Valladolid
Valladolid is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 people (2021 est.).
The city is located roughly in the centre of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula's Meseta Central, at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers 15 km before they join the Duero, surrounded by winegrowing areas. The area was settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and then by Romans themselves. The settlement was purportedly founded after 1072, growing in prominence within the context of the Crown of Castile, being endowed with fairs and different institutions such as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancellery and a royal mint. The city was briefly the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy between 1601 and 1606. The city then declined until the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, and with its industrialisation into the 20th century.
The old town is made up of a variety of historic houses, palaces, churches, plazas, avenues and parks, and includes the National Museum of Sculpture as well as the houses of Zorrilla and Cervantes which are open as museums. Among the events that are held each year in the city are the famous Holy Week, Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), and the Festival of Theatre and Street Arts (TAC). Together with another 15 surrounding municipalities, it belongs to an urban community of around 404,000 inhabitants.
There is no direct evidence for the origin of the modern name of Valladolid.
It is mentioned as Valledolit in the Primera Crónica General; earlier documented variants include Valledolidi, Valleolide (1092) and Valleolit, Valleoleti, Valleoliti (1095).
One widely held etymological theory suggests that the modern name Valladolid derives from the Celtiberian language expression Vallis Tolitum, meaning "valley of waters", referring to the confluence of rivers in the area. Another theory suggests that the name derives from the Arabic expression (بلد الوليد, Balad al-Walid), which is the Arabic exonym currently used and means 'city of al-Walid', referring to Al-Walid I. Yet a third claims that it derives from Vallis Olivetum, meaning 'valley of the olives'; however, no olive trees are found in that terrain. Instead, innumerable pine trees abound in the south part of the city. The gastronomy reflects the importance of the piñón (pine nut) as a local product, rather than olives. In texts from the middle ages the town is called Vallisoletum, meaning 'sunny valley', and a person from the town is a Vallisoletano (male), or Vallisoletana (female).
The city is also popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear, but may refer to knights in the service of Joan of Arc, known as La Pucelle. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Pozzolana cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that sold it.
The city is located roughly in the centre of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula's Meseta Central, at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers 15 km before they join the Duero, surrounded by winegrowing areas. The area was settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and then by Romans themselves. The settlement was purportedly founded after 1072, growing in prominence within the context of the Crown of Castile, being endowed with fairs and different institutions such as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancellery and a royal mint. The city was briefly the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy between 1601 and 1606. The city then declined until the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, and with its industrialisation into the 20th century.
The old town is made up of a variety of historic houses, palaces, churches, plazas, avenues and parks, and includes the National Museum of Sculpture as well as the houses of Zorrilla and Cervantes which are open as museums. Among the events that are held each year in the city are the famous Holy Week, Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), and the Festival of Theatre and Street Arts (TAC). Together with another 15 surrounding municipalities, it belongs to an urban community of around 404,000 inhabitants.
There is no direct evidence for the origin of the modern name of Valladolid.
It is mentioned as Valledolit in the Primera Crónica General; earlier documented variants include Valledolidi, Valleolide (1092) and Valleolit, Valleoleti, Valleoliti (1095).
One widely held etymological theory suggests that the modern name Valladolid derives from the Celtiberian language expression Vallis Tolitum, meaning "valley of waters", referring to the confluence of rivers in the area. Another theory suggests that the name derives from the Arabic expression (بلد الوليد, Balad al-Walid), which is the Arabic exonym currently used and means 'city of al-Walid', referring to Al-Walid I. Yet a third claims that it derives from Vallis Olivetum, meaning 'valley of the olives'; however, no olive trees are found in that terrain. Instead, innumerable pine trees abound in the south part of the city. The gastronomy reflects the importance of the piñón (pine nut) as a local product, rather than olives. In texts from the middle ages the town is called Vallisoletum, meaning 'sunny valley', and a person from the town is a Vallisoletano (male), or Vallisoletana (female).
The city is also popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear, but may refer to knights in the service of Joan of Arc, known as La Pucelle. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Pozzolana cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that sold it.
Map - Valladolid
Map
Country - Spain
 |
 |
| Flag of Spain | |
Anatomically modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 42,000 years ago. The ancient Iberian and Celtic tribes, along with other pre-Roman peoples, dwelled the territory maintaining contacts with foreign Mediterranean cultures. The Roman conquest and colonization of the peninsula (Hispania) ensued, bringing the Romanization of the population. Receding of Western Roman imperial authority ushered in the migration of different non-Roman peoples from Central and Northern Europe with the Visigoths as the dominant power in the peninsula by the fifth century. In the early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate, and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became a dominant peninsular power centered in Córdoba. Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them León, Castile, Aragon, Portugal, and Navarre made an intermittent southward military expansion, known as Reconquista, repelling the Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with the Christian seizure of the Emirate of Granada in 1492. Jews and Muslims were forced to choose between conversion to Catholicism or expulsion, and eventually the converts were expelled through different royal decrees.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EU | Basque language |
| CA | Catalan language |
| GL | Galician language |
| OC | Occitan language |
| ES | Spanish language |
