San Sebastián - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Donostia-San Sebastián is a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

and municipality

Municipalities of Spain

The municipalities of Spain In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. municipi.*Galician or , sing. municipio/bisbarra.*Basque , sing. udalerria. are the basic level of Spanish local government...

located in the north of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

and 20 km away from the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community

Autonomous communities of Spain

An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...

of the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

. The municipality’s population is 186,122 (2011), and its metropolitan area reaches 436,000 (2010). Locals call themselves donostiarras, both in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

and Basque

Basque language

Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

.

The main economic activities are commerce and tourism, being one of the most famous tourism destinations in Spain. Despite the city’s small size, international events such as the San Sebastián International Film Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...

have given it an international dimension. San Sebastián, along with Wroclaw

Wroclaw

Wrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, will be the European Capital of Culture

European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....

in 2016.

Etymology

In spite of the apparent difference, both the Basque form Donostia and the Spanish form San Sebastián share the same meaning of Saint Sebastian. The dona/dono/doni element in Basque place-names signifies "saint" and is derived from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

domine; the second part of Donosti(a) contains a shortened form of the saint's name.

Geography

The city is in the north of the Basque Country

Basque Country (historical territory)

The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....

, on the southern coast of the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

. San Sebastián's picturesque coastline makes it a popular beach resort. Adding to the seaside environment, it benefits from hilly surroundings easily available, i.e., Urgull
Urgull
Urgull is a hill by the ocean sitting at the heart of the Basque city of San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The hill shapes along with Mount Ulia and Igeldo the city's coastline relief, standing at the northern end of a peninsula formerly linked to mainland by a spit of sand between the river Urumea...

(at the heart of the city by the seashore), romantic Mount Ulia
Mount Ulia
Mount Ulia is a minor ridge located east of San Sebastián in the Basque Country, territory of Spain, reaching 243 m at its highest point. The ridge stretching out to the east along the coastline sinks in the strait leading to the Bay of Pasaia. The chain overlooks San Sebastian to the west, with...

extending east to Pasaia

Pasaia

Pasaia is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birth place of the fighting admiral Blas de Lezo. Pasaia lies approximately 5 km east of Donostia's centre, lying at the...

, Mount Adarra
Adarra
Adarra is a mountain south of the city of San Sebastian in the Basque Country much appreciated and popular with the donostiarras and other neighbouring inhabitants...

rising proud far on the south and Igeldo, overlooking the bay from the west.

The city sits at the mouth of the River Urumea

Urumea

The Urumea a" 'thin') is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay and best known for being the river flowing to the sea on the city of San Sebastian...

, Donostia having built to a large extent over wetlands of the river during the last couple of centuries. Actually, the city centre and the districts of Amara Berri and Riberas de Loiola lie on such terrain and the former bed of the river, diverted to its current canalized course on the first half of the 20th century.

Parts of the city

As a result of Donostia's sprawling in all directions, first into the flatlands shaped by the river Urumea

Urumea

and later up the hills, new districts arose after the walls of the city were demolished in 1863. The first expansion of the old town stretched out to the river's mouth, on the old quarter called Zurriola (a name later given by Council decision to the sand area and the street across the river).

The orthogonal layout nowadays making up the city centre (the Cortazar development) was built up to 1914 (first phase finished) much in tune with a Parisian Haussmannian style. The arcades of the Buen Pastor square were fashioned after the ones of the Rue de Rivoli, with the Maria Cristina Bridge being inspired by the Pont Alexandre III

Pont Alexandre III

The Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris...

that spans the Seine. The Estación del Norte train station standing right across the bridge was inaugurated in 1864 just after the arrival of the railway to San Sebastián, with its metallic roof being designed by Gustave Eiffel

Gustave Eiffel

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French structural engineer from the École Centrale Paris, an architect, an entrepreneur and a specialist of metallic structures...

Parte Vieja

The Parte Vieja (Old Part) is the traditional core area of the city, and was surrounded by walls up to 1863, when they were demolished so as to occupy the stretch of sand and land that connected the town to the mainland (a stretch of the walls still limits the Old Part on its exit to the port through the Portaletas gate). The Old Part is divided in two parishes relating to the Santa Maria and San Vicente churches, the inhabitants belonging to the former being dubbed traditionally joxemaritarrak, while those attached to the latter are referred to as koxkeroak. Historically, the koxkeroak up to the early 18th century were largely Gascon

Gascon language

Gascon is usually considered as a dialect of Occitan, even though some specialists regularly consider it a separate language. Gascon is mostly spoken in Gascony and Béarn in southwestern France and in the Aran Valley of Spain...

speaking inhabitants. Especially after the end of Franco's dictatorship, scores of bars sprang up all over the Old Part which are very popular with the youth and the tourists, although not as much with the local residents. Most current buildings trace back to the 19th century, erected thanks to the concerted effort and determination of its dwellers after allied forces of Spain looted and burnt down the town (1813).

There is a small fishing and recreation port, with two-floor picturesque houses lined under the front-wall of the mount Urgull

Urgull

Urgull is a hill by the ocean sitting at the heart of the Basque city of San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The hill shapes along with Mount Ulia and Igeldo the city's coastline relief, standing at the northern end of a peninsula formerly linked to mainland by a spit of sand between the river Urumea...

. Yet these houses are relatively new, resulting from the demilitarization of the hill, sold to the city council by the Ministry of War in 1924.

Antiguo

This part stands at the west side of the city beyond the Miramar Palace. It is arguably the first population nucleus, even before the land at the foot of Urgull (Old Part) was settled. A monastery of San Sebastián el Antiguo ('the Old') is attested in documents at the time of the foundation (12th century). At the mid 19th century, industry developed (Cervezas El León, Suchard, Lizarriturry), the nucleus coming to be populated by workers. Industry has since been replaced by services and the tourist sector. The Matia kalea provides the main axis for the district.

Amara Zaharra

Or Old Amara, named after the farmhouse Amara. It has eventually merged with the city centre to a large extent, since former Amara lay on the marshes at the left of the River Urumea

Urumea

. The core of this district is the Easo Plaza, with the railway terminal of Euskotren closing the square at its south.

Amara Berri

This city expansion to the south came about as of the 1940s, after the works to canalize the river were achieved. Nowadays the name Amara usually applies to this sector, the newer district having overshadowed the original nucleus both in size and population. The district harbours the main road entrance to the city, with Donostia's central bus station being located between the roundabout and the river. Facilities of many state run agencies were established here and presently Amara's buildings house many business offices. The district revolves around the axis of Avenida Sancho el Sabio and Avenida de Madrid.

Gros

The district is built on the sandy terrain across the river. The Gros or Zurriola surf beach by the river's mouth bears witness to that type of soil. In the 19th century, shanties and workshops started to dot the area, Tomas Gros being one of its main proprietors as well as providing the name for this part of the city. The area held the former monumental bullring Chofre demolished in 1973, on a site currently occupied by a housing estate. The district shows a dynamic commercial activity, recently boosted by the presence of the Kursaal Congress Centre by the beach.

Egia

Egia, stemming from (H)Egia (Basque

Basque language

for either bank/shore or hill), is a popular district of Donostia on the right side of the Urumea

Urumea

beyond the train station. At the beginning of the 20th century a patch of land by the railway started to be used as a football pitch, eventually turning into the official stadium of the local team Real Sociedad before it was transferred in the 1990s to Anoeta, south of Amara Berri (nowadays the site harbours houses). The cigarette factory conjures up the former industrial past of the area, while the building has been made recently into a Contemporary Culture Centre. Right opposite to this building lies the Cristina Enea park, a public compound with a botanic vocation. Egia holds the city cemetery, Polloe, at the north-east fringes of the district, stretching out to South Intxaurrondo.

Intxaurrondo

This part (meaning 'walnut tree' in Basque) is a large district to the east of the city. The original nucleus lies between the railway and the Ategorrieta Avenue, where still today the farmhouse Intxaurrondo Zar, declared "National Monument", is situated since the mid-17th century. The railway cuts across the district, the southern side being the fruit of the heavy development undergone in the area during the immigration years of the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, further housing estates have been built up more recently souther beyond the N-1 E-5 E-80 E-70 ring road (South Intxaurrondo). The police force Guardia Civil

Civil Guard (Spain)

The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...

runs controversial barracks there (works for new housing are underway).

Altza

Altza (Basque

Basque language

for alder tree) is the easternmost district of San Sebastián along with Bidebieta and Trintxerpe. It was but a quaint village comprising scattered farmhouses and a small nucleus a century ago (2,683 inhabitants in 1910), yet on the arrival of thousands of immigrants in the 1950s and 1960s a rapid and chaotic housing and building activity ensued, resulting in a maze of grey landscape of skyscrapers and 32,531 inhabitants crammed in them (data of 1970, some 50,000 in 1996). A scheme for the improvement of the area and the construction of a new housing estate (Auditz Akular) is under way as of the late 2000s.

Trintxerpe

This tip of San Sebastián's eastern sprawl lies actually on the bank of the Bay of Pasaia

Pasaia

, next to the neighbourhood San Pedro from the latter. It was heavily populated in the 1950s and 1960s with immigrants pouring in mainly from Galicia, who crammed in grey tone functional buildings built with little regard to aesthetics.

Ibaeta

Ibaeta stands on the former location for various factories (e.g., Cervezas El Leon) of San Sebastián, with the buildings of the old industrial estate being demolished in the late 20th century. The levelling of this large flat area paved the ground for a carefully planned modern and elegant housing estate, featuring a new university campus for the public University of the Basque Country

University of the Basque Country

The University of the Basque Country is the only public university in the Basque Country, in Northern Spain...

(UPV-EHU) and institutions such as the Donostia International Physics Center

Donostia International Physics Center

The Donostia International Physics Center Foundation was created in 1999, as the fruit of an institutional collaboration between the Education and Industry Departments of the Basque Government, the University of the Basque Country, the Diputación Foral of Gipuzkoa, the Town Hall of Donostia and...

. A stream called Konporta flows down along the eastern side of the area, but it was canalized under the ground almost all along to its mouth on the bay pushed by urban building pressure.

Loiola

It lies by the Urumea at the south-east end of the city. It comprises a small patch of detached houses (Ciudad Jardín) and a core area of 6-odd floor buildings. The district has recently gone through a major makeover, with works finishing in 2008. The road axis coming from important industrial areas (Astigarraga-Hernani

Hernani, Spain

Hernani is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is located at Latitude: 43° 16' 0N , Longitude: 1° 58' 0W. Hernani has an altitude of 200 ft .-External links:* and Basque.* Basque, , and ....

) crosses the district heading downtown. A military base (home to an uprising in 1936) stand across the river. Attempts by the city council to close it have been unsuccessful so far.

Riberas de Loiola

New modern district erected in the 2000s next to the city's inner bypass and south road entrance to Donostia. A pedestrian bridge spans the Urumea river onto the Cristina Enea Park.

Martutene

The district bordering to the south on the town of Astigarraga

Astigarraga

Astigarraga is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, in northern Spain. It's famous for its hard cider and the cider houses-External links:* Information available in Spanish and Basque....

comes next to Loiola in the south direction. This part of the city features an industrial area, a football pitch for lower leagues, a disused vocational training building and enclosure as well as a prison, much in decay and due to be transferred soon to a new location, probably in the municipality's exclave of Zubieta, while this option is coming in for much opposition.

Igeldo

This rural quarter is almost a small town in its own right (many neighbours advocate for a municipality of its own), located at the mountain range of the same name towering over the west side of the Bay of La Concha (Kontxako Badia). At the nearest point of the bay lies a permanent fairground at the hillock Mendiotz, topped by a conspicuous mock military tower (actually built up at the beginning of the 20th century for tourism) which houses a hotel. There is a frequented camp-site on the area.

Zubieta

The exclave Zubieta (meaning 'place of bridges') was a picturesque old village up to recent years, with a bunch of houses, a unique handball pitch (on account of its single wall as opposed to the regular two) and a church. Yet it has undergone a great urban development, which has rendered the location a built-up area with paved streets and due equipment. Two contested projects are under way to build a solid-waste incinerator and a prison nearby. Historically, neighbours from Donostia held a meeting at a house in the former village in the wake of the 1813 burning, in order to decide the reconstruction of the town.

Climate

History

Prehistory

The first evidence of human stationary presence in the current city is the settlement of Ametzagaña, between South Intxaurrondo and Astigarraga

Astigarraga

. The unearthed remains, such as carved stone used as knives to cut animal skin, date from 24,000 to 22,000 BC. The open-air findings of the Upper Paleolithic

Upper Paleolithic

The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...

have revealed that the settlers were hunters and Homo Sapiens, besides pointing to a much colder climate at the time.

Ancient Age

San Sebastián is thought to have been in the territory of the Varduli

Varduli

The Varduli were a tribe that Roman historians reported in Northern Hispania, west of the Vascones and east of the Caristii and the Deba river, comprising the main part of the current Basque province of Gipuzkoa and parts of Alava and Navarre. Their main city was Ara-Caeli...

in Roman times. 10 km east of the current city lied the Basque Roman town of Oiasso

Oiasso

Oiasso, Oiasona or Oiarso was a Basque Roman town located on the left bank of the Bidasoa estuary in the Bay of Biscay . Archaeological evidence unearthed recently pinpoints the core area of Oiasso in the old quarter of Irun by the Spanish-French border, where harbour and bath remains have been...

(Irun

Irun

Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...

), which was for long time wrongly identified with San Sebastián.

Middle Age

After a long period of silence in evidence, in 1014 the monastery of St. Sebastián with its apple orchards (for cider), located in the term of Hernani
Hernani, Spain
Hernani is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is located at Latitude: 43° 16' 0N , Longitude: 1° 58' 0W. Hernani has an altitude of 200 ft .-External links:* and Basque.* Basque, , and ....

, is donated to the Abbey of Leire

Monastery of Leyre

The Monastery of San Salvador of Leyre is a religious complex at the south of the Sierra of Leyre, in northern Navarre, Spain, standing out as one of the most important historical monasteries of Spain. The oldest records of the site date from 842, when Íñigo Arista, held as first king of Pamplona,...

by Sancho III of Pamplona

Sancho III of Navarre

Sancho III Garcés , called the Great , succeeded as a minor to the Kingdom of Navarre in 1004, and through conquest and political maneuvering increased his power, until at the time of his death in 1035 he controlled the majority of Christian Iberia, bearing the title of rex Hispaniarum...

. By 1181, the city is chartered (given fuero

Fuero

Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...

) by king Sancho VI of Pamplona

Sancho VI of Navarre

Sancho VI Garcés , called the Wise , was the king of Navarre from 1150 until his death in 1194....

on the site of Izurum, having jurisdiction over all the territory between the rivers Oria

Oria River

The Oria is a river in the Basque Country at the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's one of a series of Basque rivers flowing into the Bay of Biscay and the main river of the province Gipuzkoa in volume , length and basin , the main feature of these rivers aligned south to north being their...

and Bidasoa

Bidasoa

The Bidasoa is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the small town of Oronoz-Mugairi in the province of Navarre, the river actually results from the merge of several streams near the village Erratzu, with...

.

In 1200, the city was conquered by Castile

Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

, whose king Alfonso VIII

Alfonso VIII of Castile

Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...

, confirmed its charter (fuero), but the Kingdom of Navarre

Kingdom of Navarre

The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....

was deprived of its main direct access out to the sea. Perhaps as soon as 1204 (or earlier), the city nucleus at the foot of Urgull

Urgull

started to be populated with Gascon

Gascon language

-speaking colonizers from Bayonne

Bayonne

Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...

and beyond, who left an important imprint in the city's identity in the centuries to come.

In 1265, the use of the city as a seaport is granted to Navarre as part of a wedding pact. The large quantity of Gascons inhabiting the town favoured the development of trade with other European ports and Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

. The city steered clear of the destructive War of the Bands

War of the Bands

The War of the Bands was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country , Gascony, and Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The main primary source for the War is Las Bienandanças e fortunas by Lope García de Salazar, written c.1471...

in Gipuzkoa, the only town in doing so in that territory. In fact, the town only joined Gipuzkoa in 1459 after the war came to an end. Up to the 16th century, Donostia remained mostly out of wars, but by the beginning of the 15th century, a line of walls of simple construction is attested encircling the town. The last chapter of the town in the Middle Ages was brought about by a fire that devastated Donostia in 1489. After burning to the ground, the town began a new renaissance by building up mainly on stone instead of bare timber.

Modern Age

The advent of the Modern Age brought a period of instability and war for the city. After the fall of Navarre, new state boundaries started to be drawn that left Donostia at the forefront of the Spanish border with France. New chunky and more sophisticated walls were erected and the town got involved in the wars engaged between Spain and France on the aftermath of the disappearance of the independent Kingdom of Navarre in 1521. Actually, the town provided critical naval help to the Spanish king on the frontier disputes that took place in Hondarribia

Hondarribia

Hondarribia is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. The border town is sited on a little promontory facing Hendaye over the Txingudi bay. The town holds an ancient old quarter with walls and a castle...

, which earned the town the titles "Muy Noble y Muy Leal", recorded on its coat of arms. Moreover, the town took sides with the new emperor Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

by sending a party to the Battle of Noain

Battle of Noáin

The Battle of Noáin or the Battle of Esquiroz, fought on June 30 1521 was the only mayor battle in the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre. It was a decisive victory for the Spanish against the invading Franco-Navarrese army.- Prelude :...

and providing help to the emperor against the Revolt of the Comuneros.

After the conquest of the Iberian Navarre and the attachment of Donostia to Gipuzkoa, Gascons, who had played a leading role in the political and economic life of the town since its foundation, began to be excluded from influential public positions by means of a string of regional sentences upheld by royal decision (regional diets of Zestoa 1527, Hondarribia 1557, Bergara 1558, Tolosa 1604 and Deba 1662). Meanwhile, the climate of war and disease left the town in a poor condition that drove many fishermen and traders to take to the sea as corsairs as a way of getting a living, most of the times under the auspices of the king Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

, who benefited from the disruption caused to and wealth obtained from the French and Dutch trade ships.

In 1656, the city was used as the royal headquarters during the marriage of the Infanta

Maria Theresa of Spain

Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...

to Louis XIV at St Jean de Luz nearby. After a relatively peaceful 17th century, the town was besieged and taken over by the troops of the French Duke of Berwick up to 1721. However, San Sebastián was not spared by shelling in the French assault and many urban structures were reconstructed, e.g. a new opening in the middle of the town, the Plaza Berria (that was to become the current Konstituzio Plaza).

In 1728, the "Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas was founded and boosted commerce with the Americas

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

. Thanks to the profit the company generated, the town underwent some urban reforms and improvements and the new Santa Maria Church was erected by subscription. This period of wealth and development was to last up to the beginning of the 19th century.

In 1808, Napoleonic

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

forces captured San Sebastián in the Peninsular War

Peninsular War

The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...

. In 1813, after a siege of various weeks, on 28 August, during the night, a landing party from a British Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

squadron captured Santa Clara Island, in the bay. Three days later, on 31 August, British and Portuguese troops besieging San Sebastián

Siege of San Sebastian

In the Siege of San Sebastián Allied forces under the command of General Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington captured the city of San Sebastián in northern Spain from its French garrison under Brigadier-General Louis Rey...

assaulted the town by a strike of luck (breach in a wall brought about by an explosion of French

La Grande Armée

The Grande Armée first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel for the proposed invasion of Britain...

stored ammunition). The relieving troops lost all self-control, ransacked and burnt the city to the ground. Only the street at the foot of the hill (now called 31 August Street) remained.

Contemporary History

After the destructive events, the reconstruction of the city was decided in the same spot with an only slightly altered layout, since a modern octagonal draft project by the architect P.M. Ugartemendia was turned down and eventually M. Gogorza's blueprint was approved, while supervised and implemented by the former. This area, the Old Part, oozes neoclassical, austere and systematic style in its architectural construction. The Constitution Square was built in 1817 and the town hall (current library) between 1828 and 1832. Housing works were carried out gradually during various decades until they were achieved.

The liberal and bourgeois San Sebastián became capital of Gipuzkoa (at the expense of Tolosa) until 1823, when absolutists assailed the town again (only 200 inhabitants remained in town when the assaulting troops broke in), but it was made capital city again in 1854. In 1833, British volunteers under Sir George de Lacy Evans

George de Lacy Evans

Sir De Lacy Evans GCB was a British Army general who served in four wars in which the United Kingdom's troops took part in the 19th century. He was later a long-serving Member of Parliament....

defended the town against Carlist attack, and their fallen were buried at the "English Cemetery" on the hill Urgull

Urgull

.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the local government was still ruled on the principle of nobility, while the inhabitants of foreign origin or descent had always been ubiquitous in the town, especially the traders. Although San Sebastián benefited greatly from the charts system established in the Basque Country

Southern Basque Country

The Southern Basque Country is a term used to refer to the Basque territories within Spain as a unified whole.It does not exist as a political unit but includes the three provinces and two enclaves of the Basque Autonomous Community in the west, as well as the Chartered Community of Navarre to...

(foruak
Fuero
Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...

, with borders in the Ebro river and no duties for overseas goods), the town was at odds with the more traditional Gipuzkoa, even requesting the detachment from the province and the annexation to Navarre

Navarre

Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

in 1841.

In 1863, the defensive walls of the town were demolished (their remains are visible in the underground car-park at the Boulevard) and an expansion of the town began in an attempt to escape the military function it had held before. Works were appointed to Jose Goicoa and Ramon Cortazar, who modeled the new city according to an orthogonal shape much in an neoclassical Parisian style, and the former designed elegant buildings, like the Miramar Palace, or the Concha Promenade. The city was chosen by the Spanish monarchy to spend the summer following the French example of the near Biarritz

Biarritz

Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....

. Subsequently the Spanish nobility and the diplomatic corps opened residences in the summer capital

Summer capital

A summer capital is a city used as an administrative capital during extended periods of particularly hot summer weather. The term is mostly of relevance in a historical context as political systems with ruling classes that would migrate to a summer capital are less prevalent in modern times...

. As the "wave baths" at La Concha conflicted with shipbuilding activity, shipyards relocated to Pasaia

Pasaia

, a near bay formerly part of San Sebastián.

However, in 1875, war battered the town again and shelling over the city by Carlists

Carlist Wars

The Carlist Wars in Spain were the last major European civil wars in which contenders fought to establish their claim to a throne. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos and his descendants — rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and...

caused acclaimed bertsolari

Bertsolari

A bertsolari is a singer of bertso, a musical verse in Basque tradition. The bertolaris are often found in pairs, in which a topic is sung extemporaneously in verses alternatively, but they can stage solo or group verse sessions too. It is usually sung to a slow tempo with long or short verses and...

and poet Bilintx

Bilintx

Indalecio Bizcarrondo, also known as Bilintx was a Basque improvisational poet or bertsolari living in Spain, who wrote largely in the Basque language...

to die in 1876. As of 1885, King Alfonso XII of Spain

Alfonso XII of Spain

Alfonso XII was king of Spain, reigning from 1874 to 1885, after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the ephemeral First Spanish Republic.-Early life and paternity:Alfonso was the son of Queen Isabella II of Spain, and...

's widow Maria Cristina

Maria Christina of Austria

Maria Christina of Austria was Queen consort of Spain as the second wife of King Alfonso XII of Spain...

spent her summer in Donostia on a yearly basis (took accommodation at the Miramar Palace), bringing along her retinue. In 1887, the Casino was erected, which eventually turned into the current city hall. Cultural life thrived on this period, giving rise to various typical events in the city, such as the Caldereros or the Tamborrada, and journalistic and literary productions both in Spanish and Basque.

Donostia developed into a fully-fledged seaside resort, while some industry was developed in the district of Antiguo and outskirts of the city. Following the outbreak of World War I, San Sebastián became an attracting focus for renowned international figures of culture and politics, e.g. Mata Hari

Mata Hari

Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...

, Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....

, Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel

Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...

, Romanones, etc. Various rationalist architectural landmarks, typically white or light toned, were erected and dotted the urban landscape in the 20s and 30s (La Equitativa, Nautico, building Easo, etc.). In 1924-1926, works to canalize the Urumea river were carried out on the southern tip of the city. However, after the city's Belle Epoque in the European war time, repression under Primo de Rivera

Primo de Rivera

Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries:*Fernando Primo de Rivera, Spanish politician and soldier, 1831-1921*Miguel Primo de Rivera , dictator of Spain from 23 September 1923 to 1930...

's dictatorship didn't favour the city. In 1924, gambling was prohibited by the authoritarian regime, causing the Grand Casino (inaugurated 1887) and the Kursaal (1921) to struggle to survive.

In 1930, Spanish republican forces signed up the Pact of San Sebastián
Pact of San Sebastián
The Pact of San Sebastián was a meeting led by Niceto Alcalá Zamora and Miguel Maura, which took place in San Sebastián, Spain on August 17, 1930. Representatives from practically all republican political movements in Spain at the time attended the meeting. Presided over by Fernando Sasiaín , the...

leading to the Second Spanish Republic

Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

. Unrest and repression did not stop with the new political regime, and large-scale industrial action was taken several times by the growing anarchist, communist and socialist unions. The 1936 military coup was initially defeated by resistance led by the Basque Nationalists

Basque nationalism

Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...

, anarchists and communists, but later that year the province fell to Spanish Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. The occupation proved disastrous for the city dwellers: 380 were executed by the Spanish Nationalists, including the mayor, many children were evacuated to foreign countries and the city drained on an exodus estimated at 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants.

In the aftermath of war, the city was stricken by poverty, famine and repression, coupled with thriving smuggling. Many republican detainees were held at the Ondarreta prison in grim and humid conditions (building demolished in 1948) right at the beach with the same name. However, industry developed and paved the way for the urban expansion in the popular district Egia and eclectic styled Amara Berri, on the marshes and riverbed of the Urumea, at the end of the 1940s and beginning of the 1950s.

In 1943, the seeds of the Basque language schools

Ikastola

An Ikastola is a type of primary and secondary school in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and the French Basque Country in which pupils are taught either entirely or predominantly in the Basque language...

were being sown by Elvira Zipitria, who started to give instruction in Basque at her own house in the Old Part. In 1947, the Grand Casino was turned into the City Hall. A decade later, in 1953, businessmen from the city organised the first San Sebastián International Film Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...

to stimulate the economic life and national and international profile of the city.

The massive immigration from various parts of Spain, spurred by growing industrial production, greatly increased population, in turn bringing about a quick and chaotic urban development on the outskirts of the city (Altza, Intxaurrondo, Herrera, Bidebieta, etc.), but social, cultural and political contradictions and inequities followed, so sparking dissatisfaction. A general climate of protest and street demonstrations ensued, driven by Basque nationalists (especially armed separatist organisation ETA) and underground unions, triggering in 1968 the first state of emergency in Gipuzkoa. Several more were imposed by the Francoist authorities in the run-up to the dictator's death in 1975.

In the middle of the shaky economic situation and real estate speculation, the iconic buildings Kursaal and Chofre bullring in Gros were demolished in 1973. On the other hand, sculptor Eduardo Chillida

Eduardo Chillida

Eduardo Chillida Juantegui, or Eduardo Txillida Juantegi in Basque, was a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his monumental abstract works.-Early life and career:...

's and architect Peña Ganchegui's landmark The Comb of the Winds was built at the bay's western tip (1975-1977). The 1970s to the mid-1980s were years of general urban and social decay marked by social and political unrest and violence. In 1979, the first democratic municipal elections were held, won by the Basque Nationalist Party

Basque Nationalist Party

The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...

), who held office along with splinter party Eusko Alkartasuna

Eusko Alkartasuna

Eusko Alkartasuna is a Basque nationalist political party operating in Spain and France. The Basque language name means Basque Solidarity and abbreviated as EA. The party describes itself as a Basque nationalist, democratic, popular, progressive and non-denominational party...

until 1991. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...

's Odon Elorza took over as mayor that year until 2011, when he was overthrown unexpectedly in elections by Juan Carlos Izagirre (Bildu

Bildu

Bildu is a Basque nationalist, separatist and abertzale leftist political coalition active in the Basque Country and Navarre. It was official launched on 3 April 2011...

).

As of the 1990s, a major makeover of the city centre was undertaken aimed at enhancing and revamping the neoclassical and modernist side of San Sebastián's architecture. Other milestone works include the reshape and enlargement of the Zurriola beach and promenade and the inauguration of the Kursaal Palace

Kursaal Palace

The Kursaal Convention Center and Auditorium is a complex comprising several spaces: a great auditorium, many-use halls and exhibition halls. It was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, and is located in Donostia-San Sebastián...

cubes (1999), or the new university campus and technological facilities in Ibaeta, the provision of a wide bike lane network, underground car-parks and significant public transport improvements. Districts of cutting-edge design have been erected, such as Ibaeta or Riberas de Loiola, while some important projects hang on the balance prompted by financial tensions.

Culture and events

San Sebastián shows a dynamic cultural scene, where grass-roots initiative based on different parts of the city and the concerted private and public synergy have paved the ground for a rich range of possibilities and events catering to the tastes of a wide and selected public alike. The city was selected as European Capital of Culture

European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....

for 2016 (shared with Wrocław, Poland

Poland

) with a basic motto, "Waves of people's energy", summarizing a clear message: people and movements of citizens are the real driving force behind transformations and changes in the world.

Events ranging from traditional city festivals to music, theatre or cinema take place all year round, while they specially thrive in summer. In the last week of July, San Sebastián's Jazz Festival (Jazzaldia), the longest, continuously running Jazz Festival in Europe is held. In different spots of the city gigs are staged, sometimes with free admission. The Musical Fortnight comes next extending for at least fifteen days well into August and featuring classical music concerts. In September, the San Sebastián International Film Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...

comes to the spotlight, an event with more than 50 years revolving around the venues of Kursaal

Kursaal Palace

and the Victoria Eugenia Theatre.

Sticking to the cinematic language but lacking its echo, Street Zinema is an international audiovisual festival exploring contemporary art and urban cultures. Other rising and popular events include the Horror and Fantasy Festival in October (21st edition in 2010) and the Surfilm Festibal, a cinema festival featuring surfing footage, especially shorts. During centuries, the city has been open to many influences that have left a trace, often mingling with the local customs and traditions and eventually resulting in festivals and new customs.

San Sebastián Day

Every year on 20 January (the feast of Saint Sebastian), the people of San Sebastián celebrate a festival known as the "Tamborrada". At midnight, in the Konstituzio plaza in the "Alde Zaharra/Parte Vieja" (Old Part), the mayor raises the flag of San Sebastián (see in the infobox). For 24 hours, the entire city is awash with the sound of drums. The adults, dressed as cooks and soldiers, march around the city. They march all night with their cook hats and white aprons with the March of San Sebastián.

On this day a procession was held in the early 19th century from the Santa Maria Church in the Old Part to the San Sebastián Church in the district of Antiguo, while later limited on the grounds of weather conditions to the in-wall area. The event finished with a popular dancing accompanied on the military band's flutes and drums. In addition, every day a soldier parade took place to change the guards at the town's southern walls. Since the San Sebastián Day was the first festival heralding the upcoming Carnival, it's no surprise that some youths in Carnival mood followed them aping their martial manners and drumrolls, using for the purpose the buckets left at the fountains. In the period spanning the 1860s and 1880s the celebrations started to shape as we know them today with proper military style outfits and parades and the tunes fashioned by music composer Raimundo Sarriegui.

Adults usually have dinner in sociedades gastronómicas
Txoko
A Txoko is a typically Basque type of closed gastronomical society. Traditionally they are only open to male members who come together to cook, experiment with new ways of cooking, eat and socialise...

("gourmet clubs"), who traditionally admitted only males, but nowadays even the strictest ones allow women on the "Noche de la Tamborrada". They eat sophisticated meals cooked by themselves, mostly composed of seafood (traditionally elvers, now no longer served due to its exorbitant price) and drink the best wines. For "Donostiarras" this is the most celebrated festival of the year.

Semana Grande/Aste Nagusia

A festival called Semana Grande in Spanish and Aste Nagusia in Basque ("Big/Main Week") is held every year at mid-August. An important international fireworks contest takes place, in which a fireworks presentation is made every night over the bay and, at the end, the contest's winner is declared. Other features of the festival include brass bands enlivening the streets, popular music performances at and by the beach, as well as fairground attractions arranged at the seaside promenade Paseo Nuevo.

Basque Week

This decades long festivity taking place at the beginning of September features events related to Basque culture, such as performances of traditional improvising poets (bertsolari

Bertsolari

s), Basque pelota games, stone lifting

Harrijasotzaileak

Stone lifting is a popular form of herri kirol or rural sport in the Basque Country in which stones or various shapes and sizes must be lifted off the ground and onto the shoulder....

contests, oxen wagers

Idi probak

The idi probak are the most popular form of Basque dragging games. It involves oxen, usually a pair, dragging a rock from one side of a square to another...

, dance exhibitions or the cider

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

tasting festival. Yet the main highlight may be the rowing boat competition

Estropadak

Estropadak is the Basque term for a kind of rowing regatta held all along the coast of the Basque Country between July and October. The word estropadak is the plural form of estropada which simply means "boat race"....

, where teams from different towns of the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

contend for the Flag of La Concha
Kontxako Bandera
The Kontxako Bandera or "Flag of the Kontxa" is one of the oldest and most famous estropada race along the Bay of Biscay, held annually in the Kontxa, the main bay of San Sebastián. It takes place on the first two weekends in September and regularly draws crowds of more than 100,000 people and...

. Thousands of supporters coming from these coastal locations pour into the city's streets and promenades overlooking the bay to follow the event, especially on the Sunday of the final race. All day long the streets of the Old Part play host to droves of youths clad in their team colours who party there in a cheerful atmosphere.

Santa Ageda Bezpera

Saint Agatha's Eve is a traditional event taking place at the beginning of February or end of January in many spots of the Basque Country. It holds a small but cherished slot in the city's run-up to the Carnival. Groups dressed up in Basque traditional farmer costume march across the neighbourhood singing and wielding a characteristic stick beaten on the ground to the rhythm of the traditional Saint Agatha's tune. The singers ask for a small donation, which can be money, a drink or something to eat.

Caldereros

This is a local festival held on the first Saturday of February linked to the upcoming Carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

, where different groups of people dressed in Romani (Gypsy) tinkers attire take to the streets banging rhythmically a hammer or spoon against a pot or pan, and usually bar-hop while they sing the traditional songs for the occasion. They were just men voices some time ago, but women participate and sing currently too. The festival is 125 years old in 2009.

Santo Tomas

This popular festival takes place on the 21 December, a date frequently shrouded in winter cold. From early in the morning, stalls are arranged across the city centre and people from all Gipuzkoa flock to the streets of the centre and the Old Part, with crowds of people often dressed in traditional Basque "farmer" outfit turning out and filling the area. Traditional and typical produce is showcased and sold on the stalls, while the main drink is cider and the most popular snacks are txistorra (a type of thin, uncured chorizo) wrapped in talos (flatbread). A large pig is on display in the Konstituzio Plaza, which is raffled off during the festival.

Olentzero

As in other Basque cities, towns and villages, on Christmas Eve the Olentzero

Olentzero

Olentzero is a Basque Christmas tradition. According to Basque traditions Olentzero comes to town late at night on the 24th of December to drop off presents for children...

and the accompanying carol singers usually dressed in Basque farmer costume take over the streets, especially in the city centre, asking for small donations in bars, shops and banks after singing their repertoire. Sometimes Olentzero choirs roam around the streets in later dates, on the 31st for example, and are often related to cultural, social or political associations and demands.

Food

Donostia is renowned for its Basque cuisine. San Sebastián and its surrounding area is home to a high concentration of restaurants boasting Michelin stars

Michelin Guide

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...

, namely Arzak
Arzak
Arzak is a restaurant in San Sebastián, Spain. It features New Basque Cuisine. In 2008, Arzak's owner and chef, Juan Mari Arzak, was awarded the Universal Basque award for "adapting gastronomy, one of the most important traditions of the Basque Country, to the new times and making of it one of...

(San Sebastián), Berasategi (Lasarte), Akelarre (district Igeldo) or Mugaritz (Errenteria

Errenteria

Errenteria is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, North of Spain, near the French border. The river Oiartzun cuts its way through the town, one that has undergone severe pollution up to recent times on its lower...

) to mention but a few. Adding to these cooking highlights, the city features tasty snacks similar to tapas

Tapas

Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold or warm ....

called pintxos, which may be found at the bars of the Old Quarter.

It is also the birthplace of Basque gastronomical societies

Txoko

A Txoko is a typically Basque type of closed gastronomical society. Traditionally they are only open to male members who come together to cook, experiment with new ways of cooking, eat and socialise...

, with the oldest recorded mention of such a txoko back in 1870.

Sport

The principal football club in the city is Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...

. After two seasons in the Segunda División

Segunda División

The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...

, the club won promotion back to La Liga

La Liga

The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

after winning the 2009–10 Segunda División

2009–10 Segunda División

The 2009–10 Segunda División was made up of the following teams:-League table:||rowspan=15 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|-2009–10 Results:To read this table, the home team is listed in the left-hand column....

. Real Sociedad was one of the founding members of the top division in Spanish football, La Liga. They enjoyed a particularly successful period of history in the early 1980s when they were Spanish champions for two years running (1980–81, 1981–82). The city's Anoeta Stadium

Estadio Anoeta

Anoeta is a multi-purpose stadium in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Real Sociedad. In recent years, it has also been used for occasional Heineken Cup rugby union fixtures by nearby French club Biarritz Olympique...

is home stadium of Real Sociedad and also hosts rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

matches featuring Biarritz Olympique

Biarritz Olympique

Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...

or Aviron Bayonnais

Aviron Bayonnais

Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition...

.

Each summer the city is host to the well known bicycle race, the one-day Clásica de San Sebastián

Clásica de San Sebastián

The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa - Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián is a cycle race that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián, Spain...

(San Sebastián Classic). Bicycle racing is extremely popular in Spain, the Clásica de San Sebastián processional cycle race is held during early August. It has been held annually in San Sebastián since 1981. The race is part of the UCI ProTour

UCI ProTour

The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...

and was previously part of its predecessor the UCI World Cup

UCI World Cup

The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long road bicycle racing competition comprising ten one-day events. The competition was inaugurated in 1989, and replaced the Super Prestige Pernod International. In the first three years, the competition was sponsored by Perrier...

Famous people from San Sebastián

Luis Miguel Arconada Etxarri, (born 26 June 1954) is a former Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...

and Spain's team footballer, as goalkeeper.
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta Amatriain is a Spanish footballer who plays for Arsenal as a midfielder.Arteta started out as a trainee with FC Barcelona but could not break his way into the first team and was eventually loaned to Paris Saint-Germain in the French league...

, professional footballer, formerly of local team Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...

and Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

team Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

and now playing for English Premier League club Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

.
Serafin Baroja
Serafin Baroja
Serafín Baroja was a Basque writer and mining engineer who wrote popular Basque poetry and lyrics. He was the father of a trio of illustrious children who left a deep mark on the art and literature of twentieth century Spain...

(1840–1912), writer, Basque culture advocate and liberal. Father of Pio Baroja.
Pio Baroja
Pío Baroja
Pío Baroja y Nessi was a Spanish Basque writer, one of the key novelists of the Generation of '98. He was a member of an illustrious family, his brother Ricardo was a painter, writer and engraver, and his nephew Julio Caro Baroja, son of his younger sister Carmen, was a well known...

(1872–1956), writer belonging to the Generation of '98
Generation of '98
The Generation of '98 was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish-American War ....

.
Indalezio Bizkarrondo "Bilintx
Bilintx
Indalecio Bizcarrondo, also known as Bilintx was a Basque improvisational poet or bertsolari living in Spain, who wrote largely in the Basque language...

" (1831–1876), a romantic poet and bertsolari
Bertsolari
A bertsolari is a singer of bertso, a musical verse in Basque tradition. The bertolaris are often found in pairs, in which a topic is sung extemporaneously in verses alternatively, but they can stage solo or group verse sessions too. It is usually sung to a slow tempo with long or short verses and...

closely attached to the city. Died after being hit by Carlist
Carlist Wars
The Carlist Wars in Spain were the last major European civil wars in which contenders fought to establish their claim to a throne. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos and his descendants — rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and...

shelling.
Achille Broutin
Achille Broutin
Achille Broutin is a French fencing master and a collector of weapons, emigrated to Spain.-Biography:Achille Broutin is born in Metz in 1860. He is son of Emmanuel Broutin, fencing master and Marie-Louise Pasquier, dressmaker. C...

(1860–1918), fencer and collector of weapons.
Emmanuel Broutin
Emmanuel Broutin
Emmanuel Broutin is a French fencing master, sergeant of the imperial army, emigrated to Spain where he proceeded his career for the queen Isabella II of Spain before managing his fencing hall in Madrid.-Biography:...

(1826–1883), fencer.
Eduardo Chillida
Eduardo Chillida
Eduardo Chillida Juantegui, or Eduardo Txillida Juantegi in Basque, was a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his monumental abstract works.-Early life and career:...

(1924–2002), sculptor, notable for his monumental abstract works.
Rafael Echagüe y Bermingham, governor of Puerto Rico and Philippines.
Alfredo Goyeneche, president of Spanish Olympic committee.
Alberto Iglesias
Alberto Iglesias
Alberto Iglesias Fernández-Berridi is a Spanish composer. He wrote the music for several Spanish films, mostly from Pedro Almodóvar...

, music composer.
Jesús María de Leizaola, President of the Basque Government in exile after 1960.

Sir Gilbert Mackereth, British World War I hero, holder of Military Cross for gallantry. Retired to live in San Sebastián and died there 1962, interred at San Sebastián
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso
Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed...

, professional footballer born in Tolosa but raised in San Sebastián. Formerly of Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...

and Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

. Now plays for Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

. Part of the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

winning Spanish National Team.
Iker Martínez de Lizarduy Lizarribar
Iker Martinez
Iker Martinez de Lizarduy Lizarribar is a Spanish sailor and olympic champion...

, Olympic sailor.
Miguel Muñoa Pagadizabal, philanthropist.
Julio Medem
Julio Medem
Julio Médem is a Spanish writer and film director.Medem was born in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's Super 8 camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention...

, film director.
Mercedes Quesada Etxaide, mother of the former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
La Oreja de Van Gogh
La Oreja de Van Gogh
La Oreja de Van Gogh is a Latin Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated Spanish pop band from Donostia-San Sebastian. The name of the band refers to the famous post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh who cut off the lobe of his own ear...

, famous pop rock band.
Rebeca Linares
Rebeca Linares
Rebeca Linares is the stage name of a Spanish pornographic actress. Although born in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, she has lived for many years in Barcelona...

, Spanish pornographic actress
Duncan Dhu
Duncan Dhu
Duncan Dhu was a Spanish group created in San Sebastián, Spain in 1984. Its original members were Mikel Erentxun , Diego Vasallo and Juan Ramón Viles ....

, pop rock band
Alex Ubago
Álex Ubago
Álex Ubago is a Spanish singer-songwriter. He is especially known for his heartfelt voice and his ballads. He rose to stardom in 2001, when he appeared as a guest on a hit TV show in Spain. Alex started to tour national radios with his guitar to sing his songs live and be interviewed...

, pop songwriter and singer. Born in Vitoria but raised in San Sebastian.

Twin cities

Daira de Bojador

Daira de Bojador is a refugee camp in the Sahara desert, more specifically in the Tindouf region of South-Western Algeria, near the Mauritanian border.It is situated within the wilaya of Dakhla...

, Refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria

Refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria

The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps, set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War...

Marugame, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Trento

Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

Wiesbaden

Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

Reno, Nevada

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...

, United States of America

External links

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