Valladolid

There is no direct evidence for the origin of the modern name of Valladolid. 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 (Arabic: بلد الوليد‎, romanized: Balad al-Walid), which means "city of al-Walid", referring to Al-Walid I.[3][4] 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, in the south part of the city exist an innumerable amount of pine trees. The gastronomy reflects the importance of the piñon (pine nut) as a local product, not 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), o 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.

Satellite view of Valladolid

Valladolid is located at roughly 735 metres above sea level, at the centre of the Meseta Norte,[5] the plateau drained by the Douro river basin covering a major part of the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The city of Valladolid lies on both banks of the Pisuerga River, a major right-bank tributary of the Douro.

Climate

Winter in the city gardens of Campo Grande.

The city of Valladolid experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) with influences of a cold semi-arid climate (BSk). Valladolid's climate features cool and windy winters due to altitude and an inland location. Fog is very typical. Winters experience snow and low temperatures below freezing during cold fronts. Valladolid's climate is influenced by the distance from the sea and its higher altitude.

Temperature ranges can be extreme and Valladolid is drier than Spain's northern coastal regions, although there is year-round precipitation. Average annual precipitation is 435 mm (17,12 in) and the average annual relative humidity is 65%. In winter, temperatures very often (almost every second day) drop below freezing, often reaching temperatures as low as −8 °C or 17.6 °F, and snowfall is common, while the summer months see average high temperatures of 30 °C or 86 °F. The lowest recorded temperature in Valladolid was −18.8 °C or −1.8 °F and the hottest 40.2 °C or 104.36 °F on 19 July 1995.

Climate data for Valladolid (1981–2010) Extremes (1971–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	17.2 (63.0)	23.6 (74.5)	25.0 (77.0)	29.7 (85.5)	34.4 (93.9)	37.6 (99.7)	40.2 (104.4)	39.5 (103.1)	38.2 (100.8)	30.2 (86.4)	23.2 (73.8)	21.4 (70.5)	40.2 (104.4)
Average high °C (°F)	8.2 (46.8)	11.2 (52.2)	15.2 (59.4)	16.9 (62.4)	21.0 (69.8)	27.0 (80.6)	30.7 (87.3)	30.1 (86.2)	25.6 (78.1)	18.9 (66.0)	12.4 (54.3)	8.6 (47.5)	18.8 (65.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	4.2 (39.6)	5.9 (42.6)	9.0 (48.2)	10.7 (51.3)	14.5 (58.1)	19.3 (66.7)	22.3 (72.1)	22.1 (71.8)	18.5 (65.3)	13.2 (55.8)	7.9 (46.2)	5.0 (41.0)	12.7 (54.9)
Average low °C (°F)	0.2 (32.4)	0.7 (33.3)	2.8 (37.0)	4.6 (40.3)	7.9 (46.2)	11.6 (52.9)	14.0 (57.2)	14.1 (57.4)	11.3 (52.3)	7.6 (45.7)	3.5 (38.3)	1.3 (34.3)	6.6 (43.9)
Record low °C (°F)	−18.8 (−1.8)	−16 (3)	−12.4 (9.7)	−6.5 (20.3)	−5.4 (22.3)	−0.5 (31.1)	2.4 (36.3)	2.4 (36.3)	−0.4 (31.3)	−5.6 (21.9)	−9.2 (15.4)	−12.6 (9.3)	−18.8 (−1.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	40 (1.6)	27 (1.1)	22 (0.9)	46 (1.8)	49 (1.9)	29 (1.1)	13 (0.5)	16 (0.6)	31 (1.2)	55 (2.2)	52 (2.0)	53 (2.1)	433 (17.0)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	6	5	5	8	8	5	2	2	4	8	7	8	68
Average relative humidity (%)	83	72	62	62	60	52	45	48	56	70	79	84	64
Mean monthly sunshine hours	101	147	215	232	272	322	363	334	254	182	117	89	2,624
Source 1: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (normals 1981–2010)[6]
Source 2: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (extremes only 1938–2012)[7]

Map of the territory of the Vaccaei

The Vaccaei were a Celtic tribe, the first people with stable presence on the sector of the middle valley of the River Duero documented in historical times.

Remains of Celtiberian and of a Roman camp have been excavated near the city. The nucleus of the city was originally located in the area of the current San Miguel y el Rosarillo square and was surrounded by a palisade. Archaeological proofs of the existence of three ancient lines of walls have been found.

During the time of Muslim rule in Spain, the Christian kings moved the population of this region north into more easily defended areas and deliberately created a no man's land as a buffer zone against further Moorish conquests. The area was captured from the Moors in the 10th century, and Valladolid was a village until King Alfonso VI of León and Castile donated it to Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. He built a palace (now lost) for himself and his wife, Countess Eylo, the Collegiate of St. Mary and the La Antigua churches. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Valladolid grew rapidly, thanks also to the commercial privileges granted by the kings Alfonso VIII and Alfonso X, as well as to the repopulation of the area after the Reconquista.

In 1469, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon were married in the city; by the 15th century Valladolid was the residence of the kings of Castile. In 1506, Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid "still convinced that he had reached the Indies"[8] in a house that is now a museum dedicated to him.

From 1554 to 1559, Joanna of Austria, sister of Philip II, served as regent, establishing herself in Valladolid,[9] with the latter becoming the political center of the Hispanic Monarchy by that time.[10] She favoured the Ebolist Party, one of the two leading factions of the Court of Philip II, in competition with the albistas.[9] The Reformation took some hold in the city appearing some Protestant circles presumably around the leading figure of Augustino de Cazalla, an adviser of Joanna.[10] Ensuing autos de fe against the Protestant sects took place in 1559 in Valladolid.[10] A catastrophic fire in 1561 destroyed a portion of the city.[11]

Vallisoletum, 1574, by Braun and Hogenberg.

' A jousting tournament in the main square of Valladolid', ceiling preserved in Madrid's Museo del Prado.

Valladolid was granted the status of city in 1596, also becoming a bishopric seat.[12]

In the midst of the reign of by Philip III, Valladolid briefly served as the capital of the Hispanic Monarchy between 1601 and 1606 under the auspice of the Duke of Lerma, valido of Philip III. Lerma and his network had bought plots in Valladolid before in order to sell those to the Crown.[13] Promoted by Lerma, the decision on moving the capital from Madrid to Valladolid has been portrayed as case of a (double) real estate speculative scheme, as Lerma had proceeded to buy housing in Madrid once the capital was moved from the city as the prices had plummeted.[14][13] After a plague epidemics in Valladolid, Lerma suggested the King to go back to Madrid, earning a hefty profit when the Royal Court went back to Madrid and the prizes went up again accordingly.[14][13]

The "Paseo de Zorrilla" (English: The Zorrilla's Mall) in the 1970s.

The city was again damaged by a flood of the rivers Pisuerga and Esgueva.

Despite the damage caused in the old city by the 1960s economic boom, it still boasts a few architectural manifestations of its former glory. Some monuments include the unfinished cathedral, the Plaza Mayor (Main Square), which was the model for that of Madrid, and of other main squares throughout the former Spanish Empire, the National Sculpture Museum, next to the church of Saint Paul, which includes Spain's greatest collections of polychrome wood sculptures, and the Faculty of Law of the University of Valladolid, whose façade is one of the few surviving works by Narciso Tomei, the same artist who did the transparent in Toledo Cathedral. The Science Museum is next to the river Pisuerga. The only surviving house of Miguel de Cervantes is also located in Valladolid. Although unfinished, the Cathedral of Valladolid was designed by Juan de Herrera, the architect of El Escorial.

Education in Valladolid depends on the Ministry of Education of the Government of Castile and Leon, the department responsible for the education at the regional level, both at the university and non-university level. According to the department itself, an estimated in the academic year 2005–2006 the total number of university students was not more than 52 000, which are available to 141 schools, with 2399 and 4487 classroom teachers.

University of Valladolid

Main article: University of Valladolid

The Palacio de Santa Cruz houses the UVA's rectorate.

The University of Valladolid (UVA) was founded in 1241. It is one of the oldest universities in the world. It has four campuses around the city (Huerta del Rey, Centro, Río Esgueva and Miguel Delibes) as well as another three campuses scattered around the wider region of Castile and León (Palencia, Soria and Segovia). Spread over 25 colleges and their associated centers, about 2000 teachers give classes to more than 23,800 students enrolled in 2011.

It also features the 25 centers, a number of administrative buildings such as the Palacio de Santa Cruz, where the rector, and the Museum of the University of Valladolid (MUVa), The Student House, featuring the other administrative services, or CTI (Center for Information Technology), located in the basement of the University Residence Alfonso VIII, next to the old Faculty of Science.

Miguel de Cervantes European University

Main article: Miguel de Cervantes European University

UEMC University

The Miguel de Cervantes European University (Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes; UEMC) is a private university with roughly 1,500 students. It is spread over three faculties: Social Sciences, Law and Economics, Health and the Polytechnic School. It has later expanded its campus with a new facility doubling the area devoted to teaching and research. It also has a dental clinic and a library.

The capital of Castile y León preserves in its old quarter its heritage of aristocratic houses and religious buildings.

Religious buildings

Cathedral of Valladolid

Iglesia conventual de San Pablo.

• The unfinished Cathedral, commissioned by King Philip II and designed by the architect Juan de Herrera in the 16th century, following a Mannerist style perhaps influenced by Michelangelo. The church is unfinished owing to financial problems and its nave was not opened until 1668. Years later, in 1730, Master Churriguera finished the work on the main front. Inside the cathedral, the sanctuary houses a reredos made by Juan de Juni in 1562. The complex is linked to the Diocesan Museum, which holds carvings attributed to Gregorio Fernández and Juni himself, as well as a silver monstrance by Juan de Arce.
• The large Gothic church of San Benito, built by the Benedictines between 1500 and 1515, with an unusual tower.
• San Miguel Church, ancient church of the Jesuits (now a parish church), built at the end of the 16th century, hosts some reredos by the early 17th-century sculptor Gregorio Fernández.
• The façade of the Dominican Church of San Pablo, characterized by Gothic statues and decoration built around 1500.
• El Salvador Church, with a façade built around 1550, a 15th-century Flemish reredos and a brick tower dating from the 17th century.
• The church of Santiago has reredos depicting the Adoration of the Magi (1537) created by Berruguete and, in the sanctuary, a great Baroque reredos depicting Saint James killing Moors, as is common in Spain.
• The Gothic church of Santa María la Antigua has an unusual pyramid-shaped Romanesque tower from the 12th century and a 14th-century Gothic sanctuary, influenced by the Cathedral of Burgos.
• The Cistercian Convent of Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, originally built about 1600, following Spanish Mannerist tendencies.
• The Convento de Santa Ana, a Neoclassical building housing various paintings by Francisco de Goya.
• San Juan de Letrán Church, featuring a Baroque façade built-in 1737. Beside this church is the Monasterio de Los Padres Filipinos, designed by the architect Ventura Rodríguez in 1760.

Other buildings

The heart of the old city is the 16th-century Plaza Mayor, presided over by a statue of Count Ansúrez from 1903. On one side of it stands the City Hall, an eclectic building dating from the beginning of the 20th century, crowned by a clock tower. In the nearby streets is the Palacio de Pimentel (Pimental Palace), today the seat of the Provincial Council. It is one of the most important palaces, as King Philip II was born here on 21 May 1527. The Royal Palace (where King Philip IV of Spain and Queen Anne of France, mother of Louis XIV were born), the 16th-century Palace of the Marquises of Valverde, and that of the banker Fabio Nelli – a building with a Classicist stamp built in 1576 – should also be pointed out. The Museum of Valladolid occupies this complex, exhibiting a collection of furniture, sculptures, paintings and ceramic pieces dated from Prehistoric times to the present.

Royal Palace

The Teatro Lope de Vega is a theater built in the classical style in 1861 and now very run-down. There has been controversy over whether the city should pay to restore it.[17]

The Campo Grande, a large public park located in the heart of the city, dates back to 1787.

The National Sculpture Museum is site in Colegio de San Gregorio, an Isabelline style building. It is home to polychrome carvings made by artists like Alonso Berruguete or Gregorio Fernández. The Museum of Contemporary Spanish Art, located in the Patio Herreriano, one of the cloisters of the former Monastery of San Benito, preserves more than 800 paintings and sculptures from the 20th century.

The University, whose Baroque façade is decorated with various academic symbols, and the Santa Cruz College, which as well as housing a library forms one of the first examples of the Spanish Renaissance.

The city preserves houses where great historical characters once lived. They include:

• the Casa de Cervantes, where the author of Don Quijote lived with his family between 1603 and 1606. It was in this house where the writer finished his masterpiece.
• The Christopher Columbus House-Museum is located in what is thought to be the residence of the Genoese navigator in the last years of his life. Nowadays the palace exhibits various pieces and documents related to the discovery of America.
• The house where José Zorrilla was born, housing various personal possessions, furniture and documents that belonged to the Romantic writer.

As of the 2013 census, the population of the city of Valladolid proper was 309,714,[2] and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be near 420,000. The most important municipalities of the urban area are (after Valladolid itself) Laguna de Duero and Boecillo on the south, Arroyo de la Encomienda, Zaratán, Simancas and Villanubla on the west, Cigales and Santovenia de Pisuerga on the north, and Tudela de Duero and Cistérniga on the east.

After the new neighbourhoods developed in recent decades (one example would be Covaresa) the high prices in the municipality led young people to buy properties in towns around the city, so the population has tended to fall in Valladolid but is growing fast in the rest of the urban area (for example, Arroyo de la Encomienda or Zaratán)

Renault factory in Valladolid

Activity in the logistics centre of Entrepinares

Valladolid is a major economic center in Spain. The automotive industry is one of the major motors of the city's economy since the founding of FASA-Renault in 1953 for the assembling of Renault-branded vehicles, which would later become Renault España. Four years later, in 1957, Sava was founded and started producing commercial vehicles. Sava would later be absorbed by Pegaso and since 1990 by the Italian truck manufacturer Iveco. Together with the French tire manufacturer Michelin, Renault and Iveco form the most important industrial companies of the city.

Besides the automotive and automotive auxiliary industries, other important industrial sectors are food processing (with local companies like Acor and Queserías Entrepinares and facilities of multinationals like Cadbury, Lactalis or Lesaffre), metallurgy (Lingotes Especiales, Saeta die Casting...), chemical and printing. In total 22 013 people were employed in 2007 in industrial workplaces, representing 14.0% of total workers.[18]

The main economic sector of Valladolid in terms of employment is however the service sector, which employs 111,988 people, representing 74.2% of Valladolid workers affiliated to Social Security.

The construction sector employed 15,493 people in 2007, representing 10.3% of total workers.

Finally, agriculture is a tiny sector in the city which only employs 2,355 people (1.5% of the total). The predominant crops are wheat, barley and sugar beet.

Top 10 companies by turnover in 2013 in € million were : Renault (4 596), Michelin (2 670), IVECO (1 600), the Valladolid-based supermarket chain Grupo El Árbol (849), cheese processing Queserías Entrepinares (204), sugar processing Acor (201), service group Grupo Norte (174), automobile auxiliary company Faurecia-Asientos de Castilla y León (143), Sada (129) and Hipereco (108).[19]

The roasted lechazo (unweaned lamb) is a staple of the provincial cuisine.

Hermanos Sastre wine cellar

Although an inland province, fish is commonly consumed, some brought from the Cantabrian Sea. Fish like red bream and hake are a major part of Valladolid's cuisine.

The main speciality of Valladolid is, however, lechazo (suckling baby lamb). The lechazo is slowly roasted in a wood oven and served with salad.

Valladolid also offers a great assortment of wild mushrooms. Asparagus, endive and beans can also be found. Some legumes, like white beans and lentils are particularly good. Pine nuts are also produced in great quantities.

Sheep cheese from Villalón de Campos, the famous pata de mulo (mule's foot) is usually unripened (fresh), but if it is cured the ripening process brings out such flavour that it can compete with the best sheep cheeses in Spain.

Valladolid has a bread to go with every dish, like the delicious cuadros from Medina del Campo, the muffins, the pork-scratching bread and the lechuguinos, with a pattern of concentric circles that resemble a head of lettuce.

The pastries and baked goods from the province of Valladolid are well-known, specially St. Mary's ring-shaped pastries, St. Claire's sponge cakes, pine nut balls and cream fritters.

Valladolid is also a producer of wines. The ones that fall under the Designation of Origin Cigales are very good. White wines from Rueda and red wines from Ribera del Duero are known for their quality.

The Pabellón Polideportivo Pisuerga, home of CBC Valladolid

Valladolid's main association football club is Real Valladolid, nicknamed Pucela, who play in the country's first league, La Liga. Players who went on to play for the Spain national football team include Fernando Hierro, José Luis Caminero and Rubén Baraja. Real's stadium, the Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla, was built as a venue for the 1982 FIFA World Cup[20] and in preparation staged the 1982 Copa del Rey Final.

CBC Valladolid is the city's new basketball team since the dissolution of CB Valladolid in 2015. Arvydas Sabonis and Oscar Schmidt played for the latter team. Currently playing in the Liga LEB Oro, the CBC Valladolid matches are held at the Polideportivo Pisuerga.

In handball Valladolid is represented by BM Valladolid of the Liga ASOBAL. They have won 2 King's Cup, 1 ASOBAL Cup and 1 EHF Cup. They play their games at the Polideportivo Huerta del Rey.

Rugby union is a very popular sport in Valladolid. CR El Salvador, current champions of Spain's División de Honor de Rugby compete in the European Challenge Cup. They play their matches at Estadio Pepe Rojo. VRAC, current champions of the King's Cup, also plays in the same stadium.

The Valladolid bullring, opened on 29 September 1890, has a capacity of 11,000.

• Sancho the Brave (1258-1295), King of Castile
• Henry IV of Castile (1425-1474), King of Castile and León and brother of Isabella I of Castile
• Juan de Torquemada (1388-1468), Bishop and Cardinal
• Philip II of Spain (1527–1598), King of Spain and Portugal and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland
• Philip IV of Spain (1605–1665), King of Spain and Portugal
• Anne of Austria (1601–1666), Queen of France
• José Zorrilla (1817-1893), writer
• Miguel Delibes (1920-2010), writer
• José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born 1960), Spanish Prime Minister
• Miriam Blasco (born 1963), judoka
• Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (1607-1648), protomartyr saint of China
• Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill, Irish Gaelic chieftain, was buried here.

• English College, Valladolid

• Caballero Romero, Sara (2015). "Epigrafía en el Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales de Madrid: el sepulcro de Doña Juana de Austria" (PDF). Ab Initio. 6 (3): 73–92. ISSN 2172-671X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gutiérrez Alonso, Adriano (1986). "Un espectro poco conocido de la crisis del siglo XVII: el endeudamiento municipal: El ejemplo de la ciudad de Valladolid" (PDF). Investigaciones Históricas: Época Moderna y Contemporánea (6): 7–38. ISSN 0210-9425.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Moreno, Doris (2018). "El protestantismo castellano revisitado: geografía y recepción". In Boeglin, Michel; Fernández Terricabras, Ignasi; Kahn, David (eds.). Reforma y disidencia religiosa: la recepción de las doctrinas reformadas en la península ibérica en el siglo XVI. Madrid: Casa de Velázquez.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Vega García-Luengos, Germán (1997). "La actividad teatral de la Corte vallisoletana de Felipe III, (1601-1606)" (PDF). In Sabik, Kazimierz (ed.). Actes du Congrès International: Théâtre, Musique et Arts dans les Cours Européennes de la Renaissance et du Baroque. Varsovie, 23-28 septembre 1996. Warsaw: Éditions de l’Université de Varsovie. pp. 205–225.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)