Province of Valladolid


Valladolid is a province of northwestern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 525,398 across a total of 225 municipalities, an area of, resulting in a population density of 64.77 people per km2.
The capital is the city of Valladolid. It is bordered by the provinces of Zamora, León, Palencia, Burgos, Segovia, Ávila, and Salamanca. It is the only Spanish province surrounded entirely by other provinces of the same autonomous community. It is the only peninsular province that has no mountains.
Lying on an extensive plain relevant to overland transport, the province is a major communications hub. Nationally, it connects Madrid with the north of Spain, from Vigo in Galicia to San Sebastián in the Basque Country; internationally, it is on the shortest land route connecting Porto in the north of Portugal with Hendaye in the south of France.
The cuisine of the province is similar to that of the rest of Castile, with meats and roasts occupying a central place. One of the most typical dishes is lechazo, a dish made from unweaned lambs. Suckling pig, black pudding, sausages, sheep's milk cheeses, and breads are also traditional. The province has five wines with a denomination of origin.
The province once served as the capital of the Castilian court and the former capital of the Spanish Empire during the reigns of Emperors Carlos I, Philip II and Philip III, with many castles and strongholds from that time remaining to this day. The capital has an important historical and artistic heritage and is home to one of the more important sculpture museums in Europe. The province of Valladolid is particularly noted for its Holy Week processions, both in the capital and in the localities of Medina de Rioseco and Medina del Campo. In addition, the province includes two sites listed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme: the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Archivo General de Simancas.
WWW diputaciondevalladolid.es

History

The province of Valladolid was established by the Royal Decree of 29 September 1833, promoted by Minister Javier de Burgos; it was attached to the historic region of Old Castile.
The first stable population to settle in the present province were the pre-Roman Vaccaei people. They belonged to a very advanced culture when the other Celtic peoples arrived in the peninsula from northern Europe. Chronicles defined the region as "free and open" and "an open country, fields of wheat, deforested land"; the Vacceos engaged in livestock farming and especially agriculture.
In 178 BC, the Romans conquered the territory. The lands that make up the current province came under their occupation until the barbarian invasions of the early fifth century AD, when the province came under the control of the Visigothic Kingdom.
Following the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711, Muslims arrived in the area in 712. Later, during the Reconquista, this area was the subject of battles between the Muslims and the Christian Kingdom of León in the first half of the eleventh century. In 939, the Battle of Simancas secured control of the Douro river basin for the Christian kingdoms. Valladolid was founded in 1072 by Count Pedro Ansúrez. From here its history was linked to that of the Crown of Castile. Cities such as Medina del Campo or Valladolid became important Castilian administrative centres and experienced an economic boom.
The province was of great importance in the Discovery of the Americas in 1492; Christopher Columbus spent the last years of his life in Valladolid until his death in 1506. It played a role in the subsequent colonization with explorers such as Juan Ponce de León, discoverer of Florida. The Treaty of Tordesillas, which decided the partition of the New World between the Catholic Monarchs and the Kingdom of Portugal and shaped Latin America, was signed in Tordesillas.
The Revolt of the Comuneros occurred in 1520 and ended with the ringleaders publicly executed in Villalar de los Comuneros. Valladolid became the capital of the Spanish Empire between 1601 and 1606. When the Empire began to decline due to continued wars and the emergence of new powers, there was an economic decline in the area, as in the rest of the Spanish monarchy. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the province sided with the Bourbon pretender, who eventually secured the throne. In the Peninsular War against France, a succession of small battles occurred, led by guerrilla fighters such as "The Undaunted".
In the Spanish Civil War, Valladolid was the "most significant regional nucleus" of Falangism in the Spanish Second Republic, garnering the second-highest provincial vote for the party in the otherwise dismal elections of 1936, just behind Cádiz. The province was controlled by Franco's Nationalists throughout the Civil War. During the Franco period there was an exodus from the rural countryside to the industrial cities. A further exodus occurred with the arrival of democracy in Spain, when the province was made part of the new autonomous community of Castile and León.
A process of economic growth began that peaked with the Spanish property bubble and then suffered from the economic crisis of 2008–2015, similar to the rest of southern Europe. Subsequently, there was some economic growth until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the declaration of a state of alarm throughout Spain, resulting in a strong economic standstill. After the lifting of lockdown measures, economic activity reactivated.

Geography

It is bordered by the provinces of Burgos, Palencia and León to the north; Zamora to the west; Salamanca and Ávila to the south; and Segovia to the east. It is the only Spanish province surrounded entirely by others in the same autonomous community.
The province of Valladolid covers an area of. It is located in the centre of the Meseta Central, a plateau in the middle of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, and is characterized by its uniform terrain, making it the most geographically homogeneous province in Spain. The Douro river, which crosses it from east to west, is the backbone of the territory.
It is dominated by an extensive plain in which several areas are distinguished: a moorland area defined by river valleys, some of which stand out in altitude causing a mountainous landscape of isolated hills, such as the Montes Torozos, San Cristobal hill and the Sardanedo ; a countryside of rolling hills; and separating them, slopes and deep gorges, such as the Cuesta del Prado, Santovenia, and Cabezón de Pisuerga.
It is the only peninsular province with absolutely no mountains, and—together with the Province of Almería—is the least forested. The highest point is in Castrillo de Duero at the Cuchillejos hill. The lowest point is the Douro passing by Villafranca de Duero. Therefore, it is also the only province of Castile and León that does not reach 1,000 m above sea level at any point in its territory.
The hydrographic network is dominated by the Douro and its tributaries and completed by the Canal de Castilla and the Canal of Douro. There is only one relevant lake: Laguna de Duero. The province has four reservoirs: Encinas de Esgueva, San José, Bajoz and Valdemudarra, all built in the 20th century, except for the last one, which was built in the 2000s.

Climate

The Continental Mediterranean climate is typical of the Meseta Central where the province of Valladolid is located. It is similar to the typical Mediterranean climate but with characteristics of continental climates, including more extreme temperatures, although it is not different enough to be classified separately. In addition, this climate does not receive the influence of the sea; consequently, temperatures are among the most extreme in Spain, with very hot summers and quite cold winters, with a range of 18.5 °C. According to the Köppen climate classification, the main climate in the province in the 1981–2010 reference period is type Csa and type Csb.
Summer is the driest season and can frequently exceed 30 °C, reaching sporadically over 35 °C. However, in winter it is frequent for temperatures to fall to 0 °C, producing ice on cloudless nights and snow sporadically. When frost combines with fog, it produces hard rime, a very characteristic phenomenon of the area. This northern region of Spain, along with the rest of the provinces of Castile and León, is the coldest region in Southern Europe.
Rainfall follows a very similar pattern to that of the typical Mediterranean climate, reaching between 400 and 600 mm, with a peak during spring and autumn. The declining influence of the sea, however, makes it a drier climate than typical. In the province of Valladolid, the continental Mediterranean climate has temperatures approximately two degrees higher than in other areas with this climate, mainly due to the scarcity of mountains in this province and the altitude, which is between 50 and 200 metres lower on average than in the whole of Castile and León.
Therefore, the province of Valladolid has the most moderate climate of the northern plateau, with an average annual temperature of 11.8 °C. Its average annual rainfall ranges between 400 and 600 millimetres per year, distributed throughout the year with a fairly strong minimum in summer and a very attenuated winter minimum. Rainfall in the province of Valladolid is generally gentle and spread over several days, which favors agriculture.
The extreme weather values recorded at either of the two State Meteorological Agency observatories in the province are 40.2 °C recorded on 19 July 1995, at the Valladolid observatory and -18.8 °C recorded at the Villanubla observatory on 3 January 1971. The strongest wind gust recorded was 133 km/h on 24 January 1971, while the maximum accumulated precipitation in a single day was 90.8 l/m2 on 5 December 1951.

Nature

Nature Reserve Banks of Castronuño : Located in the Montes Torozos shire, this is an area of moorland and sedimentary floodplains. It is a migratory and nesting area for waterbirds. The Duero is surrounded by riparian forests and constitutes a very interesting swamp ecosystem. It is an area of great plains and an absence of high elevations. Fauna is abundant, including herons, night herons, little egrets, snakes, northern shovelers, common pochards, tufted ducks, cormorants, hobbies, ospreys, grass snakes, ladder snakes, peregrine falcons, ocellated lizards, San Antonio frogs, midwife toads, polecats, and badgers. The nature reserve is considered a Special Protection Area for Birds.Canal of Castile : Construction started in 1753 and took almost a century to complete; it opened in 1849. It is shaped like an inverted "Y" and its purpose was the transport of Castilian wheat toward the ports of the Cantabrian Sea, but the arrival of the railroad soon made it obsolete. It crosses nine municipalities in the province. With the passage of time, a series of wetlands of high ecological value have formed along the banks of the canal, representing an island of biodiversity. Its high ecological value is related to its diverse aquatic vegetation and the large number of vertebrate species supported by them. The canal hosts 121 species of nesting, wintering, and accidental birds; 42 species of mammals, 15 of them insectivorous; 11 species of amphibians; 14 reptiles; and 14 species of fish.

Flora and vegetation

Vegetation is typical of the plateau, with various species of pine, holm oak, oak, Cork oak, elms, poplars, ashes, willows, alders, honeysuckles, cane, bulrushes, shrubs and pastures.

Fauna

In general, animals found in the area are those of a typical Mediterranean plateau, such as the European rabbit, red squirrel, European hedgehog, common vole, partridge, little bustard and great bustard, white stork, barn swallow, European robin, common cuckoo, common nightingale, common woodpigeon, Eurasian magpie, mallard, greylag goose, Spanish sparrow and House sparrow, Perez's frog, Montagu's harrier, western marsh harrier, hen harrier, peregrine falcon, short-toed snake eagle, lesser kestrel, common crane, pin-tailed sandgrouse, Geoffroy's bat, trout, common carp, crayfish, Eurasian otter, shrew, Iberian hare, roe deer, wild boar, red fox and grey wolf.

Economy

The GDP per capita of the province was €24,751 per year in 2010. The province's GDP per capita was 109% of the national average. The total GDP of the province amounted to €13,000,403,000.
Agriculture is dedicated to the cultivation of cereals, legumes, sugar beets, alfalfa, vegetables, and vines. Livestock farming is also important. Intense industrial activity, especially concentrated in the capital, is derived from agriculture, textiles, metallurgy, automobile manufacturing, chemicals, construction, paper, and graphic arts. In addition to the capital city Valladolid, the populations of Medina del Campo, Peñafiel, Tordesillas, Tudela de Duero, Laguna de Duero, Íscar, Olmedo and Pedrajas de San Esteban are notable.
The top 10 companies by economic turnover in 2013 were: Renault-España, Michelin, Iveco, El Árbol, Aquagest, Lauki, Begar, ACOR, Grupo Norte and Queserías Entrepinares.

Transport

The province of Valladolid has great strategic importance as a communications hub. Nationally, it is the route that connects Madrid with the entire north of Spain, from Vigo to San Sebastián. Internationally, it lies on the shortest land route connecting Portugal with France, from northern Portugal to southern France.

Roads

NameFrom/UntilImportant towns of Valladolid where it passes
Madrid–A CoruñaMedina del Campo, Rueda, Tordesillas, Mota del Marqués, Villardefrades
Zaragoza–PortugalPeñafiel, Quintanilla de Arriba, Quintanilla de Onésimo, Tudela de Duero, Valladolid, Tordesillas
Madrid–LeónOlmedo, Mojados, Laguna de Duero, Valladolid, Medina de Rioseco, Mayorga
Burgos–PortugalValladolid, Tordesillas, Alaejos

NameFrom/UntilImportant towns of Valladolid where it passes
Lisbon–GürbulakValladolid, Tordesillas, Alaejos
Tordesillas–PortoTordesillas

Railways

The AVE network in the province of Valladolid includes stops in the towns of Valladolid, Olmedo, and Medina del Campo. These are part of the following lines: the Madrid–Valladolid high-speed rail line, the Madrid–León high-speed rail line, and the Madrid–Galicia high-speed rail line. A "bypass" near Olmedo is under construction; it will connect the Madrid–Valladolid line with the Madrid–Galicia line.
The future Atlantic Corridor, part of the basic Trans-European Transport Network, will serve as a passenger and freight rail corridor connecting the ports of the Atlantic coast with the interior and the rest of Europe. It is scheduled for completion before 2031.
The publicly owned railway company Renfe operates long-distance and high-speed rail services.

Airports

The province has one airport, Valladolid Airport, located in Villanubla. It handled 172,006 passengers, 7,268 aircraft movements, and 6,317 tonnes of cargo in 2022. It serves as a key passenger hub for Castile and León, linking to destinations such as Alicante, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Lanzarote, Valencia, and Málaga.
There are also a number of small private airfields.

Government and politics

The Province of Valladolid was established by the Royal Decree of 29 October 1833, driven by the minister Javier de Burgos, like the rest of the provinces of the country. This division considered the common historic, cultural, and economic characteristics of each territory.
The government and administration of the province of Valladolid is the responsibility of the, as outlined in the statute of autonomy of Castile and León. Its headquarters have been located in the Pimentel Palace of Valladolid since 1875, when the building was purchased by the Provincial Government.

Political divisions

Today, the province does not have official divisions, but historically it has been divided into eight comarcas :

Demography

Population trends


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bar:1918 from:0 till:288 text:287,713
bar:1930 from:0 till:311 text:311,414
bar:1940 from:0 till:333 text:332,934
bar:1950 from:0 till:348 text:348,185
bar:1960 from:0 till:367 text:367,392
bar:1970 from:0 till:413 text:413,026
bar:1981 from:0 till:482 text:481,786
bar:1990 from:0 till:495 text:494,912
bar:2000 from:0 till:496 text:495,690
bar:2010 from:0 till:534 text:533,640
bar:2020 from:0 till:521 text:520,716
bar:2024 from:0 till:525 text:525,398
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Demographic indicators

Population

Valladolid is the most populous province of Castile and León, with 525,398 people in 2024, representing more than 20% of the community's total population. It holds 1.08% of the national population and is the 19th most populous province in Spain.
It has one of the few growing populations in Castile and León and is also one of the youngest. The population is also characterized by having one of the highest life expectancies in Spain and Europe.

Immigration

As of 2015, immigrants in Valladolid represented 4.81% of the population, with 25,324 immigrants holding a residence card.

Composition of the population

Most of the population of Valladolid was between 16 and 64 years old in 2006. 17.7% were aged 65 years or more, and 16.9% were children or adolescents.
Total Population of the Province
  • Men: 252,843
  • Women: 266,518
  • Total: 519,361
People by age
  • 0–19 years: 90,345
  • 20–39 years: 102,165
  • 40–59 years: 167,904
  • over 60 years: 158,947

Most populous municipalities

The twenty most populated municipalities in the province of Valladolid are the following :
Considering that the populations of Valladolid, Laguna de Duero, Arroyo de la Encomienda, and Medina del Campo represent almost 75% of the total of the 23 municipalities in the metropolitan area of Valladolid, there is a clear demographic contrast with highly depopulated areas of a marked rural character. Among the least inhabited areas of the province are Aguasal, Torrecilla de la Torre, Almenara de Adaja, San Salvador, and Fontihoyuelo, which do not exceed 40 registered inhabitants.

Heritage

The province has a total of 188 monuments considered Properties of Cultural Interest. Many are castles, churches, and historical sites, although there are also archaeological sites and archives. In the case of churches and monasteries, there is a wide variety of architectural styles, including Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque.

Castles of Valladolid

The province of Valladolid is one of the European regions with the most castles, and is improving them for public use. The importance of these castles has led to the "School of Valladolid" model of castle construction. The following castles are preserved in the province:

Walls

Monasteries

Monasteries are another important part of the province's cultural heritage. Some are in excellent condition, while others are preserved only as ruins. Some of the most important are:

Culture

The provincial government is developing a programme called "Cultural Travel" with the intention of bringing the rich history and cultural heritage of the province of Valladolid to the population of the province and all of Spain. The province is one of the most advanced in terms of museums, hosting some of the most important in Castile and León and Spain.
Holy Week is one of the best known Catholic traditions in the province. It is the annual commemoration of the Passion of Jesus Christ celebrated by Catholic brotherhoods and fraternities that perform penance processions on the streets of each city and town during the last week of Lent, immediately before Easter.
Easter is one of the most spectacular and emotional festivals in Valladolid. Religious devotion, art, colour and music combine in acts to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ: the processions. Members of the different Easter brotherhoods, dressed in their characteristic robes, parade through the streets carrying religious statues to the sound of drums and music.
Seminci is a film festival held annually in Valladolid since 1956. It is one of the foremost film festivals. The festival has always been characterised by its willingness to take risks and innovate in its programming. It has also been keen to examine critically each new school or movement as it has arisen, whether German, Polish, Chinese, Canadian or otherwise. With a genuine concern for the art of cinema, film-making and film-makers rather than the commercial or glamorous aspects of the industry, the festival has built an identity of its own – equally attractive to enthusiasts, professionals and the media.
The National Sculpture Museum holds more than 1,500 sculptures and 1,200 paintings from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 19th century, as well as a number of high-quality paintings. The sculptural collection is the most important in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most prominent European collections of this type.
The museum exhibits many national and European sculptures, as well as paintings ranging from the 13th to 19th centuries from the Iberian Peninsula and former territories linked to Spain. Painters such as Bononi, Rubens, Zurbarán, Ribalta and Melendez are present, but the centre of the collection corresponds to sculptures dating from the 15th to 17th centuries.
UNESCO awarded the World Heritage Site distinction within the Memory of the World Programme category to the Treaty of Tordesillas in 2007 and the Archivo General de Simancas in 2017.

Languages

Spanish is the only official language throughout the territory. Valladolid is notable for having been the residence of the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, as well as authors such as José Zorrilla and Miguel Delibes, and for the influence of its University. The province receives a significant number of people eager to learn the Spanish language.
Some outstanding personalities from Valladolid in the field of literature in the Spanish language are:

Cuisine

The gastronomy of the Valladolid province is typically Spanish, although each area presents a different picture. In the northern area of the province, especially in the region of Tierra de Campos, traditional sheep's cheese is made, among which is the cheese of Villalón de Campos, fresh or cured; it is a cheese also known as pata de mulo. Also common are garlic soup, stew developed slowly over a fire, lentils stewed elaborately with the Pardina variety from Tierra de Campos, and pigeon or squab prepared with different techniques. Among the typical cakes are the rolls of the Virgin of the Sources in Villalón de Campos, rosquillas de palo, aceitadas, oil cakes and greaves. In Medina de Rioseco one can taste traditional sugared almonds or marinas, puff pastry filled with cream and covered with sugar.

Wine

Wines from the province of Valladolid are among the best in the world due to their taste and quality. An example of the fame of these wines is the Vega Sicilia winery. The province has five wines with a Denomination of Origin. Wines of Rueda Denomination of Origin were considered the wines of the court at the time of the Catholic Monarchs. The Verdejo grape variety is used for its production, and to a lesser extent, Sauvignon blanc. Under this appellation, there are white, sparkling, red, rosé and liqueur wines.
Wines of Ribera del Duero are made with the Tinta del País grape, and produce young red wines, Reserva and Gran Reserva. Wines of the Toro Designation of Origin are mainly white, rosé and red; the wines of Tierra de León Denomination of Origin are white, rosé and red; and finally, there are the rosé wines of the Cigales Denomination of Origin.

Meat

The province is also famous for its meats, mainly lechazo, suckling pig, steaks, chops, veal ribs, pork ribs, black pudding, and embutidos. There are numerous restaurants that specialize in lechazo and feature hornos de leña, in which the lamb is roasted. The typical restaurant where the meat is traditionally cooked is called a mesón castellano.

Bread

Bread made in the province of Valladolid has a great tradition that goes back to the ninth century. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, during his retreat in the monastery of Yuste, had bread brought from Valladolid; during the 16th century the master bakers were financially supported by the Crown.
The typically Castilian bread is named "Candeal bread", "sobao o bregado", because since remote times in Castile the wheat variety most used is durum. It has a thin, lightly toasted crust, and a very white, compact crumb with a fine texture and distinctive flavour. This type of bread is suitable to accompany red meats, stews or legumes accompanied by wines from the province. Traditionally it is made by hand, with slow fermentation and prolonged baking in a wood-fired oven.
Different varieties fall under this denomination; the most prominent is the "lechuguino bread" variety, characterized by its typical pattern and care that gives the name to the variety, since formerly, especially in rural areas, "lechuguino" referred to people who were overly dressed up.
Other varieties are the typical four-cornered bread, with a characteristic splitting of the dough where the central part is separated from the four edges; the checkered bread ; the pulley bread, with a slit made with a string that imitates a pulley; the white bar or peaks; and the Fabiola, created in 1961 by a baker from Valladolid in honour of Queen Fabiola of Belgium.
Other types not so traditional in the province but widely consumed in the area are the rustic bar and the barra rica.

Sports

Valladolid has professional teams in four sports: football, basketball, handball and rugby. In football, Real Valladolid is a historic team of the Spanish La Liga. In basketball, CB Ciudad de Valladolid replaces the original CB Valladolid following the older team's bankruptcy. In handball, BM Atlético Valladolid replaced BM Valladolid. There is also a women's handball team, BM Aula Cultural. Valladolid is also known as a national centre for rugby, with two of the top teams of the División de Honor de Rugby league: CR El Salvador and Valladolid RAC, which between them have won twenty-two National League Championships, fifteen King's Cups and fifteen Spanish Supercups.