This page is only available in Spanish. View in Spanish
Segorbe, capital of the Alto Palancia, has been a ducal city since 1459 and the seat of a diocese since Visigothic times. Its history is tied to its bishops and dukes and to a cathedral begun in the 13th century.
The oldest remains date from the Middle Palaeolithic, and in the Bronze Age there were stable settlements on the Sopeña hill. For a long time it was identified with ancient Segobriga, but that city is now thought to be at Saelices (Cuenca). In Visigothic times Segorbe was an episcopal see under Toledo.
In Andalusi times the city enjoyed its first splendour. In 1225 Zayd Abu Zayd became a vassal of James I and in 1238 Segorbe was the base for the conquest of Valencia. Work on the cathedral began in 1246.
In 1435 the lordship of Segorbe was created for Prince Henry and in 1459 John II of Aragon granted the title of ducal city. In the 17th century the dukedom passed to the Dukes of Medinaceli. The Moriscos were expelled in 1608, with the resulting loss of population, and in 1620 Philip IV stayed at the castle.
The church of San Martín was built in 1612 and that of San Joaquín and Santa Ana in 1695. In 1791 the neoclassical extension of the cathedral began. With about 2,682 inhabitants in 1713, the population reached about 5,428 in 1787.
In 1858 the municipality bought the ducal palace, now the town hall. The diocese of Segorbe-Castellón was created in 1960 and the Olive Oil Museum opened in 2005.
Text written by Zona Zero TV from public sources; early dates vary between authors. Sources: Segorbe (Hispanopedia, basado en Wikipedia, CC BY-SA). Checked on 1/11/2026.
