OLD CASTILE

Spanish Castilla La Vieja, historic provincial region, north central Spain, generally including the limits reached by the kingdom of Castile in the 11th century. Touching the Bay of Biscay on the north, it is separated from New Castile (Castilla la Nueva), to the south, by the ranges of the Sierra de Guadarrama. In modern Spanish geographic terminology, Old Castile included the provinces of vila, Burgos, Logroo, Palencia, Santander, Segovia, Soria, and Valladolid. Its area was 25,523 sq mi (66,107 sq km). After 1979 about half the region was taken into the Castile-Leon (q.v.) autonomous community (region). See also entries on the individual provinces. For the region's history, see Castile. Pop. (1970) 2,155,000.