Valladolid

Valladolid is a city of the north of the Spain, capital of the Province of Valladolid and autonomous community of Castille-and-León. It is located at the junction of the Pisuerga and the Esgueva. It has a population of 334  820 inhabitants (1995), Vallisolétans (Spanish: vallisoletanos ).

There exists also a town of Valladolid to the Mexico.

History

The reconquest of Valladolid on the Moors took place at the 10th century.

Residence of kings de Castille since the 15th century until Philippe II of Spain does of Madrid the capital of the kingdom in 1561, Valladolid became again temporarily capital of 1600 with 1606. The city revolted against Charles Quint in 1520.

The city was also the theater of the Controverse of Valladolid which related in 1550 to the statute of the Indiens of America (belong to humanity? Which treatment to grant to them?) and which opposed Dominican the Bartolomé de Las Put (defender of the Indians) and the theologist Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (their detractor) in front of the emperor Charles Quint. This controversy however came 13 years after the bubble Veritas ipsa from the June 2nd 1537 which condemned the slavery of the Indians and affirmed their right, as human beings, with freedom and the property.

Origin

The origin of the name of the city is not clear.

Formerly it was believed that this one came from Valledolit (Spanish: Valle de Olit ) or Were worth of French Olit who would have been a Moor who seemed to hold the city, but this theory is refuted today.

Another origin would be Vallis Olivetum , i.e. " Valley of Olives" (Spaniard: Valle of los olivos ), although being given the extreme climate of the city, it does not appear very probable that it had there a great quantity of olives in the zone.

The most probable origin seems to come from the expression Celte Valle tolitum (Spanish: Valle de Aguas ) i.e. " Valley of the eaux" since the junction of the Pisuerga and the Esgueva is there.

The Virgin ( Pucela )

The town of Valladolid is commonly called the Virgin ( Pucela ), two theories exist on the source of this term:

  • At the XV century, some Vallisolétans would have gone to fight the English in France at the side of Jeanne d' Arc. On their return to Valladolid, the name of pucelanos would have been allotted to them in reference to the “Maid of Orleans” ( Pucela of Orleans ), from there would have been born the éponyme “the Virgin” ( Pucela ).

  • the professor of the University of Valladolid gift Celso Almuina holds another theory: Valladolid is in a valley crossed by several water currents. It is thus about a “pond” in the middle of a dry environment, which perhaps translated by the Spanish term poza which would have derived during the years in pucela .

Monuments

  • church Santa María the Antigua, completed at the beginning of the 13th century,
  • college of the 15th century of San Gregorio, which contains the national museum of structure Polychrome,
  • college of the 15th century of Santa Cruz, which contains the vice-chancellorship of the university of Valladolid
  • cathedral of the 16th century (unfinished) of Renaissance style,
  • last residence of Christophe Colomb,
  • university (1346).

Famous characters who lived in Valladolid

Demography

It counts: 321004 inhabitants ( source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España 2005).

These last years, the town of Valladolid knew a loss of population, in favor of its suburbs, where new residential zones proliferate. Its suburbs, it takes into account: 383894 inhabitants what makes of it the 19th zone of settlement of Spain. The lack of residences in the city even, and of policies of adequate city planning had as a consequence these changes residential directed towards the peripheries. The young couples which do not move in another province choose the purchase of a residence in communes in periphery, whose population growth is the consequence of the depopulation of the city (of: 330700 inhabitants in 1991 with: 321001 in 2005).

Economic activities

Climate

The climate of Valladolid is Mediterranean continental. The old Castilian proverb " Nueve masses of invierno there very of infierno" ( Last nine winter months and three months in hell ) describes it to perfection. The temperatures are fresh, with an annual average of 12,3  °C; the winters are with the frequent cold ones (61 days of freezing per annum, on average) and snowfalls, although the strong snowfalls are rare, because of the geographical location of the city. The summers are in general hot and dry, with maximum temperatures in the neighborhoods of 30  °C, but with minimal the rather fresh ones. The records of temperature are 48,2  °C the August 15th 2003 and - 11,5  °C the February 14th 1983. At the observatory of Villanubla the temperatures are lower. Precipitations, although rare, being given the situation of the city in the most arid zone of the Northern Meseta, are distributed in a rather regular way throughout the year, the driest months being March, and the summer months. The annual average of sunning is 2.534 hours and 71 days of rain.

Sports

Valladolid is the center of the sport in Castille and Leon but also within the Spain since it is the only city with Madrid to have teams of high level sports on Meseta.

Twinning

  • Lille France, since 1987

  • Morelia (Mexico), named before Valladolid
  • Orlando, since 2006
  • Florence Italy, since 2007

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