Aula· Spain, city by cityCastilla y León
Valladolid
«Valladolid tiene una gran plaza mayor de color rojo.»Valladolid has a large red main square.
A flat, industrial regional capital, rich in historic buildings. It was the capital of the Spanish Empire in the 16th century.
Did you know
Christopher Columbus died here
Christopher Columbus died in this city in 1506, in the modest house that has now been turned into a museum.
How they talk in Valladolid
«Lechazo» is a precise Castilian word: lamb still suckling, not just any «cordero». The Valladolid Castilian is often perceived as close to the standard of the centre-north.
Everyday life in Valladolid
The «pinchos» in competition
Valladolid has the national pinchos competition and the bars in the centre really compete: you go out with a list of the places in your hand, and the award-winning recipes remain on the menu all year round.
«Este pincho ganó el concurso.» — This pincho won the competition.
Holy Week without music
The Castilian processions parade in silence, with the baroque statues of Gregorio Fernández and the barefoot penitents: there is no band, and you only hear footsteps.
«Las procesiones van en silencio.» — The processions go in silence.
The «Pisuerga» with footbridges
The river crosses the city and has banks set up as a park: you run, you cycle and you cross from one bank to the other with pedestrian bridges, even to go to work.
What to eat in Valladolid
Lechazo asado
Suckling lamb cooked in a wood-fired oven inside an earthenware dish, with water and salt and that's it.
Sopa castellana
Bread, garlic, paprika and broth, with an egg cracked inside at the end.
Vino Ribera del Duero
Tempranillo red from the vineyards along the Duero: dark, with a lot of tannin.
Queso de oveja curado
Cured Castilian sheep cheese, cut into thin triangles.
Festivals in Valladolid
San Pedro Regalado
13 May
The patron saint goes out in procession, and the city celebrates the saint whom bullfighters consider their own.
Feria de la Virgen de San Lorenzo
the beginning of September
The peñas fill the Plaza Mayor and the patron saint goes out in procession: nine days of bulls, concerts and verbene.
What to see in Valladolid
Plaza Mayor
The first regular main square in Spain, rebuilt from scratch after the fire of 1561.
Museo Nacional de Escultura
Spanish sculpture in painted wood, inside the Colegio de San Gregorio.
Catedral de Valladolid
The cathedral designed by Juan de Herrera, the one from the Escorial, and never finished.
Casa-Museo de Cervantes
The house where Cervantes lived while the court was here, with the rooms furnished as they were then.
Where Valladolid comes from
Capital of Spain for five years
Roman era
The territory
Agricultural land on the Pisuerga, without a major centre.
11th century
Vallisoletum
Count Pedro Ansúrez repopulates it and gives it the bridge, the church and the market.
1469
The wedding
Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon marry here: from that marriage the united Spain is born.
1601–1606
The capital
For five years it is the capital of the kingdom, then the court returns to Madrid and never leaves.
Born here: José Zorrilla, poet and playwright.
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