Villarreal, Province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain

🇪🇸 Villarreal is a city in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.

The city is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital (Castelló de la Plana). Villarreal is separated from Castelló de la Plana by the Millars River. Ranked by population, it is the second-largest city in the province, and fifteenth in the Valencian Community.

The city was founded with royal status by King James I of Aragon in 1274 during his campaign to regain Muslim territory in present-day Valencia during the Reconquista. It later became an agricultural centre for orange cultivation, and more recently a centre for the ceramics industry.

The city is the birthplace of Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea (1852–1909) who was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the Romantic period. He is also the composer of Gran Vals, an excerpt of which was used in a popular Nokia ringtone. In modern times Vila-real is well known for its football club that bears the city's name, a club that, in spite of the city's small size, has won the Europa League, reached the semi finals of the Champions League and finished among the top teams in Spain on several occasions.

History Villarreal was founded on 20 February 1274 by King James I of Aragon (hence its royal status), to strengthen his reconquest of Eastern Spain from the Moors. It was placed strategically on the ancient Via Augusta 65 km north from Valencia, and in the outskirts of the then-Muslim stronghold of Borriana. It was founded with royal status, with representation in the Valencian Parliament and Delegation of the Kingdom, and had the privilege of using the royal standard as its ensign. Villarreal was part of the royal sector of the Valencian Parliament and had an active say in its affairs.

The original town was surrounded by walls, but expanded outside these limits beginning in the 14th century due to an increase in population. The demographic and economic imbalances which characterise the 15th century carried on into the beginning of the 16th with constant conflicts between the Christian population and the Mudéjars (Muslims who still lived in Christian majority Spain) who lived in the area.

During the 16th century, productive farm land was extended and enhanced by drilling wells to obtain water and convert dry land into irrigated fields, making it possible to begin commercial agriculture in the 17th century. After the city's disastrous participation in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the second half of the 18th century, the first industries were established, mainly for textiles. Also during that time, the city became involved in various revolts and wars which changed Spain's political make-up.

In the 19th century, the cultivation and trade of oranges was introduced, which gave the town great economic progress, led both by businessmen and by farmers' associations or "cooperatives". After the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), the earnings obtained from the orange trade allowed several entrepreneurs to build ceramic tile factories as a way to diversify their industries. Ceramics has continued to expand up to the present day, and is now Villarreal's main economic activity.

Tourist Industry Sights in the town include: • Basílica de Sant Pasqual (Saint Paschal's Basilica), from the 20th century (the former building was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War). • Església de Sant Jaume (Saint James's Church), from the 18th century. • Plaça Major (Main Square), a square surrounded by several porticoed houses built in different periods. • The City Museum "Casa de Polo" • Chapel and park of Mare de Déu de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace). • Monument of Francisco Tárrega.

Economy Traditionally, the economy of Castellón has been focused on the production of citrus and vegetables (Nules and Benicarló). Since the 17th century, Castellón has developed an important ceramic and ceramic tile industry (Onda, L'Alcora, Nules, Castellón de la Plana and Vila-real) and nowadays most of the Spanish tile producers are concentrated in the province. Also, furniture (Benicarló and Vinaròs) and chemical industries (Benicarló and Castellón) are present. There is a large oil refinery in Castellón de la Plana.

Traditional industries such as shoe and footwear (La Vall d'Uixó), fishing (Castellón, Vinaròs) and textiles (Vilafranca and Morella), have given way to a service-based economy due to the increasing importance of tourism in the economy of the province.

Sport The town is home to Villarreal CF, a football club in La Liga, Spain's highest tier of football. Founded in 1923, the club reached the national divisions in 1956 and the top-tier in 1998. During a successful spell in La Liga, the side were League runners-up in the 2007–08 season. They were UEFA Champions League semi-finalists in 2006 and again in 2022 and they won their first European trophy by winning the Europa League final in 2021. Villarreal have also been semi-finalists in 2004, 2011 and 2016. The team play at the Estadio de la Cerámica which, with a 25,000-seat capacity, could fit half of the population of the town. Villarreal CF full-back Joan Capdevila played in the Spain national squad that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Capdevila and Villarreal teammate Marcos Senna played in the Spain national squad that won UEFA Euro 2008.