Valladolid

Precedents:

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

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. Proof of the existence of three ancient lines of walls have been found.

After the Muslim invasion in Spain in 711, the Christian kings moved the population of the Douro basin into more easily defended areas and deliberately created a no man's land as a buffer zone against Muslim encroachment from the south. The area was reconquered by the Christian king Alfonso I of Asturias who reigned in 739–757, but because the area was close to the frontier, it had a small population until after the Christians had secured the entire Douro basin in the battle of Simancas, in 939.

Repopulation and growth:

In 1072 Alfonso VI of León and Castile gave the Lordship of Valladolid to Count Pedro Ansúrez. Entrusted with the repopulation of the area, Ansúrez led the foundation of Valladolid along with his wife Eylo Alfónsez. By 1084 the project for the foundation of the settlement was already underway. Ansúrez built a palace (now lost) and La Antigua church. Eylo founded three hospitals and the Churches of San Sebastián and San Nicolás. Both co-founded the church of Santa María. Valladolid was repopulated by people from the lands of Carrión and Saldaña.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Valladolid grew rapidly, favoured by the commercial privileges granted by the kings Alfonso VIII and Alfonso X.

Early modern period:

In 1469, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II 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" 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, with the latter becoming the political center of the Hispanic Monarchy by that time. She favoured the Ebolist Party, one of the two leading factions of the Court of Philip II, in competition with the albistas. The Reformation took hold in some parts of the city where Protestant circles appeared presumably around the leading figure of Augustino de Cazalla, an adviser of Joanna. Ensuing autos de fe against the Protestant sects took place in 1559 in Valladolid. A catastrophic fire in 1561 destroyed a portion of the city.

During 1550–1551 the town held the first moral debate in European history to discuss the rights and treatment of the indigenous people by conquerors.

Valladolid was granted the status of city in 1596, also becoming a bishopric.

In the midst of the reign of 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. 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 bought housing in Madrid as the prices plummeted when the capital was moved from the city. After a plague in Valladolid, Lerma suggested the King to go back to Madrid, earning a hefty profit when the royal court returned and prices went up again.

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

Contemporary history:

From 1950 onwards Valladolid became an important industrial centre. This was the context in which companies such as ENDASA (1950), FASA (1954), TECNAUTO (1956) and SAVA (1957) were created. The city was declared as a Polo de Desarrollo Industrial ("Pole for Industrial Development") in 1964. During the 1960 and early 1970s the city attracted many immigrants, chiefly coming from the province of Valladolid and neighbouring provinces. The city started to expand across the western bank of the Pisuerga in the early 1960s.

In the context of the fraught process for the creation of the autonomous community of Castile and León (completed in 1983), Valladolid vied for the condition of regional capital, competing with other cities, most notably creating a sense of antagonism with Burgos. Although the capital was not explicitly enshrined in the region's statute of autonomy from 1983, Valladolid was designated in 1987 as the de jure seat of the executive and legislative institutions (the Junta of Castile and León and the Cortes of Castile and León).

25 June 2024, the church de la Vera Cruz built in 1581 broke down, causing dust to encircle the whole city. This accident was supposedly due to renovation works.

Jewish history:

The earliest documented presence of a Jewish community in Valladoilid dates to 1221. In 1288, Sancho IV prohibited Jews from acquiring land in Valladolid and the surrounding area. In 1322, Christians were prohibited from being treated by Jewish doctors, and could not attend Jewish or Muslim weddings. Furthermore, Jews were barred from positions of public office. In the early 15th century, the Laws of Valladolid were passed with anti-Jewish legislation. These laws stripped the Jews of Valladolid of their autonomy, which included the right to have their own court system. Additionally, Jews and Moors were prohibited from leaving Castille. In 1432, however, officials in Valladolid met with Don Abraham Benveniste in the Jewish quarter of the city, and agreed to restore Jewish autonomy. Converso poet Juan de Valladolid wrote poems criticizing treatment of Jews in Valladolid. Jewish life in Valladolid was nonexistent in the 16th century, after the expulsion of the Jews.

•Ruta de Carlos V

•Tierra de Campos (GR 26, 54 km)

•José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, político español, presidente del Gobierno de 2004 a 2011

•Ana de Austria y Austria-Estiria, Reina consorte de Francia (1615-1643)

•Tomás de Torquemada, fraile dominico e inquisidor general castellano (1420-1498)

•Carlos de Austria, XVI Príncipe de Asturias

•Miguel Delibes, novelista español

•Rubén Baraja, futbolista español

Alcaldía: Jesús Julio Carnero

Web oficial: https://www.valladolid.es/