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26-474: The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( Castelló de la Plana ). Villarreal is separated from Castelló de la Plana by the Millars River. It has 51,367 inhabitants (2010 data), most of them living in the urban area that covers about 10.7% of its comarca's 55.4 km surface. Ranked by population, it is the second-largest city in the province (after

52-407: A ḥiṣn  [ es ] dominating over a demarcation roughly consisting of the current-day municipalities of Castellón and Almassora . The area capitulated to James I of Aragon in 1233. This was followed by a series of attempts to create new settlements in the area starting with the alqueria of Benimahomet, the first Christian project to leave the castle, with mixed results. Following

78-520: Is CD Castellón , which currently plays in the Segunda división (Spanish second division). It holds home games at Nou 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

104-520: 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 . Nowadays,

130-813: Is the capital city of the province of Castellón , in the Valencian Community , Spain . It is located 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. According to the 2018 census, Castellón has a population of 174,264 inhabitants (called castellonenses in Spanish and castellonencs in Valencian), ranking as

156-751: The Estadio de la Cerámica which, with a 25,000-seat capacity, could fit half of the population of the town. Villarreal CF full-back Joan Capdevila played in the Spain national squad that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa . Capdevila and Villarreal teammate Marcos Senna played in the Spain national squad that won UEFA Euro 2008 . Castell%C3%B3 de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in Valencian : Castelló de la Plana ), or simply Castellón (Valencian: Castelló ),

182-631: 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

208-474: The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), the earnings obtained from the orange trade allowed several entrepreneurs to build ceramic tile factories as a way to diversify their industries. Ceramics has continued to expand up to the present day, and is now Villarreal's main economic activity. Sights in the town include: Villarreal's economy has evolved since the days of cultivation and trade of oranges in

234-424: The 1247 mudéjar revolt, James I decreed the expulsion of the mudéjares from the area in 1248. 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 ). Tradition claims that the move was completed by the third Sunday of Lent , 1252. During

260-465: 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

286-545: The Kingdom, and had the privilege of using the royal standard as its ensign. Villarreal was part of the royal sector of the Valencian Parliament and had an active say in its affairs. The original town was surrounded by walls, but expanded outside these limits beginning in the 14th century due to an increase in population. The demographic and economic imbalances which characterise the 15th century carried on into

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312-520: The beginning of the 16th with constant conflicts between the Christian population and the Mudéjars (Muslims who still lived in Christian majority Spain) who lived in the area. During the 16th century, productive farm land was extended and enhanced by drilling wells to obtain water and convert dry land into irrigated fields, making it possible to begin commercial agriculture in the 17th century. After

338-615: The capital), and fifteenth in the Valencian Community. The town was founded with royal status by King James I of Aragon in 1274 during his campaign to regain Muslim territory in present-day Valencia during the Reconquista . It later became an agricultural centre for orange cultivation, and more recently a centre for the ceramics industry. The city is the birthplace of Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea (1852–1909) who

364-493: The city's disastrous participation in the War of the Spanish Succession , in the second half of the 18th century, the first industries were established, mainly for textiles. Also during that time, the city became involved in various revolts and wars which changed Spain's political make-up. In the 19th century, the cultivation and trade of oranges was introduced, which gave the town great economic progress, led both by businessmen and by farmers' associations or " cooperatives ". After

390-486: The club reached the national divisions in 1956 and the top-tier in 1998. During a successful spell in La Liga, the side were League runners-up in the 2007–08 season. They were UEFA Champions League semi-finalists in 2006 and again in 2022 and they won their first European trophy by winning the Europa League final in 2021 . Villarreal have also been semi-finalists in 2004 , 2011 and 2016 . The team play at

416-461: 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. Castellón de la Plana has a Semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ) with mild winters and hot, dry summers. Autumn is the wettest season and the average sunshine hours are around 2,800 per year. Most of

442-572: The fourth most populated city in the Valencian Community (after Valencia , Alicante and Elche ). The Prime 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 (the Castle of Fadrell  [ es ] ),

468-726: The historical buildings are located in the diminutive old town, around the Plaça Major (Main Square). These include: 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 has the professional basketball team AB Castelló , which plays in LEB Oro , Spanish second basketball division. The local professional football club

494-489: The last century to the manufacturing of ceramic tiles , which today is its most important source of income. It hosts 4 of Spain's 500 largest businesses, all of which trade in the ceramic tile industry. Other industries in the city include financial services, bricks and other clay products, and basic metals. The town is home to Villarreal CF , a football club in La Liga , Spain's highest tier of football. Founded in 1923,

520-583: The municipal corporation voted the Valencian name to become the exclusive official name for the municipality. The agreement was thus published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado in January 2007, and the dual official name Villarreal/Vila-real removed. Inhabitants of the city are known as vila-realencs (male) or vila-realenques (female) in Valencian, and villarrealenses in Spanish. Villarreal

546-529: The old Valencian name Vilareal . It was in the late 18th century, as Spain became more centralised, that the Castilian name took over. The city was renamed in 1939, after the Spanish Civil War , as Villarreal de los Infantes (Royal Town of the Infantes ), to avoid confusion with other Spanish localities with the same name. It is sometimes still referred to under this extended version. On 27 February 2006,

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572-414: The record of seasonal tickets in the fourth-tier division with 12,701, and is considered a giant amongst minnows. The presence of Villarreal 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 to futsal club CFS Bisontes Castellón , which under the name Playas de Castellón

598-579: The top clubs in Spain on several occasions. Both the Castilian Spanish Villarreal and Valencian Vila-real are cognates meaning 'Royal Village', due to the city's foundation by King James I of Aragon . Throughout the Middle Ages , as were most European settlements, it was officially known by its Latinised name Villae Regalis . A 1592 tapestry of the Valencian Parliament shows the city's representative with

624-555: Was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the Romantic period. He is also the composer of Gran Vals , an excerpt of which was used in a popular Nokia ringtone . In modern times Vila-real is well known for its football club that bears the city's name, a club that, in spite of the city's small size, has won the Europa League , reached the semi-finals of the Champions League (twice) and has since finished amongst

650-455: Was founded on 20 February 1274 by King James I of Aragon (hence its royal status), to strengthen his reconquest of Eastern Spain from the Moors. It was placed strategically on the ancient Via Augusta 65 km north from Valencia , and in the outskirts of the then-Muslim stronghold of Borriana . It was founded with royal status, with representation in the Valencian Parliament and Delegation of

676-633: Was one of the best Spanish and European futsal clubs in the late 90s and early 2000s, having won the premier professional futsal league in Spain twice in 2000 and 2001, and the UEFA Futsal Cup three consecutive times in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Jaume I University was founded in 1991, and in 2014 there were approximately 15,000 students enrolled who share a single campus. The small Castellón Airport offers charter and general aviation services, as well as scheduled passenger services to London, Bucharest and Poznań. The new Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport

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