Valencian Community Valencian Country |
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Autonomous community | |||
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Anthem: Himne de València "Anthem of Valencia" |
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Location of the Valencian Community within Spain and Iberia |
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Coordinates: 39°30′N 0°45′W / 39.500°N 0.750°WCoordinates: 39°30′N 0°45′W / 39.500°N 0.750°W | |||
Country | Spain | ||
Capital | Valencia | ||
Provinces | Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia | ||
Government | |||
• Type | Devolved government in a constitutional monarchy | ||
• Body | Generalitat Valenciana | ||
• President | Ximo Puig (PSPV-PSOE) | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 23,255 km2 (8,979 sq mi) | ||
Area rank | 8th (4.6% of Spain) | ||
Population (2016) | |||
• Total | 4,959,968 | ||
• Density | 210/km2 (550/sq mi) | ||
• Pop. rank | 4th (10.4% of Spain) | ||
Demonym(s) |
Valencian valencià, -ana (va) valenciano, -na (es) |
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Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
ISO 3166-2 | VC | ||
Area code | +34 96 | ||
Official languages | Valencian and Spanish | ||
Statute of Autonomy | 1 July 1982 10 April 2006 |
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Patron Saint | Vincent Ferrer | ||
Parliament | Corts Valencianes | ||
Congress | 32 deputies (out of 350) | ||
Senate | 17 senators (out of 264) | ||
Website | Generalitat Valenciana | ||
1.^ According to the current legislation the official name is in Valencian Comunitat Valenciana. |
The Valencian Community, or the Valencian Country, is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid with more than 4.9 million inhabitants. Its homonymous capital Valencia is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along the Mediterranean coast on the east side of the Iberian peninsula. It borders with Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south. The Valencian Community consists of three provinces which are Castellón, Valencia and Alicante.
According to its Statute of Autonomy, the Valencian people are a nationality. Their origins date back to the Catalan-Aragonese colonization of the Moorish Taifa of Valencia, which was taken by James I of Aragon in 1238 during the Reconquista. The newly founded Kingdom of Valencia was granted wide self-government under the Crown of Aragon. Valencia experienced its golden age in the 15th century, as it became the Crown's economic capital and contributed with the most important works of Catalan medieval literature. Self-government continued after the unification of the Spanish Kingdom, but was eventually suspended in 1707 by Phillip V of Spain as a result of the Spanish War of Succession. Valencian nationalism resurged towards the end of the 19th century, which led to the modern conception of the Valencian Country. Self-government under the Generalitat Valenciana was finally reestablished in 1982 after Spanish transition to democracy.