Villarreal
Villarreal (officially, in Valencian: Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
Villarreal
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| Vila-real (official) | |
Villarreal, Vila Square and Sant Jaume Street | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Villarreal | |
Villarreal Villarreal | |
| Coordinates: 39°56′16″N 0°6′5″W | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community | Valencian Community |
| Province | Castellón |
| Comarca | Plana Baixa |
| Judicial district | Vila-real |
| Founded | 20 February 1274 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council government |
| • Body | Ajuntament de Vila-real |
| • Mayor | José Benlloch (PSPV) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 55.1 km2 (21.3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Population (2018) | |
| • Total | 50,577 |
| • Density | 920/km2 (2,400/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | vila-realencs (va) villarrealenses (es) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 12540 |
| Dialing code | +34 |
| Official language(s) | Valencian and Spanish |
| Website | Official website |
The town 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. It has 51,367 inhabitants (2010 data), most of them living in the urban area that covers about 10.7% of its comarca's 55.4 km2 surface. Ranked by population, it is the second-largest city in the province (after the capital), and fifteenth in the Valencian Community.
The town 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 (twice) and has since finished amongst the top clubs in Spain on several occasions.