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Province of Palencia

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The Province of Palencia (Spanish: Provincia de Palencia) is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is the city of Palencia. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid.

Province of Palencia
Provincia de Palencia
Province
Flag of Province of Palencia
Flag
Coat of arms of Province of Palencia
Coat of arms
Location of the Province of Palencia in Spain
Location of the Province of Palencia in Spain
Coordinates: 42°25′N 4°30′W / 42.417°N 4.500°W / 42.417; -4.500
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityCastile and León
CapitalPalencia
Municipalities191 (list)
Government
 • TypeDiputación
 • BodyProvincial Deputation of Palencia [es]
Area
[1]
 • Total
8,051.95 km2 (3,108.88 sq mi)
 • Rank29th in Spain
 1.6% of Spain
Highest elevation
(Pico del Infierno [es])
2,538 m (8,327 ft)
Population
 (2025)[2]
 • Total
158,702
 • Rank47th in Spain
 • Density19.7098/km2 (51.0480/sq mi)
 0.3% of Spain
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
WebsiteDiputación de Palencia (in Spanish)

It has a population of 158,702 in an area of 8,051.95 square kilometres (3,108.88 sq mi) across its 191 municipalities.[2][1]

History

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During the Middle Ages, the Visigoths ruled Palencia. Basílica de San Juan, the oldest Visigothic church in Spain, was built in 661 in the province's Baños de Cerrato.[3] During the thirteenth century a university was founded in the province. It was the first university in Spain and one of the first in the world. It was later shifted to Valladolid.[4]

Geography

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The province is bordered on the north by Cantabria, on the west by the province of León, on the east by the province of Burgos and on the south by the province of Valladolid. Two exclaves of the province, Cezura, and Lastrilla, are enclaves within Campoo, Cantabria, with the former being under 200 metres and the latter being just over 200 metres from the border at their closest point.

View of Vega de Riacos and Respenda de la Peña in the north of the province.

The major towns in the northern Montaña Palentina are: Guardo, a former coal mining town;[5] Aguilar de Campoo, a historic town famous for its biscuit production and Cervera de Pisuerga, a tourist town situated at the beginning of the Ruta de los Pantanos (the Reservoirs Route) and Barruelo de Santullán, which, as the centre of the province's coal mining industry, was the largest town in the province until the 1960s. Towns in the centre of the province include: Saldaña, known for the famous mosaics at the nearby Roman villa of La Olmeda, Herrera de Pisuerga, a village known for its summer activities and Crab Festival and Carrión de los Condes, a key monastery town on the Camino de Santiago. To the south of the city of Palencia are Venta de Baños, an important railway and industrial exchange, as well as Villamuriel de Cerrato, a village to that owes its development to the Renault factory[6] and its proximity to the capital.

In Palencia large protected areas such as the Natural Park of Fuentes Carrionas and Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palencia are located.[7] The term historical region in Palencia, refers to those regions created in the fourteenth century, under the name merindades. Cantabrian Mountains are located in the northerns parts of the province. The 8,268 feet (2,520 metres) high Curavacas peak is located in the province.[8] The highest point is however the Pico del Infierno [es], a secondary summit of Peña Prieta [es].[9] The major commercial products produced in the province are barley, wheat, sugar beets, hemp, linen and woolen clothes, porcelain, leather, paper, and rugs. Food processing and metallurgy are major industries.[8] The province has three judicial districts–one each in Palencia, Carrión de los Condes and Cervera de Pisuerga.[10]

Municipalities

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The province has 191 municipalities:

Demographics

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As of 2025, the population is 158,702, of which 49.7% are male, and 50.3% are female. Minors make up 13.3% of the population, and seniors make up 28.2%.[2]

The majority of the province is very sparsely populated and has lost a significant proportion of its population since Francoist times due to rural to urban migration.

Immigration

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As of 2025, immigrants make up 9.6% of the population. The 5 largest foreign countries of birth are Morocco, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Romania.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Información Geográfica Destacada" [Geographical information data] (in Spanish). IGN.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Annual population census 2021-2025". INE.
  3. ↑ Planet, Lonely (2012). Lonely Planet Valencia: Chapter from Spain Travel Guide. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-74321-263-9.
  4. ↑ Devine, Mary Elizabeth; Summerfield, Carol (2013), International Dictionary of University Histories, Taylor & Francis, p. 109, ISBN 978-1-134-26217-5
  5. ↑ Wagner, Robert Herman; García, L. G. Fernández; Eager, R. M. C. (1983). Geology and Palaeontology of the Guardo Coalfield (NE Leon - NW Palencia), Cantabrian Mts. IGME. p. 7. ISBN 978-84-7474-220-6.
  6. ↑ Bank of London & South America (1976). Bank of London & South America Review. Vol. 10. Lloyds Bank International. p. 417.
  7. ↑ García, Carmelo Conesa; Guevara, Juan Bautista Martínez; Rogel, Yolanda Álvarez (2004), Medio ambiente, recursos y riesgos naturales: análisis mediante tecnologia SIG y teledetección, EDITUM, p. 84, ISBN 978-84-8371-485-0
  8. 1 2 "Palencia (Province, Spain)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Sáez, Nacho (11 December 2017). "Los techos de Castilla y León". Diario de Valladolid.
  10. ↑ "Judicial Districts" (in Spanish). Consejo General de Procuradores de España [es]. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "INEbase. Alterations to the municipalities in the Population Censuses since 1842". INE.
  12. ↑ Silur und Devon im Arauz-Gebiet (Prov. Palencia, N-Spanien). H. Jahnke, A. Henn, H. Mader and J. Schweineberg, 1983, Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 13(1), pages 40-66, doi:10.1127/nos/13/1983/40
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