Valladolid

The current capital of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, Valladolid is a city of medieval origin (in the picture: the Church of Santa María la Antigua, built in the eleventh century) which saw the culmination of its history during the Early Modern period. After removing the town’s privileges as a punishment for its attack on his power in the revolt of the comuneros (1520-1521), Charles V (1500-1558) made Valladolid one of the capitals of his empire, and it was there that his only legitimate heir, the future Philip II (1527-1598), was born. Destroyed by a huge fire in 1561, the city was rebuilt by the will of the sovereign, and from this time dates the Plaza Mayor, the first of its kind in Spain and a model for many later. Of the same period is also the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, designed by the architect Juan de Herrera and enriched by numerous Baroque additions. The decision of Philip II to establish his court in Madrid left Valladolid greatly damaged, but his successor Philip III (1578-1621) decided to bring back the court in 1601, driven by the decision of his favourite, the Duke of Lerma. During the five-year stay of the court, the city was the birthplace of the Infanta Anna and the future Philip IV (1605-1665). As all of whole Castile, Valladolid underwent a profound economic and demographic crisis during the seventeenth century, from which it recovered only in the eighteenth century. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713), it sided with Philip V of Bourbon.