Teruel (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Terol'' ) is a province of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...

, in the northeast of Spain. The capital is

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 ...

. It is bordered by the provinces of

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 ...

, Castellón,

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 ...

(including its

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Rincón de Ademuz), Cuenca,

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

, and

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

. The area of the province is 14,809 km². Its population is 134,572 (2018), of whom about a quarter live in the capital, and its population density is 9.36/km². It contains 236 municipalities, of which more than half are villages of under 200 people. Teruel is the second-least populated province of

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") , ...

, also the second smallest in population density after

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populati ...

. The main language throughout the province is Spanish (with official status), although

is spoken in a northeastern area bordering

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Geography

This province is located in the

mountainous 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 th ...

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. The main ranges in the province of Teruel are

Sierra de la Virgen Sierra de la Virgen is a mountain range in the Aranda and Comunidad de Calatayud comarcas, Aragon, Spain. It is located south of the Moncayo Massif between the valleys of the Jalón and the Aranda rivers, rising north of the N-234 road, roughly ...

, Sierra de Santa Cruz,

Sierra de Cucalón Sierra de Cucalón is a long system of mountain ranges in Aragon, Spain, located between the comarcas of Jiloca and Cuencas Mineras. Geography These mountains are part of the Iberian System and are often covered with snow in the winter. Rivers ...

Sierra de San Just Sierra de San Just ( an, Sierra de Sant Chust) is a mountain range in the Cuencas Mineras comarca of Aragon, Teruel Province, Spain. The highest point in the range is San Just (1,522 m). This range is located in one of the coldest and most r ...

Sierra Carrascosa Sierra Carrascosa is a mountain range in the Maestrazgo comarca of Aragon, Teruel Province, Spain. The highest point in the range is Muela Carrascosa (1,214 m). The Guadalope River flows along the NW side of the range. Geography This 14 km ...

Sierra Menera Sierra Menera is a long mountain range in the southwestern end of the Iberian System. Administratively the Sierra Menera belongs to the Sierra de Albarracín, Jiloca and Comunidad de Teruel, comarcas of Aragon, as well as to the Province of Guad ...

Sierra Palomera Sierra (Spanish for " mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range ...

Sierra de Javalambre Sierra de Javalambre ( an, Sierra de Chabalambre) is a long mountain range in the Gúdar-Javalambre comarca of Aragon and the Rincón de Ademuz and Serrans comarcas of the Valencian Community, Spain. Highway N-234 winds its way between Sie ...

Sierra de Gúdar Sierra de Gúdar is a mountain range in the Gúdar-Javalambre and Maestrazgo comarcas of Aragon and the Alto Mijares comarca of the Valencian Community, Spain. The highest point in the range is Peñarroya (2,019 m). Geography This mountai ...

Sierra de Albarracín Sierra de Albarracín is a long mountain range in the southwestern end of the Iberian System. Its highest point is the 1,856 m high summit known as Sierra Alta. Description This mountain range is named after the town of Albarracín, located at ...

and the

Montes Universales Montes Universales is a long mountain range in the southeastern end of the Iberian System. Its highest point is the 1,935 m high summit known as Caimodorro. The 1,830 m high Muela de San Juan is another important peak. Administratively, the Mon ...

, among others.

Depopulation and neglect

Most of the Teruel Province has undergone massive depopulation since the middle of the 20th century. This situation is shared with other areas in Spain, particularly with those near the Iberian mountain range (much of the provinces of

and Cuenca) and with other areas in

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

. The exodus from the rural mountain areas in Teruel rose after

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

's ''Plan de Estabilización'' in 1959. The population declined steeply as people migrated towards the industrial areas and the large cities in Spain, leaving behind their small villages where living conditions were often harsh, with cold winters and very basic facilities. As a consequence there are many

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

s in different parts of the province. A great number of surviving towns in Teruel province have only a residual population, reviving somewhat during the summer when a few city-dwellers spend their holidays there. Other causes of the strong emigration have been the low productivity of traditional agricultural practices, like sheep and goat farming, the closing of mines, like the large

mine near Ojos Negros, as well as the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century. The " Teruel Exists" ( es, link=no, Teruel existe) movement began at the turn of the 21st century. It is a platform of provincial authorities, institutions and sympathizers seeking to reverse the long-standing neglect of this province.Teruel existe
/ref>

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:650 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:270 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:249 text:248,765 bar:1887 from:0 till:247 text:246,817 bar:1900 from:0 till:252 text:251,994 bar:1910 from:0 till:266 text:265,908 bar:1920 from:0 till:264 text:264,062 bar:1930 from:0 till:264 text:263,700 bar:1940 from:0 till:246 text:245,960 bar:1950 from:0 till:243 text:243,269 bar:1960 from:0 till:224 text:223,758 bar:1970 from:0 till:174 text:173,861 bar:1980 from:0 till:153 text:153,457 bar:1990 from:0 till:144 text:143,680 bar:2000 from:0 till:136 text:135,858 bar:2010 from:0 till:143 text:143,162 bar:2020 from:0 till:134 text:134,176 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Comarcas

The following Comarcas of Aragon are located in Teruel Province: * Bajo Martín * Jiloca *

Cuencas Mineras Cuencas Mineras is a comarca in Aragon, Spain. It is located in Teruel Province, in the mountainous area of the Sistema Ibérico. The administrative capital is Utrillas, with 3,346 inhabitants the largest town of the comarca, but the historical a ...

Andorra-Sierra de Arcos Andorra-Sierra de Arcos is a comarca in Aragon, Spain. It is located in Teruel Province and it is named after Sierra de Arcos, a range of this mountainous area of the Sistema Ibérico. The capital is Andorra, with 7,335 inhabitants at the 2021 C ...

Bajo Aragón Bajo Aragón (; an, Baxo Aragón; ca, Baix Aragó), or Lower Aragon, is an administrative comarca in eastern central Aragon, Spain. It was first established in 1999. It has a population of 29,358 (2007) and an area of 1.304,2 km2. The seat o ...

* Comunidad de Teruel *

Maestrazgo The Maestrazgo () or Maestrat () is a natural and historical mountainous region, located at the eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range, in Spain. It encompasses the north of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, in Castellón provin ...

Sierra de Albarracín Comarca Sierra de Albarracín Comarca is a comarca in the Province of Teruel, Aragon region, northeastern Spain. It is located in mountain ranges of the Sistema Ibérico (Iberian System). Geography The Comarca de la Sierra de Albarracín is in an area f ...

Gúdar-Javalambre Gúdar-Javalambre is a comarca in Aragon, Spain. The most important town is Mora de Rubielos. This comarca is located at the southern end of Aragon, bordering the Valencian Community. The area is mountainous with the summits of the Sistema I ...

* Matarranya

Notable people

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

, film director from Calanda * Gaspar Sanz, music composer from Calanda *

Antón García Abril Antón García Abril OAXS (19 May 1933 – 17 March 2021) was a Spanish composer and musician. He composed many classical orchestral works, chamber and vocal pieces, as well as over 150 scores for film and television. Biography Between 1974 ...

, music composer *

Pablo Serrano Pablo Serrano Aguilar, (8 March 1908, Crivillén, Teruel – 26 November 1985, Madrid) was a Spanish abstract sculptor. Personal life 1920–1925. Pablo Serrano studied as a boarder in the Escuelas Profesionales Salesianas in Sarriá (Barce ...

, sculptor from Crivillén * Luis Milla, retired footballer who played for CD Teruel, FC Barcelona and R. Madrid * David Civera, light music singer * Federico Jiménez Losantos, author, journalist and radio host * Manuel Pizarro Moreno, businessman, politician and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...

Notes and references

External links

Teruel.org

Teruel Info. – Caciquismo & desarrollismo
– N.B. This text-only website is in Japanese. Content not clear.
Teruel Digital

Directory in dmoz.org

Fundación Amantes de Teruel

Deteruel.com — Comunidad virtual de TeruelEl número de ancianos españoles aumenta un 20% en 13 años
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teruel, Province of