Castellón (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

in the northern part of the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

. It is bordered by the provinces of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

to the south,

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

to the west,

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

to the north, and by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

to the east. The western side of the province is in the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

ous

Sistema Ibérico The Iberian System ( es, Sistema Ibérico, ) is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of th ...

area.

Geography

Castellón's capital is

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

(). The province had a population of 579,962 at the start of 2019, 30% of whom were residing in the capital, 60% in its metropolitan area, and 85% along the coastline. As of the 2011 Census, the population had grown to 594,423 people, but has since declined.Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Madrid, 2019. The province, and in particular its idle large

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, has become a symbol of the wasteful spending prior to the 2008-14 Spanish financial crisis. It is a bilingual territory whose inhabitants speak both Spanish and the local co-official language Valencian. Other major cities of the province include

Vila-real Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, Borriana, La Vall d'Uixó and Vinaròs. There are 135 municipalities in Castellón; see List of municipalities in Castellón. Castellón is the home of Penyagolosa, the highest mountain of the province and the second highest one in the

. It is widely considered to be one of the most emblematic Valencian mountains. The

Greenwich Meridian The historic prime meridian or Greenwich meridian is a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in London, England. The modern IERS Reference Meridian widely used today is based on the Greenwich m ...

(the Prime Meridian) passes through the province; there are localities with commemorative monuments such as La Pobla Tornesa, Castellón or Almassora (Paseo Marítimo), and in Castellon it intersects the 40th parallel, and the exact point can be visited at the Meridian Park.

Population development

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:600 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:289 text:288,765 bar:1887 from:0 till:293 text:292,822 bar:1900 from:0 till:318 text:318,260 bar:1910 from:0 till:334 text:334,181 bar:1920 from:0 till:325 text:325,211 bar:1930 from:0 till:318 text:317,899 bar:1940 from:0 till:320 text:320,443 bar:1950 from:0 till:330 text:330,257 bar:1960 from:0 till:343 text:342,649 bar:1970 from:0 till:387 text:386,516 bar:1980 from:0 till:432 text:431,893 bar:1990 from:0 till:447 text:446,744 bar:2000 from:0 till:485 text:484,566 bar:2010 from:0 till:594 text:594,423 bar:2020 from:0 till:586 text:585,590 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Economy

Traditionally, the economy of Castellón has been focused on the production of citrus and vegetables ( Nules and

Benicarló Benicarló () is a city and municipality in the north of the province of Castelló, part of the Valencian Community, in the Mediterranean Coast between the cities of Vinaròs and Peníscola, not too far south from the Ebre River. Tourism, agr ...

). Since the 17th century, Castellón has developed an important ceramic and ceramic tile industry (

Onda Onda or Ondas may refer to: Places * Onda, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in Washington County * Onda, Castellón, a municipality of province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain * Onda, Bankura, a village in Bankura district, West Ben ...

L'Alcora L'Alcora ( is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alcalatén, Valencian Community, Spain. History Traces of human presence in the area date from the Bronze Age. Also present are remains from the Iberian, Roman and Moorish ages, the latter incl ...

, Nules,

and

) and nowadays most of the Spanish tile producers are concentrated in the province. Also, furniture (

and Vinaròs) and chemical industries (Benicarló and Castellón) are present. There is a large oil refinery in Castellón de la Plana. Traditional industries such as shoe and footwear ( La Vall d'Uixó), fishing (Castellón, Vinaròs) and textiles (

Vilafranca Vilafranca is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Ports, in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. Prior to 2022, it was part of a different ''comarca'', l'Alt Maestrat. Its official Spanish language name is Villafranca del Cid ...

and Morella), have given way to a service-based economy due to the increasing importance of tourism in the economy of the province.

Tourism

The Province of Castellón has varied landscapes and heritage that supports a growing tourist industry. The largest seaside and beach resorts include

Benicàssim Benicàssim (; es, Benicasim ; ar, بنو قاسم, translit=banū qāsim, or ar, بني قاسم, translit=banī qāsim, label=none, according to numismatic findings) is a municipality and beach resort located in the province of Castelló, ...

, Orpesa, Vinaròs, Borriana, Peníscola, Benicarló, etc. There are opportunities for rural tourism in the interior, as well as monumental towns like Morella, Vilafamés,

Sant Mateu Sant Mateu is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the province of Castellón, part of the autonomous community of Valencia. Sights The most interesting sights in Sant Mateu are: *''Església arxiprestal'' church building. *''Erm ...

, Segorbe, mineral springs at Montanejos,

Benassal Benassal is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Maestrat, Castellón, Valencia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra' ...

, Catí, etc. More than 50% of the hotel beds are concentrated in Peniscola, which is the third most popular tourist destination in the Valencian Community after

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotel ...

and

Comarques

The province is historically subdivided into the following comarques: *

Alcalatén Alcalatén is a comarca in the province of Castellon, Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(E ...

* Alt Maestrat * Alto Mijares *

Alto Palancia Alto Palancia ( Valencian: ''Alt Palància'') is a comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. T ...

Baix Maestrat Baix Maestrat (; es, Bajo Maestrazgo ) is a coastal ''comarca'' located in the north of the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital of the ''comarca'' is Vinaròs. Municipalities The ''comarca'' is composed of 18 muni ...

Plana Alta Plana Alta is a ''comarca'' in the province of Castelló in the Valencian Country (Spain). The largest town in the comarca is Castelló de la Plana, which is also the capital and largest town in the province. Municipalities The ''comarca'' ...

Geography

Population development

Economy

Tourism

Comarques

Notes

References

External links