latter incl ...
,
Nules,
Castellón de la Plana
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, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...
and
Vila-real
Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
) and nowadays most of the Spanish tile producers are concentrated in the province. Also, furniture (
Benicarló
Benicarló () is a city and municipality in the north of the province of Castelló, part of the Valencian Community, in the Mediterranean Coast between the cities of Vinaròs and Peníscola, not too far south from the Ebre River.
Tourism, agr ...
and
Vinaròs) and chemical industries (Benicarló and Castellón) are present. There is a large oil refinery in Castellón de la Plana.
Traditional industries such as shoe and footwear (
La Vall d'Uixó), fishing (Castellón,
Vinaròs) and textiles (
Vilafranca
Vilafranca is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Ports, in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. Prior to 2022, it was part of a different ''comarca'', l'Alt Maestrat. Its official Spanish language name is Villafranca del Cid ...
and
Morella), have given way to a service-based economy due to the increasing importance of tourism in the economy of the province.
Tourism
The Province of Castellón has varied landscapes and heritage that supports a growing tourist industry. The largest seaside and beach resorts include
Benicàssim
Benicàssim (; es, Benicasim ; ar, بنو قاسم, translit=banū qāsim, or ar, بني قاسم, translit=banī qāsim, label=none, according to numismatic findings) is a municipality and beach resort located in the province of Castelló, ...
,
Orpesa, Vinaròs,
Borriana,
Peníscola, Benicarló, etc. There are opportunities for rural tourism in the interior, as well as monumental towns like Morella,
Vilafamés,
Sant Mateu
Sant Mateu is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the province of Castellón, part of the autonomous community of Valencia.
Sights
The most interesting sights in Sant Mateu are:
*''Església arxiprestal'' church building.
*''Erm ...
,
Segorbe, mineral springs at
Montanejos,
Benassal
Benassal is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Maestrat, Castellón, Valencia, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra' ...
,
Catí, etc.
More than 50% of the hotel beds are concentrated in Peniscola, which is the third most popular tourist destination in the Valencian Community after
Benidorm
Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotel ...
and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
.
Comarques
The province is historically subdivided into the following
comarques:
*
Alcalatén
Alcalatén is a comarca in the province of Castellon, Valencian Community, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(E ...
*
Alt Maestrat
*
Alto Mijares
*
Alto Palancia
Alto Palancia ( Valencian: ''Alt Palància'') is a comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. T ...
*
Baix Maestrat
Baix Maestrat (; es, Bajo Maestrazgo ) is a coastal ''comarca'' located in the north of the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital of the ''comarca'' is Vinaròs.
Municipalities
The ''comarca'' is composed of 18 muni ...
*
Plana Alta
Plana Alta is a ''comarca'' in the province of Castelló in the Valencian Country (Spain). The largest town in the comarca is Castelló de la Plana, which is also the capital and largest town in the province.
Municipalities
The ''comarca'' ...
*
Plana Baixa
*
Ports
Notes
References
External links
.
Meridian Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castello, Province of