San Sebastián

Port and resort in the Basque Country, Spain, the capital of the Basque province of Guipúzcoa; population (1991) 170,000. There are engineering and papermaking industries. The town sits at the foot of Mount Urgull, a rocky island that is linked to the mainland by a sandy isthmus, and which appears to have been occupied since prehistoric times. It is a natural fortress that dominates all routes round the western end of the Pyrenees between France and Spain, and has been besieged and sacked many times. The modern San Sebastián is an elegant town with a fine beach, La Concha, to the west.

The first modern castle was built by Don Sancho the Strong of Navarre in 1174. The greatest siege occurred in 1813 when the Duke of Wellington's allied army laid siege to the remnants of the French army after the Battle of Vittoria. A stray shot entered the French arsenal and the resulting explosion and fire destroyed much of the town. The town walls were finally removed in 1863. From 1886 it was the summer residence of the Spanish court.