Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the

Bidasoaldea Bidasoaldea ( eu, Bidasoaldea, es, Bajo Bidasoa) is one of the eight eskualdeak/comarcas of Gipuzkoa, Basque Autonomous Community, corresponding to the basin of the lower Bidasoa extending in Gipuzkoan soil and named after the river, in Spain. ...

region in the province of

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) 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 depa ...

in the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Autonomous Community, Spain.

History

It lies on the foundations of the ancient

Oiasso Oiasso,Ptolemy, 2, 6, 10 OiasonaStrabo, Geographia III, 4, 10. The Casaubonus editions of 1587 and 1620 write ''Oídasoûna'', corrected by Adolf Schulten to ''Oíasoûna''. or OiarsoPliny, 3, 29 was a Basque Roman town located on the left bank ...

, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, the city was site of the 1936 Battle of Irun, which ended with a strategic victory for the Nationalist forces.

Location and transport

One of the biggest towns in Gipuzkoa, its location on the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

between Spain and France, across the

Bidasoa __NOTOC__ The Bidasoa (, ; french: Bidassoa, ) 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 village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the p ...

river from

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Irun railway station Irun is a railway station in Irun, Basque Country, Spain. The station is located on the Bordeaux - Irun, Bilbao - Hendaye and Madrid–Hendaye railway lines. The station is served by TGV (high speed trains) operated by the SNCF and Alvia (Hig ...

is a major

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

where the SNCF

rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

meet the broad gauge 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

). Irun is part of the conurbation of Txingudi bay with Hondarribia and

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Bayonne- San Sebastián, 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 (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, held every year on 30 June. There are hot mineral springs in the town.

Sport

The town is home to one of Europe's top handball team

CD Bidasoa CD Bidasoa Irun is a team of handball based in Irún, Spain. It plays in Liga ASOBAL. History The Basque club was founded in 1962. Five years after its foundation, CD Bidasoa managed to get promoted to the second division and after the 1969 ...

, who play at the Pabellón Polideportivo Artaleku. Its football club is Real Unión who play in the third tier, and are based at Stadium Gal.

Climate

Irun has an oceanic climate courtesy of strong maritime moderation from the Bay of Biscay. Rainfall is frequent year-round since Irun is on the windward side of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. 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 Fermin Muguruza (born 20 April 1963) is a Basque rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, record label manager, and co-founder of the ska punk band Kortatu, active from 1983 to 1988, and of the crossover group Negu Gorriak, active from 1990 ...

, singer. *

Alberto Górriz Alberto Górriz Echarte (born 16 February 1958) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender. His main asset was his heading ability, and he often scored from set pieces. He spent his entire career with Re ...

, footballer. * Alberto López Fernández, footballer. * Iñaki Descarga, footballer. * Javier Garrido, footballer. * Javier Irureta, footballer. * Javier Yubero, footballer. * Luis Regueiro, footballer. *

Patricio Arabolaza Patricio Arabolaza Aranburu (17 March 1893 – 12 March 1935) was a Spanish football player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He is best known for scoring the first goal in the history of the Spain national team. Club career Born in Ir ...

, footballer. *

Oier Olazábal Oier Olazábal Paredes (born 14 September 1989), known simply as Oier, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for FC Andorra. Club career Barcelona Born in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Oier arrived in FC Barcelona's ...

, footballer. * Sergio Francisco, footballer. * Juan Manuel Gárate, cyclist. * Basilio Sánchez Beguiristáin, mayor of the Chilean commune of Pichilemu. * Kortatu, punkrock band *

Menchu Gal Carmen Gal Orendain, better known as Menchu Gal, ( Irún, Guipúzcoa, 7 January 1919 – San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, 12 March 2008) was a Spanish painter from the Basque Country. Her work in landscapes and portraits made her famous with her pe ...

, painter * , reporter * Leontxo García, chess player & commentator for the El País newspaper Junkaleko Andre Mariaren eliza Irun 2006

References

External links

Irun municipal government website

Lakaxita gaztetxea
{{Authority control Vascones