According to the 2018 census, Castellón has a population of 174,264 inhabitants, ranking as the fourth most populated municipality in the Valencian Community. Castellón is part of a larger metropolitan area along with the neighbouring municipalities ofVillarreal,Almassora,Benicàssim,Borriol, andBorriana.[2] ThePrime Meridian, 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.
The town inherited the name from a Moorish castle on the top of the hill of Magdalena (theCastle of Fadrell [es]), aḥiṣn [es] dominating over a demarcation roughly consisting of the current-day municipalities of Castellón andAlmassora.[3] The area capitulated toJames I of Aragon in 1233.[4] This was followed by a series of attempts to create new settlements in the area starting with thealqueria of Benimahomet, the first Christian project to leave the castle, with mixed results.[4] Following the 1247 mudéjar revolt, James I decreed the expulsion of themudéjares from the area in 1248.[5] 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).[6] Tradition claims that the move was completed by the third Sunday ofLent, 1252.
During theMiddle Ages, the city was protected bymoats, walls andtowers, and a church was built, later becoming a cathedral. Due to its geographic proximity to Valencia, the city prospered as a port. During the late medieval period, many members of the community participated in maritime trade, or in industries supporting the merchant community.[7] During the late Middle Ages, the Jewish community of Castellón de la Plana maintained a synagogue and active communal life, but like many communities in Spain, it was dismantled following the1492 expulsion.[8]
In the 19th century, the city walls were torn down and it slowly began to expand, a process interrupted by theWar of Independence againstNapoleon (1804–14) and theCarlist Wars (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, Theater) and parks.
In 1991 a university (Jaume I University) was established, set upon a modern campus. The localeconomy is based on industry, tourism andcraft-work.
Castellón de la Plana has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen:BSh)[9] with mild winters and hot, dry, muggy summers with highhumidity levels. Autumn is the wettest season and the average sunshine hours are around 2,800 per year. Annual rainfall reaches 435 mm, with significant changes throughout the year, with very marked minimums in summer and maximums in the autumn months due to the effect of the meteorological phenomenon of thecold drop, with a secondary maximum in spring.[10]
Climate data for Castellón de la Plana, Almazora 43m (1991–2020), extremes (1976–present)
Most of the historical buildings are located in the diminutive old town, around the Plaça Major (Main Square). These include:
TheConcatedral de Santa Maria (co-cathedral of Saint Mary), built in aGothic-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).[12]
TheAjuntament (City Hall), erected at the beginning of the 18th century. It features aTuscan-style façade rising up over acolonnade.
Planetario de CastellónThe free-standing bell-tower of the procathedral, known asEl Fadrí (the single man), built in the 15th century.
TheLlotja del Cànem (Hemp 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 delLledó (EuropeanHackberry orCeltis 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.
The celebration of the city's founding, known as theMagdalena Festivities, is the main festival of the city. Lasting a week, it takes place three weeks before Easter. It commemorates the founding of the city when the inhabitants of the mountain areas moved down to the plains with the authorization of James I. The most notable event is theRomería de las Cañas, a pilgrimage to the Hermitage of La Magdalena. The most striking symbol of these celebrations is theGaiatas—mobile structures that recreate the lanterns used by the first settlers—built by different associations, each representing a neighborhood and also calledGaiatas.
The city has the professionalbasketball teamAB Castelló, which plays inLEB Oro, Spanish second basketball division.
The local professionalfootball club isCD Castellón, which currently plays in theSegunda división (Spanish second division). It holds home games atNou Estadi Castàlia, 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.[13] The presence ofVillarreal CF 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 tofutsal clubCFS Bisontes Castellón, which under the namePlayas de Castellón was one of the best Spanish and European futsal clubs in the late 90s and early 2000s, having won thepremier professional futsal league in Spain twice in 2000 and 2001, and theUEFA Futsal Cup three consecutive times in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
The smallCastellón Airport offers charter and general aviation services, as well as scheduled passenger services to London, Bucharest and Poznań. The newCastellón-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 the2008–13 Spanish financial crisis.Valencia Airport is about 70 km (43 mi) south whilstAlicante Airport is another 185 km (115 mi) further down the coast.
^Igual Luis, David. “Great and small Trade in the Crown of Aragon. The example of Valencia in the Late Middle Ages”.Imago temporis: medium Aevum, no. 3, pp. 231-48, doi:10.21001/imagotemporis.vi3.208809.
^Beinart, Haim (2001).The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. Vol. 1. Translated by Jeffrey M. Green. Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in association with Liverpool University Press. p. 98.
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