The town of Valladolid was founded in 1072 by Count D. Pedro Ansúrez, Count of Saldaña y Carrión. At that time Valladolid was the capital of Spain but Felipe II transferred the capital to Madrid. In 1601 Valladolid returns to be capital and in 1606 returns to Madrid and so on.
In 1830 new streets are opened and public services are created in the new buildings. The arrival of the railroad in Valladolid was a great boost and marked the direction of growth of the city. New streets, squares and gardens were opened like the one of Poniente, the Campo Grande is reformed, and the Esgueva river is channeled and diverted, which supposes the end of the floods in the city.
In 1887 the public lighting in Valladolid Zorilla Theatre was inaugurated, with the lighting of the Zorrilla Theater.
In the 50s and 60s, Valladolid undergoes a major change due to the installation of industries such as FASA, ENDASA or NICAS among others. Thousands of workers arrive from the rural area.
New neighborhoods such as La Rondilla, Las Delicias, etc, were built. Then the Paseo de Zorrilla, Covaresa, Alameda Park, Prado Monastery and Parquesol were extended and makes actually Valladolid the capital of the region of Castilla y León.
What’s new in it?
In the 2000 Valladolid experiment an economic and urban grow. The newest things in the city were built with contemporary architectural currents like for example the building of the Duke of Lerma (1997) with a height of 87 meters, the Science Museum of Valladolid (2003).
The year 2007 had large imports like the new headquarters of the Castilla and León courts, the Miguel Delibes cultural center or the new Rio Ortega hospital. And the last import we have had to the city is in the year 2011 the Cúpula del Milenio.
What smart features are there?
The Cúpula del Milenio is a new multi-use space in Valladolid. This building was brought from the Expo of Zaragoza in 2008, and is an example of sustainable architecture, because it is made of materials which are able to take advantage of the illumination and natural refrigeration. The Science Museum of Valladolid has a very successful planetarium and lots of new resources for us to enjoy the visits. They have digital screens and glass floors and also interactive zones to learn.
The Río Hortega Hospital has a very new structure with advantages in the distribution of the rooms and the blocks. It has glass walls and is very large but not very tall. It has a specific entrance for emergency vehicles and a heliport which makes it totally functional.
What is it characterized by?
Valladolid is characterized of his grastonomy, you can taste some incredible tapas or
potato omelette. We also have a wide variety of embutidos, such as chorizo, lomo or salchichón. And to accompany all this food, what better than a good wine of denomination of origin. Also another of the biggest characteristic of Valladolid it’s how old it is. We have some remains of the age of metals, but when valladolid really begins as a stable population in the middle ages. Alfonso VI (King of Spain) commissioned Count Pedro Ansúrez to populate it, giving him the lord in 1072. From this date he began his growth as a city. Main square of Valladolid(Conde ansurez Statue)
And its best feature is that Valladolid people are the best Spanish speakers in the world, because its clear accent.
