Peñiscola is a municipality in the Valencian community, located on the north coast of the city of Castellón, in the Maestrazgo region. 

The Castle has been, since 1931, a National Historic and Artistic Monument. The Old Town was declared a National Historic and Artistic Complex in 1972. In 2013 it was considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain.

Peñíscola is situated on a rocky peninsula originally connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus. On the cliff rises the old town/historic center from which its majestic castle stands out.  

The municipality of Peñíscola includes the Sierra de Irta Natural Park, declared as such in July 2002.  

Abundant archaeological remains confirm the population of the region since very ancient times, through this region: Iberians (Iberians), Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians (the great General Aníbal lived in Peñícola for several years), Romans, Byzantines and Arabs.

Like other regions of the Iberian Peninsula, it was the target of successive battles between Christians and Muslims for its possession.

In 1146 Ramón Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon, donated the castle of Peñíscola to his main government adviser, Guillermo Ramón de Moncada. However, it was not until 1233 that King James I, the Conqueror, took Peñíscola from the Muslims, who surrendered. In 1250, King James I granted him a Puebla Charter. In 1286, King Alfonso the Liberal donated the castle and the city to Don Artal de Alagón. Don Artal kept it in his possession until 1293, when he made an exchange with the King of Aragon, James II the Righteous, passing it back to the Crown of Aragon. A year later, in 1294, he exchanged it with the Order of the Temple for the city and district of Tortosa.

During the modern era, Renaissance walls were built (1578), one of the most important examples being the Mediterranean fortification.

It was declared a city by Felipe V after the War of the Spanish Succession (it took place between 1701 and 1714).

The main economic activities in the beginning of the 20th century were agriculture and fishing.  

The city of Peñíscola, namely its castle as one of the scenarios of the series “War of Thrones”, but already in the 1960s, it was the chosen setting for the film “El Cid” starring Charlton Heston and Sofia Loren.

Currently, the tourism sector is the main economic engine of this fabulous city.