Castellón Capital City

A city that came into being on September 8, 1251 in Lleida, when Jaime I granted permission to transfer his royal city from the mountain to the plain, it was on the hill of La Magdalena where Castellón has its ancestral home.

The city is now located at the foot of the Desierto de las Palmas (Desert of the Palms) mountain range and, from this privileged position, it faces the clear azure Mediterranean sea.

The remains of castle walls and towers certify the achievement of its ancient inhabitants to construct a magnificent castle, or Castelló, which now gazes into the distance to look at the ancestral plain "la Plana".

The view is open and clear and extends, seemingly endlessly over the dark green tapestry of the surrounding gardens and its urban protector.

Castellón’s annual fiesta which celebrates the formation of the city is the “Fiestas de la Magdalena” (Festival of La Magdalena), during which is the popular and large “romeria” (pilgrimage) called the "Romeria de les Canyes" winds slowly from the city to the white ancestral chapel named after Saint Mary Magdalene.

Custom says that in the work of their move to the plain, the people of Castellón carried lanterns on crooks.

This appears to be the origin and symbolism behind the monumental and luminous Gaiatas (small statues adorned with light bulbs) that illuminate the procession as it winds its way through the dark night and ends on Sunday with the commencement of the La Magdalena festival.

Castellón is a city which, even today, preserves its provincial charm together with its noble aspect as a Royal City. It is true to its traditions and its streets still whisper with the legends of old that have been passed on from one generation to another.

More information: http://www.castellonturismo.com/en/inicio