The Izpegi Pass (, , ) is a 672 m high
Pyrenean mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...
located right on the border between
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, linking the
Baztan and Baigorri valleys in the
Basque Country. The river
Bidasoa
__NOTOC__
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 village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the province of Navar ...
, called Baztan on its upper stage, rises close by on the western side of the Iparla mountain range stretching out north to south. The name Izpegi applies also to a stream running on its eastern slopes.
The population nuclei closest to the saddle are the village of Erratzu (west) and
(east, Baigorri in
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 ...
). A sinuous narrow road that bears witness to a couple of Tour de France stages descends east to
, cutting its way through a spectacular grassy and giddy landscape.
The pass is frequented by hikers in order to gain access to the neighbouring mountain
Hautza
The Hautza or Autza, is a mountain on the Spanish side of the border in Navarre. It is located between Elizondo in Baztan (municipality), Baztan (Navarre, Spain) and Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry (Lower Navarre, France).
Geography
The Hautza is t ...
(1,306 m / 4,285 ft, waymarking all along) and other mounts of the ridgeline (Mount
Iparla). Since the mid-2000s, a modest
txalaparta
The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely relat ...
festival is held at the spot on the first Sunday of September, which has become a meeting point for the instrument's players, especially locals. Money raised at the food stall arranged was destined in 2009 to helping the
Basque language school of the neighbouring small town of
Baigorri.
History
A battle was fought at this location during the
War of the Pyrenees
The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenees, Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of History ...
on 3 June 1794. A 2,300-strong
republican French brigade led by
General of Brigade Lavictoire attacked the 1,000 Spanish and French royalist troops and drove them from the pass. The defenders, one battalion of the Spanish ''Zamora'' Infantry Regiment, three companies of the ''Aldudes'' Rifles, and the ''Légion Royal'' French
Émigré
An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate".
French Huguenots
Many French Huguenot ...
battalion, lost 94 killed and wounded, plus 307 captured. The French brigade, part of Jean Mauco's division of the
Army of the western Pyrenees, suffered an unknown number of casualties.
[Smith, p 83. Smith calls the action "Casa Fuorte".]
Footnotes
Sources
*
Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.
Mountain passes of Spain
Landforms of the Basque Country (autonomous community)
France–Spain border crossings
Mountain passes of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
{{PyrénéesAtlantiques-geo-stub