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36-569: The scenic Douro railway line runs close to the river. Adjacent areas produce port (a mildly fortified wine) and other agricultural produce. A small tributary of the river has the Côa Valley Paleolithic Art site which is considered important to the archaeological pre-historic patrimony, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Within Spain, it flows through the middle of the autonomous community of Castile and León , with

72-514: A particular semantic codification/closure of the concept (a dialogical construct) are connected to essentialist arguments relying on the reification of something that does not exist beyond the social action of those building Castile not only by identifying with it as a homeland of any kind, but also in opposition to it . A hot topic concerning the concept of Castile is its relation with Spain, insofar intellectuals, politicians, writers, or historians have either endorsed, nuanced or rejected

108-485: A prosperous tourist industry has developed based on river excursions from Porto to points along the Upper Douro valley. The Douro railway line ( Linha do Douro ) was completed in 1887; it connects Porto, Rio Tinto, Ermesinde, Valongo, Paredes, Penafiel, Livração, Marco de Canaveses, Régua, Tua and Pocinho. Pocinho is near the very small city of Foz Côa, which is close to Côa Valley Paleolithic Art site. This

144-481: Is a 99-mile (160 km) railway line in northern Portugal that runs from Ermesinde to the eastern terminus at Pocinho . The line runs close to the Douro River for much of its route, offering scenic views of the river and valley. Passenger trains are operated by Comboios de Portugal (CP) and run between Porto São Bento and Pocinho , taking 3 hours and 20 minutes. Freight trains operated by Medway also run on

180-603: Is a territory of imprecise limits located in Spain . The use of the concept of Castile relies on the assimilation (via a metonymy ) of a 19th-century determinist geographical notion, that of Castile as Spain's centro mesetario ("tableland core", connected to the Meseta Central ) with a long-gone historical entity of diachronically variable territorial extension (the Kingdom of Castile ). The proposals advocating for

216-579: Is built to the Iberian gauge of 1,668 mm ( 5 ft  5 + 21 ⁄ 32  in ). The line is single track, apart from a double track section between Ermesinde and Caíde (the authorisation for the dualling work was given by CP in 1993). In 1984, the Spanish rail operator RENFE announced the closure of its connecting line from La Fuente de San Esteban to the Portuguese border. With

252-821: Is cognate with modern Breton dour and Cornish dur "water" and results from a later typical Brittonic evolution of *dubro- , unknown in the Continental Celtic languages . The possible origin is the hydronymic root *dur- , which is Pre-Indo-European or Pre-Celtic . Albert Dauzat linked this river name to a Pre-Celtic hydronymic root *dor- , which is well attested in Western Europe : in France Doire , Doron , Douron, etc. and in Italy Dora , etc. The meaning of this element is, however, unknown. A folk-etymological derivation suggests that

288-569: Is considered important to the archaeological pre-historic patrimony, and it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Fifteen dams have been built on the Douro to regulate the water flow, generate hydroelectric power , and allow navigation through locks . Beginning at the headwaters, the first five dams are in Spain: Cuerda del Pozo , Los Rábanos , San José , Villalcampo and Castro Dams . The next five downstream are along

324-445: The 1833 territorial division of Spain . Originally an eastern county of the kingdom of León , in the 11th century, Castile became an independent realm with its capital at Burgos . The County of Castile, which originally included most of Burgos and parts of Vizcaya , Álava , Cantabria and La Rioja , became the leading force in the northern Christian states' 800-year Reconquista ("reconquest") of central and southern Spain from

360-694: The Aldeadávila Dam impounds the river, there are protected areas: the International Douro Natural Park (on the Portuguese side) and the Arribes del Duero Natural Park (on the Zamoran margin). The Douro fully enters Portuguese territory just after the confluence with the Águeda River ; once the Douro enters Portugal, major population centres are less frequent along the river. Except for Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia at

396-614: The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre , the definition of what constituted Castile gradually began to change. Its historical capital was Burgos . In modern Spain, it is generally considered to comprise Castile and León and Castile–La Mancha , with Madrid as its centre. West Castile and León, Albacete , Cantabria and La Rioja are sometimes included in the definition (controversial for historical, political, and cultural reasons ). Since 1982 there have been two nominally Castilian autonomous communities in Spain, incorporating

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432-571: The Douro Valley in Portugal, long devoted to vineyards , has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . The wine was taken downriver in flat-bottom boats called rabelos , to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia , just across the river from Porto . Nowadays port is transported there in tanker trucks. In the 1960s and 1970s, dams with locks were built along

468-602: The Moorish rulers who had dominated most of the peninsula since the early 8th century. The capture of Toledo in 1085 added New Castile to the crown's territories, and the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) heralded the Moors' loss of most of southern Spain. The kingdom of León was integrated in the Crown of Castile in 1230, and the following decades saw the capture of Córdoba (1236), Murcia (1243) and Seville (1248). By

504-485: The Ribera del Duero wine region. Sheep rearing is also still important. The drainage basin borders those of Miño to the north, Ebro to the east, and Tajo to the south. For 112 kilometres (70 mi), the river forms part of the border between Spain and Portugal , in a region of narrow canyons . It formed a historical barrier to invasions, creating a cultural/linguistic divide. In these isolated areas, in which

540-603: The Treaty of Alcaçovas with Portugal on March 6, 1460, the ownership of the Canary Islands was transferred to Castile. The dynastic union of Castile and Aragon in 1469, when Ferdinand II of Aragon wed Isabella I of Castile , would eventually lead to the formal creation of Spain as a single entity in 1516 when their grandson Charles V assumed both thrones. See List of Spanish monarchs and Kings of Spain family tree . The Muslim Kingdom of Granada (roughly encompassing

576-462: The toponym in their own official names: Castile and Leon and Castile-La Mancha . A third, the Community of Madrid is also regarded as part of Castile, by dint of its geographic enclosure within the entity and, above all, by the statements of its Statute of Autonomy, since its autonomic process originated in national interest and not in popular disaffection with Castile. Other territories in

612-551: The 1980s. In 1833, Spain was further subdivided into administrative provinces . Two non-administrative, nominally Castilian regions existed from 1833 to 1982: Old Castile , including Santander (autonomous community of Cantabria since 1981), Burgos , Logroño (autonomous community of La Rioja since 1982), Palencia , Valladolid , Soria , Segovia and Ávila , and New Castile consisting of Madrid (autonomous community of Madrid since 1983), Guadalajara , Cuenca , Toledo and Ciudad Real . The language of Castile emerged as

648-615: The Douro River are Valladolid and Zamora in Spain, and Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. The latter two are located at the mouth of the Douro at the Atlantic Ocean. In Portugal, the Douro flows through the districts of Bragança , Guarda , Viseu , Vila Real , Aveiro and Porto . Porto is the main hub city in northern Portugal. Its historic centre has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its significant architecture and history. These reaches of

684-430: The Douro have a mesoclimate allowing for cultivation of olives , almonds , and especially grapes , which are important for making port . The region around Pinhão and São João da Pesqueira is considered to be the centre of port, with its quintas (or farms/estates) that extend along the steep slopes of the river valleys. In the 21st century, many of these are owned by multinational, reputed wine companies. Recently,

720-434: The Douro line, but the last of these closed in 2009. Geographically, from west to east they were: Source for IP 's network: www .refer .pt /Documentos /Directorio _da _Rede _2010 .pdf , page. 54 See also: Rolling stock of Portugal Castile (historical region) Castile or Castille ( / k æ ˈ s t iː l / ; Spanish : Castilla [kasˈtiʎa] )

756-550: The Iberian Peninsula after the Tagus and Ebro . Its total length is 897 kilometres (557 mi), of which only sections of the Portuguese section, being below a fall/rapids line, are naturally navigable, by modest rivercraft. The Douro River basin encompasses an area of approximately 97,290 square kilometres. In its Spanish section, the Douro crosses the great Castilian meseta and meanders through five provinces of

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792-524: The Portuguese-Spanish border; the first three are owned and operated by Portugal: ( Miranda , Picote and Bemposta Dams ), while the next two belong to Spain: ( Aldeadávila and Saucelle Dams ). The Douro's last five dams are in Portugal, and allow for navigation: Pocinho , Valeira , Régua , Carrapatelo , and Crestuma–Lever dams. Vessels with a maximum length of 83 metres (272 ft) and width of 11.4 metres (37 ft) can pass through

828-588: The autonomous community of Castile and León : Soria , Burgos , Valladolid , Zamora , and Salamanca , passing through the towns of Soria , Almazán , Aranda de Duero , Tordesillas , and Zamora . The most important tributaries in this region are the Pisuerga , passing through Valladolid , and the Esla , which passes through Zamora . This region is generally semi-arid plains, with wheat and in some places, especially near Aranda de Duero , with vineyards , in

864-521: The basin spanning through the northern half of the Meseta Central . The latter includes wine producing areas such as the Ribera del Duero DOP. The Latin name Durius might have been a Celtic name before the overwhelming Romanization of Iberia. If so, the Celtic root could have been *dubro- (in that family of languages the final vowel sound often changes with context, as in Latin). However, were that

900-530: The case, the - b -, of which there remains no trace, would not have disappeared, as evidenced by place-names derived from Gaulish *dubron (plural dubra ), such as French Douvres and English Dover (3rd/4th-century Dubris ; Douvres in French), Spanish Dobra, German Tauber ( Dubra-gave 807), and Gaelic/ Old Irish dobur "water" and river name Dobhar in Ireland and Scotland. Modern Welsh dŵr "water"

936-412: The five locks . The highest lock, at Carrapatelo Dam, has a maximum lift of 35 metres (115 ft). The waters of Pocinho lake reach 125 metres (410 ft) above sea level. Unannounced releases of water from upstream Spanish dams occasionally causes navigation issues in these locks. Douro railway line + Ermesinde × Pocinho ( 🔎 ) The Douro line (Portuguese: Linha do Douro)

972-465: The former Crown of Castile are left out for different reasons. The territory of the Castilian Crown actually comprised all other autonomous communities within Spain with the exception of Aragon , Balearic Islands , Valencia and Catalonia , all belonging to the former Crown of Aragon, and Navarre , offshoot of the older Kingdom of the same name. Castile was divided between Old Castile in

1008-594: The idea of the maternity of Spain by Castile, thereby permeating non-scholar discourses about Castile. Castile's name is generally thought to derive from "land of castles" ( castle in Spanish is castillo ) in reference to the castles built in the area to consolidate the Christian Reconquest from the Moors . The Encyclopædia Britannica ascribes the concept to the sum of the regions of Old Castile and New Castile , as they were formally defined in

1044-470: The line. From west to east, the line runs from the junction at Ermesinde to Pocinho . The line formerly continued east for a further 28 kilometres to the Spanish border. Until 1984, the track connected to a Spanish line, thus allowing through trains to/from Salamanca . Passenger trains normally run from São Bento station in Porto to Pocinho, with some not running as far as the eastern terminus. The line

1080-439: The loss of international traffic, CP had to close its line east of Barca d'Alva to Spain. The service was cut back to Pocinho in 1988, which has since remained the eastern terminus of the Douro line. As of May 2023, there are intentions to reactivate the extension from Pocinho to the border town of Barca d'Alva, with a preliminary study commissioned on May 10th. There were formerly five metre gauge branch lines connecting with

1116-414: The modern day provinces of Granada, Malaga and Almeria) was conquered in 1492, formally passing to the Crown of Castile in that year. Since it lacks official recognition, Castile does not have clearly defined borders. Historically, the area consisted of the Kingdom of Castile . After the kingdom merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain , when it united with

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1152-429: The name comes from the Portuguese or Spanish term for "golden". In Roman times, the river was personified as a god, Durius . Part of the drainage basin might have been severely depopulated in the 8th century. According to Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz this was a deliberate act by Alfonso I of Asturias for the defence of his Kingdom , which led the area to be named Repoblación . The Douro vinhateiro (vine-land) of

1188-516: The north, so called because it was where the Kingdom of Castile was founded, and New Castile, called the Kingdom of Toledo in the Middle Ages. The Leonese region, part of the Crown of Castile from 1230, was from medieval times considered a region in its own right on a par with the two Castiles, and appeared on maps alongside Old Castile until the two joined as one region - Castile and Leon - in

1224-707: The primary language of Spain—known to many of its speakers as castellano and in English sometimes as Castilian, but generally as Spanish. See Names given to the Spanish language . Historically, the Castilian Kingdom and people were considered to be the main architects of the Spanish State by a process of expansion to the South against the Moors and of marriages, wars, assimilation, and annexation of their smaller Eastern and Western neighbours. From

1260-583: The river mouth, the only population centres of any note are Foz do Tua, Pinhão and Peso da Régua . Tributaries here are small, merging into the Douro along the canyons; the most important are Côa , Tua , Sabor , Corgo , Tavora , Paiva , Tâmega , and Sousa . None of these small, fast-flowing rivers is navigable. Major Spanish riverside towns include Soria , Almazán , Aranda de Duero , Tordesillas , Zamora and major Portuguese towns include Miranda do Douro , Foz Côa , Peso da Régua , Lamego , Vila Nova de Gaia , and Porto . The most populous cities along

1296-488: The river, allowing river traffic into the upper regions in Spain and along the border. In 1998, Portugal and Spain signed the Albufeira Convention, an agreement on the sharing of trans-boundary rivers to include the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana . The convention superseded an agreement on the Douro, signed in 1927, that was expanded in 1964 and 1968 to include tributaries. It is the third-longest river in

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