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 de ...

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 c ...

Autonomous Community, Spain.

History

It lies on the foundations of the ancient

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

, cited as a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

Vasconic The Vasconic languages (from Latin 'Basque') are a putative family of languages that includes Basque and the extinct Aquitanian language. The extinct Iberian language is sometimes putatively included. The concept of the Vasconic languages is ...

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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, 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 bo ...

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 pro ...

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 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 , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

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 es, fuenterribense , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Basque, Spanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , t ...

and

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

- 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 Spai ...

, 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 1 ...

, who play at the

Pabellón Polideportivo Artaleku Pabellón Polideportivo Artaleku is an arena in Irun, Spain. It is primarily used for team handball and is the home arena of CD Bidasoa. The arena holds 2,200 people. Handball venues in Spain Indoor arenas in Spain Sports venues in th ...

. Its football club is

Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF ...

who play in the third tier, and are based at

Stadium Gal Stadium Gal is a football stadium in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. It is owned by Real Unión, currently in Segunda División B. The capacity of the stadium is 5,500 spectators. The stadium is located on the left bank of the Bidasoa r ...

Climate

Irun has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

courtesy of strong maritime moderation from the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. 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 Luis Mariano Eusebio González García (13 August 1914 – 14 July 1970), also known as Luis Mariano, was a popular tenor of Spanish origin who achieved celebrity in 1946 with "La belle de Cadix" ("The Beautiful Lady of Cadix") an operetta by F ...

, singer. *

Amaia Montero Amaia Montero Saldías (; born 26 August 1976) is a Spanish singer and songwriter mainly known as the former vocalist of the Spanish pop-band La Oreja de Van Gogh between 1996 and 2007. Amaia has sung in a variety of languages, including Basqu ...

, 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, footballer. *

Alberto López Fernández Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Al ...

, footballer. *

Iñaki Descarga Iñaki Descarga Retegui (born 25 August 1976) is a Spanish former footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also operate as a right back. He started and ended his 16-year professional career with Real Unión, but played mainly for Levante ...

, footballer. * Javier Garrido, footballer. * Javier Irureta, footballer. *

Javier Yubero Francisco Javier Yubero Solanilla (21 January 1972 – 22 September 2005) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Football career Born in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Yubero made his professional debut with Real Sociedad in 1991–92, playing i ...

, 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, footballer. * Sergio Francisco, footballer. *

Juan Manuel Gárate Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (born 24 April 1976 in Irun) is a Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for the team. He is perceived to be a climbing specialist, and to date his greatest achievements have been in the Giro d'Italia, ...

, cyclist. *

Basilio Sánchez Beguiristáin Basilio is a name of Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese origin. It is a cognate of the English name Basil. The name may refer to: Given name *Basilio Augustín (1840–1910), Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines briefly in 1898 *Basilio Badil ...

, mayor of the Chilean commune of

Pichilemu Pichilemu (, ), originally known as Pichilemo, is a beach resort city and commune in central Chile, and capital of Cardenal Caro Province in the O'Higgins Region. The commune comprises an urban centre and twenty-two villages, including Cirue ...

. *

Kortatu Kortatu was a Basque ska punk band from the Basque Autonomous Community formed in Irun in the summer of 1984. Kortatu was born in the context of the first democracy years in Spain in 1984. They had a big significance for left-wing basque n ...

, punkrock band * Menchu Gal, painter * , reporter *

Leontxo García Leontxo García Olasagasti (born February 12, 1956, in Irún, Guipúzcoa) is a Spanish lecturer, presenter, commentator and journalist specialized in chess. Biography Leontxo García got into chess relatively late: he learned to play at school, ...

, chess player & commentator for the

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' 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 . ''El ...

newspaper

Junkaleko Andre Mariaren eliza Irun 2006

References

External links

Irun municipal government website

Lakaxita gaztetxea
{{Authority control Vascones