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Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral
autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...
and
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in northern
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 ...
, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community,
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
, and
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
in Spain and
New Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes in a territori ...
in
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 ...
. The capital city is
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
(). The present-day province makes up the majority of the territory of the medieval
Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...
, a long-standing Pyrenean kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost part,
Lower Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...
, located in the southwest corner of France. Navarre is in the transition zone between the green Cantabrian Coast and
semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...
interior areas and thus its landscapes vary widely across the region. Being in a transition zone also produces a highly variable climate, with summers that are a mix of cooler spells and heat waves, and winters that are mild for the latitude. Navarre is one of the historic Basque provinces: its
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 ...
features are conspicuous in the north, but virtually absent on the southern fringes. The best-known event in Navarre is the annual festival of San Fermín held in Pamplona in July.


Toponymy

The first documented use of a name resembling ''Navarra'', ''Nafarroa'', or ''Naparroa'' is a reference to ''navarros'', in Eginhard's early-9th-century chronicle of the feats of the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, describing his intrusion to the Ebro river. Bernardo Estornés Lasa's Spanish article on
Navarra
in the Auñamendi Entziklopedia (click on "NAVARRA – NAFARROA (NOMBRE Y EMBLEMAS)")
Other
Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...
feature . There are two proposed etymologies for the name. * Basque ''nabar'' (declined absolute
singular Singular may refer to: * Singular, the grammatical number that denotes a unit quantity, as opposed to the plural and other forms * Singular or sounder, a group of boar, see List of animal names * Singular (band), a Thai jazz pop duo *'' Singula ...
''nabarra''): "brownish", "multicolour" (i. e. in contrast to the green mountainous lands north of the original County of Navarre). * Basque ''naba'' (or Spanish ''nava''): "valley", "plain" + Basque ''herri'' ("people", "land"). The linguist Joan Coromines considers ''naba'' to be linguistically part of a wider Vasconic or
Aquitanian language The Aquitanian language was the language of the ancient Aquitani, a people living in Roman times between the Pyrenees, the Garonne river and the Atlantic Ocean. Epigraphic evidence for this language has also been found south of the Pyrenees, in ...
substrate, rather than Basque ''per se''. The official name in Basque is ', but the form '' "Upper Navarre"'' is also often seen, to distinguish the province from neighboring
Lower Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...
.


History


Antiquity

Before and during the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, the Vascones populated the southern slopes 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. ...
, including the area which would ultimately become Navarre. In the mountainous north, the Vascones escaped large-scale Roman settlement, except for some coastal areas—for example Oiasso (in what is now
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 ...
)—and the flatter areas to the south, Calagurris (in what is now La Rioja), which were amenable to large-scale Roman farming—vineyards, olives, and wheat crops. There is no evidence of battles fought or general hostility between Romans and Basques, as they had the same enemies.


Kingdom of Navarre

Neither the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...
nor the
Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
ever completely subjugated the area. The Vascones (to become the Basques) assimilated neighbouring tribes as of the 7th century AD. In the year 778, the Basques defeated a Frankish army at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Following the Battle of Roncevaux Pass (824), the Basque chieftain Iñigo Arista was elected King of Pamplona supported by the muwallad Banu Qasi of Tudela, establishing a Basque kingdom that was later called Navarre., p. 140-141. That kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Sancho III, comprising most of the Christian realms to the south of the Pyrenees, and even a short overlordship of
Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...
(in the early 11th century). When Sancho III died in 1035, the kingdom was divided between his sons. It never fully recovered its political power, while its commercial importance increased as traders and pilgrims ( the ''Francs'') poured into the kingdom via the Way of Saint James. In 1200, Navarre lost the key western Basque districts to Alphonse VIII of Castile, leaving the kingdom landlocked. Navarre then contributed with a small but symbolic force of 200 knights to the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 against the Almohads. The native line of kings came to an end in 1234; their heirs intermarried with French dynasties. However, the Navarrese kept most of their strong laws and institutions. The death of Queen Blanche I (1441) inaugurated a civil war period between the Beaumont and Agramont confederacies with the intervention of the Castilian-Aragonese House of Trastámara in Navarre's internal affairs. In 1512, Navarre was invaded by Ferdinand the Catholic's troops, with Queen Catherine and King John III withdrawing to the north of the Pyrenees, and establishing a Kingdom of Navarre- Béarn, led by Queen Joan III as of 1555. To the south of the Pyrenees, Navarre was annexed to the
Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...
in 1515, but kept a separate ambiguous status, and a shaky balance up to 1610— King Henry IV was ready to march over Spanish Navarre. A Chartered Government was established (the ''Diputación''), and the kingdom managed to keep home rule. Tensions with the Spanish government came to a head as of 1794, when Spanish premier Manuel Godoy attempted to suppress Navarrese and Basque self-government altogether, with the end of the
First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
(1839 – 1841) definitely bringing the kingdom and its home rule (''fueros'') to an end.


Province of Spain


Loss of home rule

After the 1839 Convention of Bergara
a reduced version of home rule (''fueros'')
was passed in 1839. However, the 184
Act for the Modification of Fueros
(later called the "Compromise Act", ''Ley Paccionada'') definitely made the kingdom into a province after a compromise was reached by the Spanish government with officials of the Provincial Council of Navarre. The relocation of customs from the Ebro river to the Pyrenees in 1841 prompted the collapse of Navarre's customary cross-Pyrenean trade and the rise of smuggling. Amid instability in Spain, Carlists took over in Navarre and the rest of the Basque provinces. An actual Basque state was established during the Third Carlist War with Estella as its capital (1872 – 1876), but King Alfonso XII's restoration in the throne of Spain and a counter-attack prompted the Carlist defeat. The end of the Third Carlist War saw a renewed wave of Spanish centralisation directly affecting Navarre. In 1893 – 1894 the '' Gamazada'' popular uprising took place centred in Pamplona against Madrid's governmental decisions breaching the 1841 chartered provisions. Except for a small faction (the so-called ''Alfonsinos''), all parties in Navarre agreed on the need for a new political framework based on home rule within the '' Laurak Bat'', the Basque districts in Spain. Among these, the Carlists stood out, who politically dominated the province, and resented an increased string of rulings and laws passed by Madrid, as well as left leaning influences. Unlike Biscay or Gipuzkoa, Navarre did not develop manufacturing during this period, remaining a basically rural economy.


Republic and military uprising

In 1932, a Basque Country'
separate statute
failed to take off over disagreements on the centrality of Catholicism, a scene of political radicalisation ensued dividing the leftist and rightist forces during the 2nd Spanish Republic (1931 – 1939). Thousands of landless labourers occupied properties of wealthy landowners in October 1933, leaving the latter eager for revenge. The most reactionary and clerical Carlists came to prominence, ideologues such as Víctor Pradera, and an understanding with General Mola paved the way to the Spanish Nationalist uprising in Pamplona (18 July 1936). The triumphant military revolt was followed by a terror campaign in the rearguard against blacklisted individuals considered to be progressive ("reds"), mildly republican, or just inconvenient. The purge especially affected southern Navarre along the Ebro banks, and counted on the active complicity of the clergy, who adopted the fascist salute and even involved in murderous tasks. The killing took a death toll of at least 2,857, plus a further 305 dying in prisons (ill-treatment, malnutrition). The dead were buried in mass graves or discarded into chasms abounding on the central hilly areas (Urbasa, etc.). Basque nationalists were also chased to a lesser extent, e.g. Fortunato Aguirre, a Basque nationalist and mayor of Estella (and co-founder of
Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...
Football Club), was executed in September 1936. Humiliation and silence ensued for the survivors. Pamplona became the rebel launching point against the Republic during the War in the North.


Post-war scene

As a reward for its support in 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 ...
(Navarre sided for the most part with the military uprising), Franco allowed Navarre, as it happened with
Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...
, to maintain during his dictatorship a number of prerogatives reminiscent of the ancient Navarrese liberties. The bleak post-war years were shaken by shortage, famine, and smuggling, with the economy relying on agriculture (wheat, vineyards, olive, barley), and a negative migration balance. The victors came to cluster around two main factions, Carlists and Falangists, while the totalitarian ultra-Catholic environment provided fertile grounds for another religious group, the Opus Dei, to found their University of Navarre (1952), ever more influential in Pamplona. The coming of the society of consumption and incipient economic liberalisation saw also the establishment of factories and workshops during the early 1960s (automobile manufacturing and accessories, etc.), especially around the overgrown capital. It was followed by labour and political unrest.


Tension during the Spanish transition

Officials and figures with good connections to the Navarrese regional government went on to join Adolfo Suárez's UCD, later splitting into the party UPN led by Jesús Aizpún Tuero (1979), refusing to join a democratic constitutional process on the grounds that Navarre's charters (or ''fueros'') remained in place. They also refused to join the Basque process to become an autonomous community, where recently legalised Basque nationalist and leftist parties held a majority. A continuation of the institutional framework inherited from the dictatorship and its accommodation into the Spanish democracy was guaranteed by the Betterment ("Amejoramiento"), a Navarre-only solution considered 'an upgrade' of its former status issued from the (remains of the) charters. In a three-year span, the Spanish Socialists in Navarre veered in their position, quit the Basque process, and joined the arrangement adopted for Navarre (Chartered Community of Navarre, 1982). The reform was not ratified by referendum, as demanded by Basque nationalist and minority leftist forces.


Politics


Institutions and status

After the end of Franco's dictatorship, Navarre became one of the 17
Autonomous Communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...
in Spain. The community ceremonies, education, and social services, together with housing, urban development, and environment protection policies are under the responsibility of Navarre's political institutions. As in the rest of the communities, Navarre has a
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
elected every four years, and the majority in this Parliament determines the president of the Community, who is in charge of Navarre's government. Unlike most other autonomous communities of Spain (but like the Basque Autonomous Community), Navarre has almost full responsibility for collecting and administering taxes which must follow the overall guidelines established by the Spanish government but may have some minor differences. The first 3 presidents of the community belonged to the extinct Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) party. After 1984 the government was ruled by either the
Socialist Party of Navarre The Socialist Party of Navarre (, ) is a regional branch of the mainstream Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the main centre-left party in Spain since the 1970s. History The party traces its history to the founding of a socialist support ...
(PSN – PSOE, one of the federative components of the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...
, main centre-left wing party in Spain) or the Navarrese People's Union (UPN) (a Navarrese party that had a long alliance with the People's Party (PP), main right-wing party in Spain). However, in 2015 Uxue Barkos ( Geroa Bai) became president with the support of
EH Bildu EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu (English language, English: 'Basque Country Gather' or 'Basque Country Unite'), is a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Basque nationalism, Basque nationalist and Separatism, pro-independence federation of poli ...
, Podemos and Izquierda-Ezkerra. She is the first Basque nationalist president in Navarre. Basque nationalist parties also represent a sizeable part of the vote (around 31% in the
2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...
), and a majority in most of the northern areas. Basque nationalist parties have as a key point in their agendas to merge Navarre into the Basque Autonomous Community by referendum (as predicted in the Spanish constitution). All Spain-based parties, as well as UPN and PSN, oppose this move.


Present-day political dynamics

Politics in Navarre have been marked by fierce rivalry between two blocs representing different national identities that are part of Navarre society: the pro-Basque EH Bildu and the Basque nationalist Geroa Bai parties, on the one side, and the institutional pro-Spanish parties, UPN, PP and PSN on the other. Parties on the pro-Basque spectrum demand further sovereignty in internal affairs of Navarre and closer relationship with the districts of the Basque Autonomous Community. Another 2013–2014 controversy refers to the alleged ideological profiling of public school Basque language teachers, billed as "
ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
supporting teachers". Since the establishment of Navarre's present status (the ''Amejoramiento'', the 'Betterment') in 1982, the successive regional governments ruled by UPN and PSN have been shaken by frequent political instability and corruption scandals, with UPN's Miguel Sanz's term being the most stable and longest, extending from 2001 to 2011. Between 2012 and 2014, a series of corruption scandals broke out involving regional president Yolanda Barcina and other regional government officials that included influence peddling, embezzlement, misappropriation of funds and mismanagement leading to the bankruptcy of Caja Navarra. By November 2012, the PSN—UPN's standing ally in Navarre up to that point—backed down on its support of UPN, but refused to impeach Yolanda Barcina or search new political alliances, leaving a deadlocked government. The regional president, widely questioned in Navarre as of 2012 and relying only on the PP central government's backup, went on to urge the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
to challenge several decisions made by the
Parliament of Navarre The Parliament of Navarre ( Spanish ''Parlamento de Navarra'', Basque ''Nafarroako Parlamentua'') or also known as ''Cortes de Navarra'' (in Spanish) or ''Nafarroako Gorteak'' (in Basque) is the Navarre autonomous unicameral parliament. Functi ...
. After the latest scandal and corruption allegations affecting a secretary of her cabinet (Lourdes Goicoechea, regional public finance secretary) in February 2014, the Spanish home office secretary Jorge Fernández Díaz stepped in warning leading members of PSN that "Navarre is strategic for Spain", and asserting that any other political alliance means "supporting ETA". The Justice secretary in Madrid Alberto Ruiz Gallardón in turn stated that "the worst political error is not corruption" but getting along with Bildu (a Basque pro-independence coalition). In May 2015, the elections for Navarre Parliament left a better result for pro-Basque parties, which managed to establish an alliance, Uxue Barkos from Geroa Bai being elected president of Navarre for the period 2015 – 2019. June 2019 elections, however, turned the tide, when rightist forces reunited in the platform Navarra Suma, made up of UPN, PP and Ciudadanos, and garnered 20 MPs, 40% of the seats in the Parliament of Navarre, although both Geroa Bai and EH Bildu increased their vote share. Following the election results, PSN's
María Chivite María Victoria Chivite Navascués (born 5 June 1978) is a Spanish politician who serves as the President of the Government of Navarre. She has been the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE) since December 2014. A mem ...
was elected president with the support provided by progressive forces, handing over Pamplona's council to Navarra Suma and explicitly excluding EH Bildu from any talks or alliances, but relying on its abstention for her inauguration. In December 2017, the Navarrese parliament passed a law splitting teachers aspiring to work in the state-run education network into two different professional categories, one for those qualified 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 ...
and Spanish, and another for Spanish monolinguals, so thwarting with the vote of Izquierda-Ezkerra (integrated in the regional government) the new progressive government's plan to have just one; the latter echoes a long-running demand of education unions. In July 2018, the Constitutional Court of Spain suspended the Far Right's and Civil Servants' Victims Act passed by the
Parliament of Navarre The Parliament of Navarre ( Spanish ''Parlamento de Navarra'', Basque ''Nafarroako Parlamentua'') or also known as ''Cortes de Navarra'' (in Spanish) or ''Nafarroako Gorteak'' (in Basque) is the Navarre autonomous unicameral parliament. Functi ...
in 2015. Three months later, the chief executive officer of the National Police in Navarre stepped down for the disclosure of a fake
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account he owned that praised Antonio Tejero, as well as Vox leader Santiago Abascal as a new Jose Antonio, also insulting a number of Catalan and Basque nationalist and leftist figures. In October 2019, the High Court of Navarre ruled against the public use of bilingual signalling and institutional announcements in Mixed-Speaking and Non-Basque Speaking areas, also proscribing the consideration of Basque as a merit in job positions, unless strictly needed; the judgement sparked an uproar among some parties in the coalition government of Navarre, as well as EH Bildu, but was saluted by the PSN and Navarra Suma.


Geography and climate

Navarre consists of 272
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
and has a total population of 601,874 (2006), of whom approximately one-third live in the capital,
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
(195,769 pop.), and one-half in the capital's metropolitan area (315,988 pop.). There are no other large municipalities in the region. The next largest are Tudela (32,802), Barañain (22,401), Burlada/Burlata (18,388), Estella-Lizarra (13,892), Zizur Mayor (13,197), Tafalla (11,040), Villava/Atarrabia (10,295), and Ansoáin/Antsoain (9,952). Despite its relatively small size, Navarre features stark contrasts in geography, from 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. ...
mountain range that dominates the territory to the plains of the Ebro river valley in the south. The highest point in Navarre is Mesa de los Tres Reyes, with an elevation of . Other important mountains are Txamantxoia, Kartxela, the Larra-Belagua Massif, Sierra de Alaiz, Untzueko Harria, Sierra de Leyre, Sierra del Perdón, Montejurra, Ezkaba, Monte Ori, Sierra de Codés, Urbasa, Andia, and the Aralar Range. In the north, climate is affected by the Atlantic Ocean leading an Oceanic west coast climate (Köppen: Cfb). Since the northernmost part of Navarre is less than 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 ...
, the northern fringes resemble
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 ...
. At central Navarre the summer precipitations start to lower, leading to a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa and Csb) At the southernmost part of Navarre the climate is cool semi-arid (Köppen: Bsk). This is also at a comparatively low elevation compared to most of the north, further pontentiating the hot summers in comparison to Pamplona and even more so the northern hilly and mountainous region. The sole official weather station of Navarre is located in Pamplona in its north-western corner and has summer highs of and lows of , while winter highs are and lows with moderate precipitation year-round.


Cultural heritage

Navarre is a mixture of its
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 ...
tradition, the Trans-Pyrenean influx of people and ideas and
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
influences coming from the
Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...
. The
Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...
valley is amenable to
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...
s,
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
, and even olive trees as in
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
and
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
. It was a part of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, inhabited by the Vascones, later controlled on its southern fringes by the Muslim Banu Qasi, whose authority was taken over by the
taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...
kingdom of Tudela in the 11th century. During the
Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
, Navarre gained little ground at the expense of the Muslims, since its southern boundary had already been established by the time of the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Starting in the 11th century, the Way of Saint James grew in importance. It brought pilgrims, traders and Christian soldiers from the north. Gascons and Occitans from beyond 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. ...
(called ''Franks'') received self-government and other privileges to foster settlement in Navarrese towns, and they brought their crafts, culture and
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
. Jews and Muslims were persecuted both north and south of Navarre, expelled for the most part during the late 15th century to the early 16th century. The kingdom struggled to maintain its separate identity in 14th and 15th centuries, and after King Ferdinand V forcibly conquered Navarre after the death of his wife Queen Isabella, he extended the Castilian expulsion and forcible integration orders applicable to and of 1492 to the former kingdom. Therefore, Tudela in particular could no longer serve as a refuge after the Inquisitors were allowed.


Economy

Navarre is one of the wealthiest regions in Spain per capita, with a diversified economy primarily focused on the energy sector,
healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...
services and
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
. The
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) of the autonomous community was 20.3 billion euros as of 2018, accounting for 1.7% of Spanish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 33,700 euros or 112% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 109% of the EU average. The unemployment rate stood at 10.2% in 2017 and was the lowest in the country.


Energy policy

Navarre leads Europe in its use of
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
technology and planned to reach 100% renewable electricity generation by 2010. By 2004, 61% of the region's electricity was generated by renewable sources consisting of 43.6% from 28
wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
s, 12% from over 100 small-scale water turbines, and 5.3% from 2
biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...
and 2
biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...
plants. In addition, the region had what was then Spain's largest photovoltaic power plant at Montes de Cierzo de Tudela (1.2 MWp capacity) plus several hundred smaller photovoltaic installations. Developments since 2004 have included further photovoltaic plants at Larrión (0.25 MWp) and another at Castejón (2.44 MWp), also once the largest in Spain.


Demography

In 2018, the Foral Community of Navarra ranked 15th as the most populous Autonomous Community in Spain with a population of 647,554 inhabitants, which at the time was a population density of 62.32 inhabitants/km2. The data of the population pyramid of 2010 can be summarized as follows: * The population under 20 years of age is 19.84% of the total. * The population between 20 and 40 years is 29.39%. * The population between 40 and 60 years is 27.98%. * The population older than 60 years is 22.78%.


Languages

Presently, Spanish is predominantly spoken in most of the autonomous community, except for north-eastern areas, where Basque continues to be the prevailing language. According to official statistics, Spanish is the mother tongue of 81.9% of the population, Basque is 5.7% of the population's mother tongue, and 3.8% of the population has both languages as their mother tongue while 6.1% of the population have another language as their mother tongue.


Language shift

The number of people that can speak Basque has increased in Navarre lately, after a steady historic retreat. In 2011, 13.6% of the population in Navarre considered themselves to be speakers of Basque and another 14.5% considered themselves semi-speakers of Basque. Historically, Basque is the ''lingua navarrorum'', as it appears in documents of the Middle Ages, such as a document by the king Sancho the Wise. The kingdom cemented its roots in the predominantly Basque-speaking domain of Pamplona and surrounding areas. In the midst of contemporary scholarly debates on the existence of Navarre and its laws prior to the king's authority, the Navarrese author Garcia de Gongora states as follows in 1626: José Moret, chronicler of the kingdom, called Navarre and its bordering provinces "the lands of Basque", claiming also that Tubal founded the Kingdom of Navarre. However, Basque underwent a gradual erosion, accelerated following the conquest of the kingdom in the early 16th century due to the homogenizing push of the new Castilian authorities and the neglect of its own elites, among other reasons. By 1778, 121,000 inhabitants out of 227,000 were Basque speakers, 53% of its population, still the largest amount of Basque speakers across all Basque territories. However, the number of speakers dropped sharply in the 19th century. In 1936, Basque speakers accounted for a 17% of the total Navarrese population. Other languages have been spoken, but have disappeared, such as Navarro-Aragonese, a Romance language that was spoken in the Middle Ages around the central part of the
Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...
basin. Starting in the late 11th century, the influx of pilgrims and colonizers from Toulouse and surrounding areas (''Francs'') who settled in separate boroughs along the Way of Saint James rendered Occitan the status language of the kingdom up to early 14th century. Navarro-Aragonese became the written language in court and royal administration by 1329, when it reached official status. However, from the 15th century onwards the language grew closer to Castilian ( Spanish) and eventually merged with it. Other languages which at some point held a status or were spoken in certain communities and periods are Erromintxela, French,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
, and
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
.


Linguistic division of the territory and legal consequences

According to the 1978 Spanish constitution and the Amejoramiento del Fuero, a Navarrese law establishing the basic institutional make-up of the chartered community of Navarre, Spanish is the official language of Navarre, while the
Basque language Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...
is also the official language in Basque-Speaking areas. Unlike any other statutes in the Spanish autonomous communities owning a regional language, the Amejoramiento omits citing Basque as a specific language of its people or its consideration as part of the Navarrese heritage. The Statutory Law of Basque of 1986 defined the above areas, creating the ''Basque-speaking zone'', an area in northern Navarre in which Basque is the co-official language along with Spanish. This law recognizes Spanish and Basque as Navarre's ''lenguas propias'' (i.e. 'native languages'), according to the Foral Law 18/1986 of Basque. This law divides Navarre into three linguistically distinct areas, a '' Basque-speaking zone'', where Basque is the dominant language, a '' Mixed-speaking zone'', where Basque and Spanish are both dominant, and a '' Non-Basque speaking zone'', where Spanish is the dominant language. In the latter, the public entities of Navarre are required to use only Spanish, but in the mixed area the use of Basque is also confined to certain position. The area of the municipalities belonging to the Basque-speaking and Mixed Basque and Spanish-speaking zones are the following: * Basque-speaking zone: Abaurrea Alta, Abaurrea Baja, Alsasua, Anué, Araiz, Aranaz, Arano, Araquil, Arbizu, Areso,
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
, Arive, Arruazu, Bacáicoa, Basaburúa Mayor, Baztán, Beinza-Labayen, Bertiz-Arana, Betelu, Burguete, Ciordia, Donamaría, Echalar, Echarri Aranaz, Elgorriaga, Erasun, Ergoyena, Erro, Esteríbar, Ezcurra, Garayoa, Garralda, Goizueta, Huarte-Araquil, Imoz, Irañeta, Ituren, Iturmendi, Lacunza, Lantz, Larráun, Leiza, Lesaca, Oiz, Olazagutía, Orbaiceta, Orbara, Roncesvalles, Saldías, Santesteban, Sumbilla, Ulzama, Urdax, Urdiáin, Urroz de Santesteban, Valcarlos, Vera de Bidasoa, Villanueva de Aézcoa, Yanci, Zubieta and Zugarramurdi. Later, two more municipalities would be added that came from the Basque-speaking zone: Lecumberri and Irurzun. * Mixed-speaking zone: Abárzuza, Ansoáin, Aoiz, Arce, Atez, Barañáin, Burgui, Burlada, Ciriza, Cendea de Cizur, Echarri, Echauri, Valle de Egüés, Ezcároz, Esparza de Salazar, Estella, Ezcabarte, Garde, Goñi, Güesa, Guesálaz, Huarte, Isaba, Iza, Izalzu, Jaurrieta, Juslapeña, Lezáu, Lizoáin, Ochagavía, Odieta, Oláibar, Olza, Ollo, Oronz, Oroz-Betelu,
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
, Puente la Reina, Roncal, Salinas de Oro, Sarriés, Urzainqui, Uztárroz, Vidángoz, Vidaurreta, Villava, Yerri, Zabalza and Zizur Mayor. As a consequence of the constitution of new municipalities, other municipalities would be added: Berrioplano, Berriozar, Orcoyen and Zizur Mayor. Moreover, in 2010 a legal modification granted four municipalities of Cuenca de Pamplona the power of incorporating into the ''Mixed-speaking zone'' if the absolute majority decided to be incorporated into the ''Mixed-speaking zone''. Aranguren, Belascoáin and Galar decided to be incorporated into the ''Mixed-speaking zone'' while Noáin decided to remain in the ''Basque-speaking zone''. One modification to the law implemented in June 2017 allowed municipalities from the ''Non-Basque speaking zone'' to become a part of the ''mixed zone 44'' ( Abáigar, Adiós, Aibar, Allín, Améscoa Baja, Ancín, Añorbe, Aranarache, Arellano, Artazu, Bargota, Beriáin, Biurrun-Olcoz, Cabredo, Dicastillo, Enériz, Eulate, Gallués, Garínoain, Izagaondoa, Larraona, Leoz, Lerga, Lónguida, Mendigorría, Metauten, Mirafuentes, Murieta, Nazar, Obanos, Olite, Oteiza, Pueyo, Sangüesa, Tafalla, Tiebas, Tirapu, Unzué, Ujué, Urraúl Bajo, Urroz-Villa, Villatuerta, Cirauqui and Zúñiga) and for Atez to pass from the ''Mixed-speaking zone'' to the ''Basque-speaking zone.'' * Non-Basque-speaking zone: This zone is composed of the remaining municipalities that are located predominantly towards the Southeast of the foral community where the Basque language is not commonly spoken by the population. However, more people have been speaking Basque in these communities and in present day, there are municipalities in which 10% of their inhabitants are bilingual or semi-bilingual in Basque and Spanish such as in Tafalla, Sangüesa and Lumbier. In comparison, in Tafalla or Sanguesa's population those that speak or understand Basque well are 5% of the population or 10% en Lumbier. In other localities with ikastolas such as in Fontellas, Lodosa and Viana the bilingual population is around 2% and 8%, while those that speak or understand Basque well are 1% in Fontellas, 2% in Lodosa and 5% in Viana. Since 2006-2007 the schools that teach Basque in the ''Non-Basque speaking zone'' are assisted by the Department of Education of the government of Navarre.


Denomination of local entities

The official denomination of Navarran municipalities and villages are regulated according to the ''Foral Basque Law.'' It distinguishes three different types of formulas: * Unique denominations: the use of Basque in legal documents is the same when compared with Spanish independently. Examples: Lantz or Beintza-Labaien. * Compounded denominations: They have a unique denomination formula formed from the Spanish and Basque toponyms in Spanish or Basque and are united by the symbol "-" or "/". Its use (the compounded denomination) is the same in Spanish as in Basque. Examples: Doneztebe/Santesteban, Orreaga/Roncesvalles, Estella-Lizarra. * Double denominations: The toponym, in Basque or Spanish is dependent on the language and how it is used in the text. Examples: Pamplona <> Iruña, Villava <> Atarrabia, Aibar <> Oibar.


Basque dialects in Navarre

Basque in Navarre has various dialects (there are nine according to the classification of the General Basque Dictionary or the Royal Academy of the Basque Language). According to the most recent classification of Koldo Zuazo, the most widespread dialect is Upper Navarrese, spoken in the northern part of Navarre. In localities such as Basaburua Mayor, Imoz and other localities bordering Gipuzkoa, the dialect of Central Basque is spoken and in the central part of the Pyrenees in Navarre a variety of Navarro-Lapurdian is spoken. On the east of the Pyrenees in Navarre, the Roncalese and Salazarese dialects of Basque used to be spoken in the valleys of Roncal and Salazar, but they disappeared near the end of the twentieth century; the last person who spoke the Roncalese dialect died in 1991 and in Salazar the language also disappeared because the last person who spoke it fluently died during the first years of the twenty-first century. Apart from dialects, sub-dialects from Basque also exist and there are also differences in vocabulary in local linguistic communities.


Linguistic traits of the Spanish spoken in Navarre

There are a number of features of Spanish as spoken in Navarre that are either exclusive to the area or shared only with neighbouring areas (mainly Aragón and
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
), such as the predominance of the
diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
with ''-ico'' or the use of the conditional verb tense in place of the preterite of the subjunctive (for example, using ''podría'' instead of ''pudiera''). There are also differences in the vocabulary of Spanish speakers from Navarre, including the presence of words of Basque origin, which is in some cases due to a Basque substrate, or long-standing contact and commercial exchanges with areas of Navarre in which Basque is spoken. File:Chupinazo8.jpg, Sanfermines in Pamplona, Navarre File:Ioaldunak 001.jpg, Joaldun feast in January


See also

*
Basque Country (greater region) The Basque Country (; ; ) is the name given to the home of the Basque people.Larry Trask, Trask, R.L. ''The History of Basque'' Routledge: 1997 The Basque Country is located in the western Pyrenees, straddling the border between France and Spa ...
*
Basque language Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...
* Basque Country * Caja Navarra *
Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...
* Kings of Navarre *
Lower Navarre Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...
* Navarrese nationalism *
History of Pamplona The history of Pamplona as a city goes back to the 1st millennium BC, 1st millennium B.C. when a settlement of Vascones named ''Iruña'' existed. However, traces of human occupation of the area date back 75,000 years. In the Ancient Rome, Roman e ...
* Nueva Navarra *
Parliament of Navarre The Parliament of Navarre ( Spanish ''Parlamento de Navarra'', Basque ''Nafarroako Parlamentua'') or also known as ''Cortes de Navarra'' (in Spanish) or ''Nafarroako Gorteak'' (in Basque) is the Navarre autonomous unicameral parliament. Functi ...
* Renewable energy in the European Union


Notes


References


External links


Official website
(in Basque/English/French/Spanish)
History of Navarre

(LAS BARDENAS, CAVERN, GROTTE VALTIERRA, CUEVAS DE VALTIERRA)

Bardenas Reales desert (Navarra)


*   *

{{Authority control NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union States and territories established in 1982 Regions of Europe with multiple official languages Autonomous communities of Spain 1982 establishments in Spain