Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John

t the T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

Foot of hePass"; ; ; ) is a commune in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean foothills. The town is the old capital of the traditional

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 ...

province of

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 ...

. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the second most popular starting point of the

French Way The French Way (, , ) follows the GR 65 and is the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James (), the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. It runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of th ...

(Camino Francés). It is a member of

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (, ) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of 2024, it numbers 176 member villages (independent Communes of France, ''communes'' or part ...

(The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.

Geography

The town lies on the river

Nive The Nive (; ; ) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by the ''Le petit Nicol ...

, from the Spanish border, and is the head town of the region of

Basse-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 ...

(Lower Navarre in English) and was classified among the Most Beautiful Villages of France in 2016. The Pays de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, also called Pays de Cize (

Garazi Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John

Foot of hePass"; ; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean f ...

), is the region surrounding Saint-Jean-Pied-Port. The town's layout is essentially one main street with

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

walls encircling. It is about by air and on road away from

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 capital of

Upper Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. T ...

, across the Spanish border.

Neighbouring towns and villages

* Saint-Jean-le-Vieux *

Ossès Ossès (; )ORTZAIZE

* Baigorri *

Estérençuby Estérençuby (; )EZTERENZUBI
Ispoure * Uhart-Cize *

Arnéguy Arnéguy (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in southwestern France. The village is an important stopping point on the road between Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Pamplona, Spain, as i ...

Luzaide/Valcarlos Luzaide (Spanish: Valcarlos; official name Luzaide/Valcarlos) is a town in Navarre, northern Spain, located on the French border and just a few kilometers from the road frontier in the French village of Arnéguy. Tradition holds that this is the ...

(Spain)

History

The original town at nearby Saint-Jean-le-Vieux was razed to the ground in 1177 by the troops of

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

after a siege. The Kings of Navarre refounded the town on its present site shortly afterwards. The town was thereafter a town of the

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 ...

, and the seat of the sheriff of the

district ("merindad" of ''Ultrapuertos'' or ''Deça-Ports''). It remained as such up to the period of the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...

(1512-1528) when King

Henry II of Navarre Henry II (Spanish: ''Enrique II''; Basque: ''Henrike II''; 18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555), nicknamed ''Sangüesino'' because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of t ...

decided to transfer the seat of the royal institutions to Saint Palais (Donapaleu) on safety grounds. In 1998, the ''Porte St-Jacques'' (city gate) was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s as part of the sites along the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. PorteSaint-Jacques

Camino de Santiago

ImageSize=width:270 height:300 PlotArea=left:60 bottom:75 top:10 right:16 AlignBars=justify Period=from:0 till:7000 TimeAxis=orientation:horizontal Colors= id:gray value:gray(0.5) id:line1 value:gray(0.9) id:line2 value:gray(0.7) ScaleMajor=unit:year increment:2000 start:0 gridcolor:line2 ScaleMinor=unit:year increment:2000 start:0 gridcolor:line1 BarData= bar:January text:January bar:February text:February bar:March text:March bar:April text:April bar:May text:May bar:June text:June bar:July text:July bar:August text:August bar:September text:September bar:October text:October bar:November text:November bar:December text:December PlotData= color:tan1 width:10 bar:January from:start till:130 text: bar:February from:start till:165 text: bar:March from:start till:274 text: bar:April from:start till:1783 text: bar:May from:start till:6232 text: bar:June from:start till:5713 text: bar:July from:start till:2886 text: bar:August from:start till:2229 text: bar:September from:start till:2723 text: bar:October from:start till:5302 text: bar:November from:start till:1427 text: bar:December from:start till:280 text: TextData= pos:(50,37) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Number of pilgrims who started TextData= pos:(50,20) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:their journey in SJPdP (2024) TextData= pos:(50,3) textcolor:gray fontsize:M text:Source: oficinadelperegrino.com

The town has traditionally been an important point on the Way of St. James, the

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

, as it stands at the base of the

Roncevaux Pass Roncesvalles Pass, Ronceval Pass or Roncevaux Pass (; ; ; elevation 1057 m) is a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees near the border between France and Spain. The pass itself is entirely in Spain. Location The pass is located between the towns of ...

across 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. ...

. ''Pied-de-Port'' means 'foot of the pass' in Pyrenean French. The routes from Paris,

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

and

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France. Located near the rive ...

meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and it was the pilgrims' last stop before the arduous mountain crossing. In 2024 over 32,000 pilgrims headed from this town in the direction of Santiago de Compostela. Out of all people on the French Way who got the certificate of accomplishment about 14% started in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Most pilgrims who started in this town arrive in Santiago in May, June and October. 91% of people did the pilgrimage on foot and 7% by bike. In contrast to

Sarria Sarria is a municipality in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Sarria. Sarria is the most populous town on the French Way in Galicia, with 13,700 inhabitants and the m ...

, starting from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is mainly popular among foreigners comprising a wide mix of nationalities: The most pilgrims are US-Americans (16.8%), South Koreans (13.5%) and Italians (9.5%). People from Spain rank fourth.

Main sights

The cobbled rue de la Citadelle runs down hill and over the river from the fifteenth century Porte St-Jacques to the Porte d'Espagne by the bridge. From the bridge, there are views of the old houses with balconies overlooking the Nive. Many of the buildings are very old, built of pink and grey

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

, and retain distinctive features, including inscriptions over their doors. One, a bakery, lists the price of wheat in 1789. St-Jean-Panorama-2010

The 14th-century red schist Gothic church, Notre-Dame-du-Bout-du-Pont, stands by the Porte d'Espagne. The original was built by Sancho the Strong of Navarre to commemorate the 1212

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the Spain in the Middle Ages, medieval history of Spain. The Christian ...

where Moorish dominance of Spain was undermined. Above the town at the top of the hill is the

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

, remodelled by Vauban in the 17th century. Outside the walls is a new town, with the Hôtel de Ville and a '' pelota'' fronton. File:SJPP-postcard.jpg, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the early 20th century File:SJPP-pilota.jpg, '' pelota'' fronton. File:SJPP-station.jpg, The train station. File:La Nive à St Jean-Pied-de-Port (Pays Basque) - Fonds Ancely - B315556101 A MALBOS 2 013.jpg, the

in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in 1843, by Eugène de Malbos.

Economy

Traditional crafts and foods remain in the town, including Basque linen from the Inchauspé family since 1848. The town is now an important tourist centre for the

and the French Basque country and there are shops, restaurants and hotels. St-Jean-Pied-de-Port specializes in sheep's milk cheese, like the

Ossau-Iraty Ossau-Iraty () is a Basque cheese made from sheep's milk. Origin Ossau-Iraty or Esquirrou is produced in south-western France, in the Northern Basque Country and in Béarn. Its name reflects its geographical location, the Ossau Valley in Béarn ...

AOP cheese, artisanal trout breeding and piperade omelette with peppers and Bayonne ham. Mondays see a large market, with sheep and cattle driven into the town. At 5pm, there is a communal game of bare-handed pelote at the fronton. There are large fairs four times a year.

Transportation

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port station Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or Donibane Garazi is a railway station in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station was opened in 1898 and is located at the end of the Bayonne - Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port railway line. The station is ...

is the southern terminus of the railway line from Bayonne through the French Basque Country, along the valley of the river Nive, with several services each day. It is 1 km from the centre of the town. Biarritz Airport is the closest airport to Saint Jean Pied de Port.

Notable people

* Bernard Etxepare (late 15th - mid 16th century), writer of first printed book in Basque. * Juan Huarte de San Juan (c. 1530–1592), physician and psychologist was born there. * Charles Floquet (1828–1896), born in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, French lawyer and statesman. * Imanol Harinordoquy (born 1980), French international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, grew up in the town.

References

External links

*
Tourist office website Tourist office website

Saint Jean Pied de Port Secret World

Tourism in basque country
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintjeanpieddeport Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Lower Navarre World Heritage Sites in France Pyrénées-Atlantiques communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Vauban fortifications in France