Pamplona

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For other meanings, see Pamplona (disambiguation).

Pamplona (Basque: Iruñea or Iruña) is the capital city of Navarre, Spain. It has a population of 171,150, and is 92 kilometres from the town of San Sebastian, and 407 kilometres northwest of Madrid. From the 9th century up to the 12th century, Navarrese country was known as the Kingdom of Pamplona. Iruñea is the Basque name proposed by the Royal Academy of the Basque Language, but the Basque name recognized by the Government of Navarre is Iruña, "the city".

For the basque nationalism,Pamplona or Iruñea is the historical capital city of the Basque Country(Euskal Herria in basque).

The historical center of Pamplona is on the right bank of the Arga, a tributary of the Ebro. The city is famous for the San Fermín festival, on July 7, in which the The running of the bulls or encierro is one of the main attractions. Ernest Hemingway made this local fiesta of Pamplona world-famous in The Sun Also Rises (1926). He was honored by having a street in the city named after him, Avenida de Hemingway. Three-quarters of Pamplona's city walls remain as they were rebuilt in the sixteenth century.

The area south of Pamplona is warm, dry, arid and very similar to the landscape found in parts of Castile. Northwards, however, it is cool and dry and very similar to the landscape of Aquitaine's forest. The city itself is very green: together with the old section of the city, which hosts the San Fermín festival, with its cobbled streets, it is a pleasant tourist destination.

1 History
2 Demography
3 Sports
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Located at an altitude of 444 m above sea level on a hill overlooking the Arga River and overlooking the surrounding valley, Pamplona has been populated for more than 2,000 years. In the winter of 74-75 BCE, the area served as a camp for the Roman general Pompey. He is considered to be the founder of Pompaelo also noted as Pompelo (Πομπελών, Ptol. ii. 6. § 67; Strabo iii. p. 161, who makes the name equivalent to Pompaeopolis Πομπηιόπολις), which became Pamplona. It was the chief town of the Vascones in the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis, on the road from Asturica (modern Astorga) to Burdigala (modern Bordeaux) (Antonine Itinerary p. 455), and a civitas stipendiaria in the jurisdiction of Caesaraugusta (modern Zaragoza). (Pliny the Elder iii. 3. s. 4.)

By the 2nd century, Pamplona was a significant Roman town with a forum and baths. From 409, however, Pamplona was controlled by the Visigoths; it was conquered by the Franks under Childebert in 542 and served as an episcopal see from the end of the seventh century. From the eighth century, it was run by the Moors. After his expedition to Zaragoza in 778, Charlemagne tore down the defensive walls surrounding Pamplona.

In 781 Abd ar-Rahman I reconquered the city. Destroyed by Abd ar-Rahman III in 924, Pamplona was reduced to a small country village.

By the 11th century, Pamplona benefitted from pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, and gave rise to new city areas beside the original Navarreria site: the "Burgo de San Cernin", supported by the Kingdom of Navarre and mainly inhabited by Franks (term used to address "foreigners", irrespective of their real nationality) and merchants, and the village of "San Nicolás". These three independent towns, being placed so close together, were almost always engaged in quarrels among themselves, until the King of Navarre Charles III the Noble united all of them into the single city of today by the "Privilegio de la Unión" signed in 1423.

In 1512 southern Navarra was invaded and assimilated by the Kingdom of Castile and became an autonomous kingdom, with its own institutions and laws, but ruled by the King of Castile first and later by the King of Spain. Northern Navarra, the Merindad of Ultrapuertos, was occupied -and later assimilated- by France. The Basilica de S. Ignacio commemorates the spot where Ignatius Loyola was wounded in defending the place against André de Foix in 1521. The citadel, south-west of the city, was reconstructed by order of Philip II; Pamplona became a fortress on the edge of the Pyrenees. During the 18th century, several beautiful palaces were built in the capital of Navarra such as the Casa Consistorial or Town Hall in 1752. The neoclassic facade of the Cathedral was undertaken to designs of Ventura Rodriguez in 1783.

The city did not escape the regional wars of the 19th century. During Napoleonic Wars French troops occupied the city in 1808 and remained in it until 1813. During the Carlist Wars (1833, 1872) Pamplona supported the Isabelian monarchy, as opposed to rural Navarra which fought in favor of the pretender to the throne, Don Carlos.

Pamplona has maintained the medieval layout of the town and its star fort, but the rural center of about 28,886 in 1900 has expanded to include suburbs. The city is home to two universities: the Universidad de Navarra, founded in 1952 by Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer and is a Corporate Work of Opus Dei, and the Universidad Pública de Navarra, created by the government of Navarra in 1987. There is also a local branch of the UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia).

Pamplona has been listed as a city with one of the best standards of living in Spain. In 2003, the population was 183,000 showing an increase because of immigration, especially from South America. Pamplona is well urbanized and some of the suburb towns include Barañáin, Burlada, Cizur Mayor, Cizur Menor, Villava and Gorraiz. Residents benefit from well-organized public buses called villavesas. Much employment is based at the Volkswagen factory located in Landaben.

[edit] Demography

Demographic evolution of Pamplona between 1991 and 2004
1991	1996	2001	2004
180,372	166,279	183,964	191,865

[edit] Sports

CA Osasuna is the local football team. Their home stadium is called Estadio Reyno de Navarra, known as El Sadar until January, 2006.

Pamplona's bull ring was rebuilt in 1923. It seats 19,529.

Other popular sports with some of the top clubs in Pamplona include handball (Portland San Antonio, Europe's championship winner 2001), futsal (MRA Xota) and water polo (Larraina).

Pamplona's favourite son may well be Miguel Indurain, five time Tour de France winner.

Pamplona is also home to the headquarters of the Federacion Internaciona de Pelote Vasca (FIPV). Pelote Basque is principally practiced in France, Spain, and South America.