Palencia

Palencia (Spanish pronunciation: [paˈlenθja]) is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The municipality had a population of 81,522 in 2011.

Geography

Palencia lies in the north of the central Spanish plateau, the Meseta Central, in the middle of the Carrión river valley, near the river's confluence with the Pisuerga, which flows through the town and creating four small islands, Dos Aguas and Sotillo being the largest. Palencia is located approximately 190 km north of Madrid, and some 40 km north of the regional capital of Valladolid.

Two hills surround the city in its north-east area. On the closest stands the 30 metre high statue of Christ known as the Cristo del Otero, the fourth tallest statue of Christ in the world.

Palencia has a substantial forest of 1,438 hectares (3,550 acres) 6 km away on a plateau above the city, known locally as the "Monte el Viejo" ("Old Mount"). This park is a popular amusement area for the locals.

Province of Palencia

Palencia is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid.

Overview

Of the population of 176,125 (2002), 45% live in the capital, Palencia which is located on the Castilla Canal. There are 191 municipalities in the province, of which more than half are villages with fewer than 200 people. The major towns in this province are: Guardo, an industrial-mining town;Aguilar de Campoo, a biscuit and tourist village in northern Palencia; Herrera de Pisuerga, a village that is the doors to the Palencine mountain, is also known for its summer activities and Crab Festival; Venta de Baños, an important railway and industrial junction south of the province; Villamuriel de Cerrato, a village to the south of Palencia that owes its development to the Renault factory and its proximity to Palencia; Cervera de Pisuerga, in the heart of the Palencine mountains; Barruelo, a mining town that was the most populated town until the 1960s. During the Middle Ages, the Visigoths ruled Palencia. Basílica de San Juan, the oldest Visigothic church in Spain, was built in 661 in the province's Baños de Cerrato. During the thirteenth century a university was founded in the province. It was the first university in Spain and one of the first in the world. It was later shifted to Valladolid.

Palencia (disambiguation)

Palencia may refer to:

People