The history o Valladolid is linked to some of the most important figures in Spanish history. Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid . Phillip II was born here and Isabella and Ferdinand were married here. Here is a quick summary with the history of this city.
The Villa of Valladolid was founded in the 11th century by Count Pedro Ansúrez, who built the church of Santa María de la Antigua and the Puente Mayor (bridge over the Pisuerga River ), converting Valladolid into a bureaucratic center.
The city developed during the next two centuries becoming the seat of the Castilian crown. It is in the 13th Century that, thanks to kings Ferdinand III and Alfonso X, the city reached the most glorious age of its history. It was here in the Palace of Los Vivero that Ferdinand and Isabel, the “Catholic Monarchs” got engaged, uniting the two largest kingdoms of the time.
When visiting Valladolid you can still see the house in which Miguel Cervantes spent his later years, and Christopher Columbus is said to have died here.
Valladolid was the birthplace of Felipe II and Felipe III, who finally moved the court to Madrid in the 17th century. After this transfer of power, the city started to decline and by the 18th century, the city’s population had decreased from 100,000 inhabitants had to only 20,000. In the early 19th century Valladolid was invaded by the French.
In the 20th century, after the Spanish civil war, the city experienced spectacular growth thanks to industrial development, especially in the car industry. Valladolid is currently a modern city with a population of around 400,000. It is also the current capital of Castile and León, the largest autonomous region in Europe.