Castellón de la Plana

Castellón de la Plana
Municipality
Castellón de la Plana / Castelló de la Plana
Central parts of Castelló de la Plana.

Flag
Coat of arms

Location in the Valencian Community
Castellón de la Plana
Location in Spain
Coordinates: 39°58′59″N 0°1′59″W / 39.98306°N 0.03306°W / 39.98306; -0.03306Coordinates: 39°58′59″N 0°1′59″W / 39.98306°N 0.03306°W / 39.98306; -0.03306
Country  Spain
Autonomous community  Valencian Community
Province Castellón
Comarca Plana Alta
Judicial district Castelló de la Plana
Government
 • Alcaldesa Amparo Marco Gual (2015) (PSPV-PSOE)
Area
 • Total 108.78 km2 (42.00 sq mi)
Elevation 30 m (100 ft)
Highest elevation 609 m (1,998 ft)
Lowest elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (2015)
 • Total 171,669
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Castellonenc, Castellonenses
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 12001-06
Dialing code 964
Official language(s) Valencian, Spanish
Climate BSk
Website Official website
Plaça Major.

Castellón de la Plana (Spanish pronunciation: [kasteˈʎon de la ˈplana]), Castelló de la Plana (Valencian pronunciation: [kasteˈʎo ðe la ˈplana]), or simply Castellón / Castelló, is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain, in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea. The mountain range known as Desert de les Palmes rises inland north of the town.

The Prime Meridian crosses Castellón de la Plana.

History

The first known building in the area was the Moorish castle of Fadrell, near the Alqueries de La Plana. The town proper was officially founded in 1251, after the conquest of the Moorish Kingdom of Valencia by King James I of Aragon in 1233. James granted royal permission to move the town from the mountain to the plain on September 8, 1251, and tradition claims that the move was completed by the third Sunday of Lent, 1252. During the Middle Ages, the city was protected by moats, walls and towers, and a church was built, later becoming a cathedral. In the 16th century the town was one of the last strongholds in the Revolta de les Germanies (local guilds). It also supported Archduke Charles of Austria in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), but was later taken by the troops of Philip d'Anjou.

In the 19th century, the city walls were torn down and it slowly began to expand, a process interrupted by the War of Independence against Napoleon (1804–14) and the Carlist 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 local economy is based on industry, tourism and craft-work.

Main sights

Most of the historical buildings are located in the diminutive old town, around the Plaça Major (Main Square). These include:

  • The Concatedral de Santa Maria (co-cathedral of Saint Mary), built in a Gothic-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).[1]
  • The Ajuntament (City Hall), erected at the beginning of the 18th century. It features a Tuscan-style façade rising up over a colonnade.
  • Planetari de Castelló
    The free-standing bell-tower of the procathedral, known as El Fadrí (the single man), built in the 15th century.
  • The Llotja 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 del Lledó (European Hackberry or Celtis 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.
  • Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castelló, Museum for Modern Art
  • Teatre Principal

Events

The annual festivities in Castellón are a week of celebrations three weeks before Easter every year called La Magdalena. People come from all over the province and many international bands and groups participate.

The city is notorious for its music festivals, among which we find: early in February the Tanned Tin music festival for alternative music and experimental music, in July the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (also known as FIB, which translates to Benicàssim's International Festival), at the beginning of August there is the Arenal Sound and during the middle of that same month, we can find the Rototom Sunsplash Festival, known for its reggae music.

Sports

The city has its professional basketball team AB Castelló, which plays in the LEB Oro.

Villareal CF is the local professional football in the adjacent town. Villarreal has supported a long rivalry with CD Castellón for geographical reasons, since both are from the province of Castellón, however CD Castellón haven't played in La Liga since the 1970's. CD Castellón and Villareal also rival Valencia. However, the town's team of CD Castellón have had financial problems and unstable history despite having a 16,000 seater stadium, it is playing in the semi-pro and amateur regional divisions. On 21 March 2018, Castellón beat the record of seasonal tickets in the fourth-tier of divisions with 12,701, and is a giant amongst minnows.[2] On 24 June, it returned to the third tier after a seven-year absence.

Twin towns

Notable people

Teatre Principal (Castelló de la Plana)

Climate

Coat of arms of Castellón de la Plana,

The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "BSk" (Tropical and Subtropical Steppe Climate).[3]

Climate data for Castellón de la Plana, Almazora 43m (1981–2010), extremes (1940–)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.4
(81.3)		 28.8
(83.8)		 30.2
(86.4)		 30.6
(87.1)		 35.0
(95)		 37.4
(99.3)		 40.6
(105.1)		 39.4
(102.9)		 36.0
(96.8)		 33.4
(92.1)		 29.0
(84.2)		 25.4
(77.7)		 40.6
(105.1)
Average high °C (°F) 15.3
(59.5)		 16.2
(61.2)		 18.5
(65.3)		 20.5
(68.9)		 23.4
(74.1)		 27.3
(81.1)		 30.0
(86)		 30.3
(86.5)		 27.6
(81.7)		 23.5
(74.3)		 18.8
(65.8)		 15.8
(60.4)		 22.3
(72.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 10.6
(51.1)		 11.3
(52.3)		 13.4
(56.1)		 15.4
(59.7)		 18.5
(65.3)		 22.5
(72.5)		 25.3
(77.5)		 25.6
(78.1)		 22.9
(73.2)		 19.0
(66.2)		 14.3
(57.7)		 11.4
(52.5)		 17.5
(63.5)
Average low °C (°F) 5.8
(42.4)		 6.4
(43.5)		 8.3
(46.9)		 10.3
(50.5)		 13.6
(56.5)		 17.6
(63.7)		 20.6
(69.1)		 20.9
(69.6)		 18.1
(64.6)		 14.4
(57.9)		 9.8
(49.6)		 7.0
(44.6)		 12.7
(54.9)
Record low °C (°F) −4.4
(24.1)		 −2.2
(28)		 0.4
(32.7)		 2.8
(37)		 5.2
(41.4)		 10.2
(50.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 12.2
(54)		 9.8
(49.6)		 5.4
(41.7)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 −4.4
(24.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 36
(1.42)		 31
(1.22)		 31
(1.22)		 42
(1.65)		 44
(1.73)		 19
(0.75)		 9
(0.35)		 24
(0.94)		 71
(2.8)		 70
(2.76)		 49
(1.93)		 42
(1.65)		 467
(18.39)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 4 4 3 5 5 3 1 2 5 5 4 4 46
Average relative humidity (%) 67 66 64 63 63 63 64 66 68 69 68 68 66
Mean monthly sunshine hours 180 179 209 235 272 296 329 290 229 203 173 164 2,755
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología[4]

Transport

Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport

The small Castellón Airport offers charter and general aviation services, as well as scheduled passenger services to Bristol and London. The new Castellón-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 the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis. Valencia Airport is about 70 km (43 mi) south whilst Alicante Airport is another 185 km (115 mi) further down the coast.

The city is served by the Castellón de la Plana railway station. The Euromed railway line links Alicante to Barcelona.

Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport

Nowadays, this city has a new public transport called TRAM de Castellón which is a trolleybus. There is just a line Línea 1 (TRAM de Castellón), but authorities are planning to build the second line.

See also

References

  1. ↑ .Obras religiosas destruidas durante la guerra civil (spanish)
  2. ↑ "El CD Castellón hace historia al superar el récord de abonados en Tercera División" (in Spanish). 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Climate Summary for Castellón de la Plana". weatherbase.com. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
  4. ↑ "Valores climatológicos normales. Castellón de la Plana, Almazora".
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