Irun (, ) is a town of the
Bidasoaldea region in the province of
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...
in the
Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient
Oiasso, cited as a
Roman-
Vasconic town.
During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, the city was site of the 1936
Battle of Irun, which ended with a strategic victory for the
Nationalist forces.
Geography and transport
One of the biggest towns in Gipuzkoa, its location on the
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
between Spain and France, across the
Bidasoa river from
Hendaye,
[ has made Irun into a commercial and logistic centre. Irun railway station is a major break-of-gauge where the ]SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
rails
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
* Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' (1967 fi ...
meet the broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
Renfe ones.
Currently Irun has a fairground with a modern exhibition and telecommunication facilities, just some 100 metres away from the actual border at the Santiago Bridge (river Bidasoa).
Irun is part of the conurbation of Txingudi bay with Hondarribia and Hendaye; the town is also within the area of the Eurocité Basque Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
-San Sebastián
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
, a European economic interest grouping. ( fr)
Culture and tourism
One of its main festivals is the Alarde de San Marcial, a parade recreating an episode of the Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
, held every year on 30 June.
There are hot mineral springs in the town.[
]
Sports
The town is home to one of Europe's top handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
teams, CD Bidasoa, who play at the Artaleku Udal Kiroldegia.
Its football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club is Real Unión who play in the third tier, and are based at Stadium Gal. There is a in the seventh tier.
Climate
Irun has an oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
courtesy of strong maritime moderation from the 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 Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...
. Rainfall is frequent year-round since Irun is on the windward side of the Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
. Rain often falls in high quantities on individual days with falling on just 138 days.[
]
People from Irun
* Manuel Anatol (8 May 1903 – 17 May 1990) was a naturalized French professional football player.
* Ramón Iribarren (1900 - 1967), Engineer who made notable contributions in the field of coastal engineering.
* Tirso de Olazábal y Lardizábal (1842–1921), Carlist politician
* Juan Olazábal Ramery (1860–1937), Carlist politician
* Luis Mariano, singer.
* Amaia Montero, singer.
* Fermin Muguruza, singer.
* Alberto Górriz, footballer.
* Alberto López Fernández, footballer.
* Iñaki Descarga, footballer.
* Javier Garrido, footballer.
* Javier Irureta, footballer.
* Javier Yubero, footballer.
* Luis Regueiro
Luis Regueiro Pagola ( 1 July 1908 – 6 December 1995), sometimes nicknamed ''Corso'', was a football (soccer), footballer, and an Olympian from the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country in the north of Spain who played as a Forward ...
, footballer.
* Patricio Arabolaza, footballer.
* Oier Olazábal, footballer.
* Sergio Francisco, footballer.
* Juan Manuel Gárate, cyclist.
* Basilio Sánchez Beguiristáin, mayor of the Chilean commune of Pichilemu
Pichilemu (, ), originally known as Pichilemo, is a beach resort cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in central Chile, and capital of Cardenal Caro Province in the O'Higgins Region. The commune comprises an urban centre and tw ...
.
* Kortatu, punkrock band
* Menchu Gal, painter
* , reporter
* Leontxo García, chess player & commentator for the El País
(; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...
newspaper
* Mari Jose Urruzola, educator, feminist, writer
References
External links
Irun municipal government website
Lakaxita gaztetxea
{{Authority control
Vascones
Bidasoaldea
France–Spain border crossings
Municipalities in Gipuzkoa