Guide to the Basque Country: how to get there, what to see, shopping, best hotels and food in the region. Basque Country: where is the best place to relax and buy real estate Main attractions. What to see

In ancient times, the Basques inhabited not only the Iberian Peninsula, but also part of the territory of France and Belgium, however, gradually, other peoples who came to Europe forced them out to the north of Spain, into the valleys of the Cantabrian Mountains.

In the first century BC, northern Spain was conquered by the ancient Roman commander Pompey the Great. In his writings, the Greek historian and geographer of that time, Strabo, reports that the Vascons, the ancestors of modern Basques, lived on the territory of modern Navarre, north-west Aragon and Rioja.

In fact, from the 1st century BC until the mid-5th century AD, the Basque lands only nominally belonged to Rome. Despite the might of their legions, the Romans did not penetrate north of the modern province of Alava (southern part of the Basque Country) and were unable to capture the mountainous regions of the Pyrenees inhabited by the Basques. The Basques themselves still call the province of Alava “Araba”.

Most of the Basque Country was unconquered by the Arabs and became part of the Kingdom of Asturias, becoming a stronghold of the Spanish Reconquista. It was in the mountain gorges of the Cantabrian Mountains that the Basques, along with the Asturs and Cantabras, survived both the period of Visigothic domination and the long presence of the Arabs on the Iberian Peninsula. No invasion had a significant impact on them, and most of the Basque territory always remained independent, thanks to which they retained their language and customs.

During the decline of the Roman Empire, remote territories became the prey of barbarian tribes. In 409, Spain was invaded by the Vandals, Alans and Suevi. The Romans, realizing that they could no longer hold this territory, handed it over to the Visigoth tribes, who, as federates of the Empire, promised to defend it from other barbarian peoples, as well as from attacks by Gali peasant rebels - the Bagauds. The Basques supported the Bagaudas, so they entered into confrontation with the Visigoths, thanks to which the Visigoths failed to completely take control of Vizcaya and Gipuzkoa.

In 449-451, the king of the Sueves in Galicia, Rehiar, attacked the Visigoths, passing through the Basque lands and plundering everything that came in his way. In 456, the Visigoths set out on a retaliatory campaign against the Sueves, again crossing the Basque lands.

The emergence of a strong and aggressive Frankish state dates back to the beginning of the 6th century. The Vascons found themselves in a difficult situation - the Visigoths were pressing on them from the south, and the Franks were coming from the north. Both warring kingdoms were unanimous in their desire to conquer the stubborn and proud people. The Visigothic kings formed the Duchy of Cantabria on the territory of their kingdom, and the Franks - the Duchy of Vasconia. In essence, these were two brands created with the intention of conquering and controlling the Vascon territory. The western part of the territory of the modern autonomous community of the Basque Country was part of the Visigothic Duchy of Cantabria.

The strategic position of the Basque Country is extremely important - whoever owned the mountain passes controlled the shortest route from France to the Iberian (Iberian) Peninsula. The mountain people had to fight not only against the Muslims, but also against the Franks. Control of the passes was the cause of one of the most famous battles of the early Middle Ages, fought in 778 AD at Roncesvalles, on the Franco-Spanish border, where the forces of the Frankish king Charlemagne were defeated.

During the Reconquista, the Christian Spaniards set out to conquer the territory of the Iberian Peninsula from the Arabs (Moors). The Reconquista lasted almost eight centuries and ended only in 1492. Following the kingdom of Asturias, Navarre appeared, then Castile and Aragon. The territory of the Basque Country passed from hand to hand. In the years 1000-1035, the ambitious king of Navarre, Sancho III the Great, united the territories where the Basques lived.

In the 12th century, King Alfonso VIII of Castile captured the western part of the Basque lands, under him the current territory of the Basque Country community became part of Castile. In 1230, the kingdom of Castile united with León, becoming the most powerful of the Spanish Christian kingdoms.

During the early Middle Ages, there were several Basque provinces on the territory of the Basque Country, which retained their independence until the 11th-15th centuries.

In 1469, King Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile. The alliance of the Catholic Monarchs marked the beginning of the creation of a single Spanish centralized state. In 1512, Ferdinand conquered Upper Navarre and most of the Basque lands became part of Spain. The strengthening of Spanish statehood led to the fact that by the beginning of the 16th century the Basques formally became part of the kingdom. Despite the partial loss of Basque sovereignty, the Spanish monarchs recognized the independence of this people, as evidenced by documents from that era.

On the territory of France, which also became a centralized state in the 15th-16th centuries, were the Basque provinces of Zuberu, Labourdane and Lower Navarre. This created a geopolitical situation in which the Basque people were divided between two states.

The 15th century marked the end of the Reconquista and the discovery of America, and became a turning point for Spain that changed the history of the country. The Spanish state owed much of its power to the Basques, whose role in the discovery and development of the American continent can hardly be overestimated.

Since the Late Middle Ages, the Basques have become known as good sailors. The sailors of the Basque Country probably crossed the Atlantic even before Christopher Columbus, so it is no coincidence that the core of the Genoese expedition and the captains of all his caravels were the Basques. The participation of the Basques in the colonization of the New World, their active mediation in trade with France, Italy and England, and the development of the metallurgical and shipbuilding industries created a powerful economic base for the development of Spain.

In the Basque city of Getaria (province of Guipuzcoa), in 1487, Juan Sebastian Elcano was born, one of the leaders of the first trip around the world, which successfully ended on September 8, 1522. It was he who led the expedition of Spanish sailors after the death of Magellan. After completing his trip around the world, Emperor Charles V presented him with a coat of arms, which depicted a globe with the motto “You were the first to circumnavigate me” (Primus circumdedisti me).

Another famous Basque navigator, Andres de Urdaneta, was born in the city of Ordisia (province of Guipuzcoa) in 1498. In 1565, he established the safest route from the Philippines to Mexico, later called the Urdaneta Route. Many Basque sailors were engaged in whaling, fishing near Labrador and Newfoundland.

In 1794, the Basque provinces were occupied by the French revolutionary army. The French left Spanish territory after the Treaty of Basel in 1795.

In 1808, the French Emperor Napoleon I imposed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spaniards as King of Spain under the name José Napoleon I.

On June 21, 1813, near the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleonic troops. In honor of this event, Beethoven wrote the orchestral work "Wellington's Victory, or the Battle of Vitoria", triumphantly performed in Vienna. This victory marked the end of French rule in Spain.

Despite Napoleon's defeat, public opinion in European countries supported the ideas of freedom, equality and fraternity. However, the Basque people did not want bourgeois freedoms, but defended their ancient carta - the feudal privileges of the fueros. In preserving the fueros, the Basques saw a guarantee of protecting their national identity and isolation from the rest of Spain.

In 1833, Spanish liberals brought to power Queen Isabella II (1833-1868), who was less than three years old. She was opposed by 45-year-old Don Carlos, her uncle, who declared himself King Charles V. He sought to preserve autocracy, traditions and fueros. The Basques supported Don Carlos' claim to the Spanish throne. The motto of the Basque Carlists was "God and fueros!" (Dios y fueros). However, in the First Carlist War (1833-1839) the challenger was defeated. Some battles of this war took place on the territory of the Basque provinces, for example the siege of Bilbao (1835), during which the Carlist general Thomas de Zumalacarregui, of Basque origin, unsuccessfully besieged the capital of Vizcaya.

During the Third Carlist War (1872-1876), the Basques supported another pretender to the throne from the Carlist camp. In 1876, after another defeat of the Carlists, the Spanish government abolished fueros in the Basque provinces.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Basque Country had lost its freedom, but retained a leading role in the Spanish economy. More than half of the total number of Spanish ships were built in its shipyards, and more than 45% of the turnover of the Spanish merchant fleet was also provided by supplies from the Basque provinces. By the 1930s, the Basques were mining half of all iron ore and smelting three-quarters of all Spanish steel.

In 1931, after the Republican victory and the formation of the Second Spanish Republic, a plan was put forward to create an autonomous Statute for Navarre and the provinces of Alava, Vizcaya and Gipuzkoa, where the Basques lived in Spain. However, the Navarre government did not wait for the development of this Statute, and put forward its own autonomation plan. Then Basque nationalists and left-wing republicans developed a separate “Statute of Autonomy for Alava, Biscay and Guipuzcoa.”

The Republican rule was short-lived. In July 1936, the army led by General Franco tried to seize power in the country. The fascist rebellion, supported by Hitler and Mussolini, escalated into the Civil War. In this war, the Basques sided with the Republicans, for which they were subjected to severe repression during the Franco dictatorship.

In October 1936, the Francoists easily captured Navarra and Alava, as well as the city of San Sebastian from the province of Guipuzcoa. The military managed to conquer the rest of Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya in the summer of 1937, and the Statute was revoked. During the Spanish Civil War, German aviation helped the Francoists.

On April 26, 1937, pilots of the German Condor Legion subjected the city of Guernica, the historical and cultural capital of the Basques, to a devastating bombardment. This bombing was not driven by strategic necessity; the Nazis sought to suppress the Basque national spirit and intimidate the civilian population. A monumental painting by Pabro Picasso is dedicated to the bombing of Guernica.

During the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, the Basques founded the organization ETA, which means “Basque Country and Freedom” (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna). In 1973, ETA militants blew up the motorcade of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, prime minister of the Franco government, in Madrid. It was him who Franco himself saw as his successor.

In 1975, after the death of General Franco, the Transition policy was proclaimed in Spain, which meant a transition from dictatorship to democracy.

In 1978, the Kingdom of Spain received a new constitution. Most Basques either did not come to the polls or voted against it, believing that the modern Spanish constitution was “not their” constitution.

In October 1979, the inhabitants of the autonomous community of the Basque Country voted for the “Statute of Guernica” (Estatuto de Guernica), which guaranteed the broadest autonomy to the Basques. The Basque Country received its own government, education system, police force, control over taxation, and the head of the executive branch (president) of the Basque Country received the traditional local title "lehendakari". The Basque language, along with Spanish, became the official language of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and Navarre.

In September 2003, the leader of the Basque Nationalist Party, "Leendakari" Juan José Ibarreche, put forward a plan to transform the Basque Country into a state "freely affiliated" with Spain, which should independently decide on issues of economic and social development. At the same time, such a state must have its own judicial system and have representations abroad. Of course, such a plan did not meet with understanding from the central government. In January 2005, Ibarreche's plan was rejected by a majority of members of the Spanish Parliament.

In May 2009, Ibarreche handed over his post to the newly elected Leendakari of the Basque Country, Paci Lopez. For the first time in the thirty-year history of the Leendakariat, the leader of the socialist party of the Basque Country became the head of the region.

Baskonia, Basque Country or Euskadi (Pais Vasco, Euskadi) is one of the most unusual historical regions not only in Spain, but throughout Western Europe. Lying in the north of the country, in the western spurs of the Pyrenees and the eastern part of the Cantabrian Mountains, this autonomous community differs markedly from the rest of Spain both in ethnic composition and language, as well as in climate and level of industry. Euskal Herria, as the Basques themselves call this land, includes three regions - the Basque Country itself (Pais Vasco), the regions of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, plus two vast provinces inhabited by Basques, in France and Navarre (administratively the latter are not part of the Basque Country). For many centuries the Basques have preserved their ancient culture, which they brought from their historical homeland in time immemorial, the most likely location of which is considered to be the territory of modern Georgia (but this is only one of the theories). The Basque language - Euskara, or Euskera - is considered one of the oldest and most mysterious in Europe, since it incorporates ancient word forms of the Caucasian peoples, and later Iberian and Aquitanian dialects of the Iberian Peninsula, and many terms that have no analogues in any of the known languages ​​of the Earth. At the same time, the Basque language does not have a standard pronunciation (the number of dialects is actually equal to the number of settlements), but the differences between the dialects are small. All this together allows us to classify it as a group of Proto-Indo-European languages, that is, those that were formed long before the emergence of the modern linguistic space.

The origins of the Basques themselves are equally mysterious. Genetically, they are almost not related to any of the modern peoples of the Mediterranean, which is easily traced even at the level of blood composition. Equally original are local traditions and customs, folk cuisine, and especially dance and song rituals. At the same time, the mystery of the origin of this people and their language has not yet been revealed.

Despite the fact that this is the most industrialized region of the peninsula (and therefore one of the richest), the nature of the interior of the Basque Country is little affected by humans - neat and quiet villages coexist here with lush mountain vegetation and a wild rocky coastline, the transport system is excellently developed, and the proximity of the border supports trade and tourism. All this allows us to classify the Basque Country as one of the most interesting regions of Spain.

The city is the largest settlement and administrative center of the province of Vizcaya, as well as one of the largest ports in the country.

15 km from the center of Bilbao to the north lies the popular beach area of ​​the Sopelana area (there is also a “wild” beach, and in the Playa de Ametara area there is a nudist area). 30 km southeast of Bilbao, the lands of the Urquiola Natural Park begin, covering the slopes of the green Durangesado mountain range (the highest point is Mount Amboto, 1330 m).

The administrative center of the province of Gipuzkoa, the city is located in the very northeast of the Basque Country, on the shores of La Concha Bay near the French border.

To the west of San Sebastian begins the picturesque rocky coast of the Costa Basca - the birthplace of the sparkling wine "txakoli" and the region of many ancient cities. Getaria(Getaria) is famous for the magnificent Church of San Salvador (14th century), the Balenciaga Museum (the famous designer was born in this city) and the Elcano Fiesta (Juan Sebastian Elcano, who was born here, was the only member of Magellan’s crew to return home after the famous circumnavigation). Sumaya(Zumaia) - with its beaches Playa de Itsurun and Playa Santiago. Near the city Aspeitia(Azpeitia, 16 km south of Zumaia) there is a grandiose basilica www.santuariodeloyola.com Sanctuary de Loyola (XVIII century), built as a monument to Ignacio (Inijo) Lopez de Loyola, who was born in these parts, better known as Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491 -1556). IN Markina-Shemein(Markina-Xemein) there is the Pelota Academy (pelota is a national sport, a kind of lapta), and in Sciorza Bolivar(Ziortza-Bolivar) - Simon Bolivar Museum, as well as a beautiful monastery and Romanesque church (XVI century).

Around San Sebastian, the historic region of Guipuzcoa (the smallest in Spain) is a centuries-old center of Basque language and culture. Here you can visit the medieval city Tolosa with its traditional carnival (Tolosa is the only city in the country where this traditional holiday, incorporating all Basque traditions, was held even during the period of the ban on the use of the Basque language introduced by the dictator Franco) and an extensive historical center, the picturesque mountain slopes of the Sierra de Aralar and Sierra de Urquilla, Aransazu monastery (XV-XX centuries) - the main place of Basque pilgrimage, a prosperous city Ordisia with a well-preserved historical center (XVI century), a village famous for its old mansions Segura, "Basque Toledo" - town Onati(75 km south of San Sebastian) with its wonderful Baroque buildings, the village Bera de Bidasoa with its unique stone buildings (XVI-XIX centuries), as well as the open museum of the sculptor Eduardo Chillida in Hernani(7 km south of San Sebastian).

Immortalized by the tragic painting, Picasso is the traditional center of Basque nationalism and separatism.

5 km from the city is the Paleolithic cave complex of Cueva de Santimamine, a picturesque village Ohm with its “painted forest” (the work of the artist Augustin Ibarrola), as well as the Mundaka watershed just to the west, declared by UNESCO as a cultural and natural reserve of global importance (it contains the most diverse set of ecosystems in the Basque Country and a real haven for millions of migratory birds from all over Europe) .

The official capital of Euskadi and the province of Alava (Arab) - (Spanish Vitoria, Basque Gasteiz, officially Vitoria-Gasteiz).

The Basque Country or Euskadi is a Spanish autonomous region located in the northeast of Cantabria, bordered to the north by the Cantabrian Sea and France, to the south by La Rioja and Castilla and Leon, to the west by Cantabria and to the east by Navarre. It consists of the provinces (historically formed territories in a free order) of Alava, Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya, uniting 251 municipalities: 51 in Alava, 88 in Gipuzkoa and 112 in Vizcaya. Previously, the provinces that comprised the Basque Country were known as the Basque Provinces, the Forales Provinces, the Free Provinces (until 1841), the Basque Provinces or simply the Basques. In fact, the name Autonomous Basque Region (ABV) is used quite often, especially within the autonomy itself and in Navarre, although the names Euskadi and Basque Country have also been used historically: since their foundation in the 19th century. the region was called Euskadi, until 1897 - the Basque Country. In addition to the above names, “Basconia” and “Euskal Erria” are also used.

Navarre has the right to become part of an autonomous region, observing all the provisions provided for in the Spanish Constitution and described in the Code of Laws, if this right has not previously been exercised. The relationship between the two autonomous regions is completely different after the so-called "Transition".

The Basque Country covers an area of ​​7,234 km2 and has a population of 2,189,534 (INE, 2016) with a population density of 300 people/km2.

The capital is Vitoria, located in Alava, where the Parliament and Government of the Basque Country meets, although the largest city is Bilbao.

Geography

Most of the Basque Country is occupied by mountains - the Basque Mountains and the enchanting Cantabrian Range in the south. The highest mountain is Tologno, the Pyrenees Spurs can be found from Navarre. The highest point is Mount Aitxuri, located at an altitude of 1.551 meters above sea level in the Aiskorri Natural Park. In Euskadi four climatic zones can be distinguished: Atlantic in the north, sub-Atlantic (Western Alava Plains and Alaves Plain), Mediterranean and, in the very south, in the Ebro and Rioja Alavesa valleys, with a dry and hot continental-type climate. The region participates in UNESCO's World Water Assessment Program (WWAP), which has resulted in the establishment of more than 300 information centers whose task is to develop a report on the situation in the region.

Flight time:
(flights to Bilbao airport)
from Moscow - from 6 hours 15 minutes. (1-3 transfers)
from St. Petersburg - from 6 hours 5 minutes. (1-3 transfers)
from Kazan - from 10 hours 25 minutes. (1-3 transfers)
from Yekaterinburg - from 10 hours 40 minutes. (1-3 transfers)
from Novosibirsk - from 12 hours 10 minutes. (1-3 transfers)

Current time in Vitoria-Gasteiz:
(UTC +2)

Administrative structure

The Basque Country consists of three provinces, historically established, with independent governance:

• Álava (305,459 inhabitants according to NIS 2007). Capital: Vitoria.
• Guipúzcoa (694,944 inhabitants). Capital: San Sebastian
• Vizcaya (1,139,863 inhabitants). Capital: Bilbao

The Basque Country is divided into 251 municipalities, 51 in Alava, 88 in Gipuzkoa and 112 in Vizcaya, and is subdivided into 20 districts. The territory of Alavra, in turn, is divided into seven districts (cuadrillas in Castilian, eskualdeak in Euskera). The districts of Guipuzcoa and Vizcaya, however, are not divided into administrative regions.

1. Basques. From the depths of millennia
A story about the history of any people usually begins with the word “came” - in such and such a century the Celts came there, the Iberians - there, the Visigoths - there... In violation of established traditions, the story about the Basques should begin like this: “ The Vascon tribes have lived on their land since time immemorial, probably since the very creation of the world...” There is almost no exaggeration in this formulation, and the proof of this is the sensational discoveries of archaeologists, which completely changed the idea of ​​when the European continent was inhabited. Not so long ago, in the north of Spain in Atapuerca, scientists discovered the jaw of the ancestor of a person of the modern physical type (Homo antecessor) who lived 1 million 200 thousand years ago! Moreover, this find is not the only one - since the beginning of the 90s, numerous remains of ancient people, primitive tools, animal bones with drawings scratched on them have been discovered in Atapuerca. The likelihood that the ancient inhabitants of the Ebro River Valley are the ancestors of the Basques is very high. The point is not only in the geography of the settlement of the ethnic group - the Basque language itself, Euskara, testifies to the greatest antiquity of this people. Euskara is not associated with any language in the world and, apparently, originated “from scratch” at the dawn of mankind, becoming the first language of southern Europe.
Primitive people lived in caves along the banks of rivers, and many primitive dwellings decorated with rock paintings have survived to this day in France and Spain. For example, near the Basque city of Guernica there are the Santimaminje caves, decorated by ancient artists twelve thousand years ago, and there are similar caves in the French part of Euskadi. The world-famous Altamira is also located very close to the modern administrative border of the Basque autonomy. The famous paintings of the cave - masterpieces, which are about one and a half tens of millennia old, in all likelihood were created by the hands of the original inhabitants of these lands - the ancient predecessors of modern Basques.
In ancient times, the Basques inhabited not only the Iberian Peninsula, but also part of the territory of France and Belgium, but gradually other peoples who came to Europe pushed them to the very ends of the earth under the protection of the Cantabrian Mountains. This territory became the last bridgehead from which there was no longer a path to retreat. The Basques, hardworking creators, often had to take up the sword, in fierce battles defending not only their lands, but also the very right to exist as a single people. In ancient times they opposed the Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, Franks, Normans; in the Middle Ages - to the Moors, and much later - to Napoleonic guards. Throughout their history, the people of Euskadi have not submitted to any invader, and even the mighty Rome was only able to partially conquer the Basque territories. It was this fanatical resilience that allowed the Basques to preserve their unique language and traditions. For Rome, they remained a mysterious, incomprehensible and unconquered people of seers, famous throughout the empire for their art of foreseeing the future. And yet, not a single soothsayer could predict what fate awaited both the Roman Empire and the Basques themselves...
Rome fell, swept away by an avalanche of barbarians, and cruel suffering swept over the Iberian Peninsula. Then the barbarians were replaced by the Visigoths, and several centuries later new invaders - the Arabs and Moors (Berbers). In 709, they invaded the territory of the Visigothic Kingdom (the southern neighbor of the Basques), and five years later they already controlled almost the entire peninsula. Only a small area between the Cantabrian Mountains and the Bay of Biscay, inhabited by Cantabras, Asturs and Basques, remained unoccupied. The remnants of the Visigothic army who fled to Asturias received the support of the local population, and in 718 they defeated the Moors for the first time. This date is considered to be the beginning of the Reconquista (reconquest) - the process of liberation by Christians of lands occupied by Muslims. The Reconquista lasted almost eight centuries and ended only in 1492.
During the early Middle Ages, several Basque states were located on the territory of Euskadi, which retained their independence until the 11th-14th centuries. However, the strengthening of Spanish statehood led to the fact that by the beginning of the 16th century the Basques formally became part of the kingdom. However, it should be noted that, despite the partial loss of Basque sovereignty, the Spanish monarchs recognized the independence of this people, as evidenced by many documents of that era.
The turn of the 15th-16th centuries, marked by the completion of the Reconquista and the discovery of America, became a turning point for Spain that changed the history of the country. The Spanish state owed much of its power to the Basques, whose role in the discovery and development of the American continent can hardly be overestimated. The sailors of Euskadi probably crossed the Atlantic more than once before Columbus, and therefore it is no coincidence that the Basques became the core of the Genoese expedition and the captains of all his caravels. The participation of the Basques in the colonization of the New World, their active mediation in trade with France, Italy and England, and the development of the metallurgical and shipbuilding industries created a powerful economic base for the development of Spain.
The intersection of economic interests, as well as the relative weakness of the central government, allowed Euskadi to maintain a special status for several centuries. Privileges in trade, taxation, military service, administration and foreign relations were enshrined in the code of Basque laws (fueros), and had to be confirmed by each Spanish monarch upon his accession to the throne. The king was to visit the spiritual capital of Euskadi, Guernica, and swear before the sacred oak tree to respect the rights and freedoms of the Basques.
Until the middle of the 19th century, the Basque provinces of Araba (Alava), Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya retained their ancient cartas, but the intensified forced Spanishization of Euskadi, Catalonia and Galicia at that time became the main reason for the Basques to join the Carlist movement. The sad result of participation in two Carlist wars (dynastic wars between two branches of the Spanish Bourbons in the 30s and 70s of the 19th century) for the Basques was first a partial and then a complete loss of autonomy and the abolition of fueros.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Euskadi had lost its freedom, but retained a leading role in the Spanish economy. More than half of the total number of Spanish ships were built in the shipyards of the Basque Country, 45% of the turnover of the Spanish merchant fleet was also provided by supplies from the Basque provinces, and by the 30s of the 20th century the Basques mined half of all iron ore and smelted three quarters of all Spanish steel.
Republics and dictatorships replaced each other as if in a kaleidoscope on the Iberian Peninsula. In 1931, the Republicans once again came to power in Spain, intending to return the Basques to their legal rights, but the rule of the left was short-lived. In July 1936, the army led by General Franco tried to seize power in the country. The fascist rebellion, supported by Hitler and Mussolini, escalated into the Civil War. In this war, the Basques sided with the Republicans, for which they were subjected to severe repression during the Franco dictatorship. In 1979, four years after the death of the dictator, Euskadi received the status of political autonomy, and its language, along with Spanish, became the official language of the Autonomous Basque Community and Navarre. At the moment, both communities have their own governments and autonomous parliaments.
The history of the Basque people stretches back to an unimaginably distant past. What lies ahead for the Basques? What lies ahead for other peoples and countries? Here and now we are all writing a new page in world history. What it will turn out to be is unknown...

2. Soul of Euskadi
The origins of the Basques are shrouded in mystery. Despite the great variety of hypotheses, no one knows for certain how this unique ethnic group arose. Some researchers see them as direct descendants of the Cro-Magnons, who settled the territory of the European continent about 35 thousand years ago, while others believe that the Basques are Atlanteans who survived the disaster. But in any case, no matter which version is preferred, the Basques can be considered the most ancient, indigenous population of Europe, who settled there long before other peoples.
The legendary ethnic group is surrounded by an aura of myths, but anyone who strives to know and understand the Basques must begin to get acquainted with euskara - the language that has become the soul of this people. It is significant that Euskara does not have the word “Basque”, only euskaldunak – literally: “people who speak Basque”. What is Euskara? Back in the 16th century, it was suggested that the Basque language is the “progenitor” of all the relict languages ​​of the Iberian Peninsula, that is, the first, oldest means of communication in southern Europe. The mystery of its origin has haunted the minds of scientists for almost two centuries, trying to trace the genealogy of Euskara. Extinct Iberian and Etruscan; Japanese, Korean, Finno-Ugric, languages ​​of American Indians and peoples of the Caucasus - this is not a complete list of candidates for kinship with the Basque language. But all these connections turned out to be unconvincing, and therefore philologists agreed to consider Euskara the only living relict pre-Indo-European language “outside the group”.
The Basque language undoubtedly belongs to the world cultural heritage, belonging to all humanity. It represents not only a monument to the past, but perhaps a key to unraveling the mechanism of thinking. Isolation, antiquity, and connection to the place of its origin allow scientists to “go back in time” and understand how our distant ancestors created the first language, how associations, feelings and thoughts born in the brain were put into the form of words, how speech was formed.
An unusual feeling arises for those who are learning the Basque language for the first time. Sometimes Basque words heard for the first time seem very familiar, as if they were always in my head, but for some reason they were forgotten. Some of them, completely unlike Russian ones, associatively seem to be the most correct, original name for any objects or phenomena. By the way, let me make a small remark - Euskara has been compared with everything, but not with the Russian language! Of course, formally, from the point of view of philologists, these languages ​​are in no way related to each other, but they are easily comparable in complexity, richness of vocabulary, beauty and expressiveness.
Euskara is unique. But humanity easily partes with its treasures, and the Basque language could join the list of irreparable losses if not for the heroic efforts of the Basques themselves aimed at preserving it. For centuries, they desperately defended their land, never submitting to any conqueror, preserving their age-old foundations and native language. Direct aggression always received a worthy rebuff, but Euskara lay in wait for another, not so obvious threat of gradual displacement by the French and, above all, Spanish languages. Most of the population of Euskadi did not speak written language, which made the position of the Basque language especially vulnerable. However, the desire of the Basques to preserve their main heritage was reflected even in the title of the first incunabula in Euskara, “The First Fruits of the Basque Language” by Bernard Etxepare, published in 1545.
A deeper study of the Basque language began only in the 19th century. A great contribution to this process was made by the nephew of Napoleon I, Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte, who organized five expeditions to Euskadi, the purpose of which was to study and classify various dialects. However, the Academy of the Basque Language, which began its work in 1920, played a key role in the standardization of Euskara. Its members faced the difficult task of bringing together and codifying several dialects, and then disseminating the supposed standards to a largely illiterate population. The situation was further complicated by the fact that at that time the Basque language did not have access to the media and educational institutions. Despite the difficulties, the work of scientists was in full swing, until disaster struck - a fascist rebellion broke out in Spain, and the Civil War began.
After Franco’s victory, the Basques who sided with the Republicans began to be subjected to repression, and in 1939 the fascists issued a decree according to which, for the first time in world history, the entire population of the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya was declared “traitors to the homeland.” The dictator’s revenge was not only carpet bombing, arrests and torture - Franco wanted to deal the most sensitive blow to the rebellious people by banning any, including oral, use of the Basque language. Even children were severely punished for daring to speak Euskara. At the same time, disregarding mortal danger, the Academy of the Basque Language continued its work. The chronology of these purely scientific research might seem uninteresting if it were not considered in the context of the repressions unfolding in Euskadi. Finally, in 1973, a new language standard, called euskara batua (united Basque), was adopted in its final version.
However, it was only after Franco's death and Euskadi's status as an autonomous region that the Basques were able to take full advantage of the work of several generations of scientists. Today, Euskara Batua is the leading version of the Basque language, which, along with the official Spanish, is used for communications, including newspapers, radio and the Internet.
This is the history of the oldest language in Europe - tough, tragic, but giving hope. The hope is that by preserving the soul of the people - their language, one can overcome any trials and earn the right to the future.

3. Euskal Erria. Journey through a magical land
Euskal Erria, Euskadi... The mysterious name of a magical country. You won’t find it on any official map, but this country of fantastic sunsets, emerald mountains and picturesque valleys lives in the hearts of people. For her freedom, from century to century they shed their blood abundantly, for love for her they went to death.
So what does Euskadi represent? On the Atlantic coast of Spain between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Mountains is the autonomous region of the Basque Country (Pais Vasco), whose name in Basque sounds like Euskadi or Euskal Herria. But this area is only part of a land covered in legends, about a third of the territory now inhabited by Basques. History developed in such a way that back in the 15th century Euskadi was divided between Spain and France, but still remained a space of one people, one language. Therefore, when telling a story about the Basque Country, it is logical to take into account the boundaries of the settlement of the ethnic group, and not the lines on the map reflecting the modern borders of neighboring states and provinces.
The proximity of three languages ​​- Spanish, French and Basque (Euskara) has led to the fact that some settlements in Euskadi have two or even three names. Therefore, to avoid confusion, the description will first indicate the Basque names of cities and provinces, and then, in brackets, the Spanish or French ones.
The Basque lands include the provinces of Araba (Alava), Vizcaya, Gipuzkoa in Spain, which make up the so-called autonomous community of the Basque Country, the province of Nafarroa (Navarre), as well as three small provinces in France, part of the department of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques: Lapurdi (Labour), Behenafarroa (Bass Navarre) and Suberoa (Sul). The French Basque Country is called Northern Euskadi - Iparraldea, and the Spanish - Southern Euskadi - Hegoaldea.
Euskadi has a population of about three million people, of whom approximately one million are Basque. More than 860 thousand Basques live in Spain, 140 thousand live in France. The Basque diaspora in Latin America and the United States numbers 120 thousand people. Despite the fact that the Basques are similar in appearance to the Spaniards and the French, they have the lowest prevalence of the gene for the third blood group (initially it was completely absent) and the highest concentration of the gene for the oldest, first blood group. More than 50% of Basques have a negative Rh factor, significantly higher than the European average of 16%. The anthropological characteristics of the Basques allowed scientists to put forward a hypothesis about the origin of this people directly from the Cro-Magnons.
Just as the people who inhabit Euskadi are unusual, so is the climate of the Basque Country atypical for most of the Iberian Peninsula. In our minds, the image of Spain has long been formed - a sultry, sun-scorched country of bullfighting and flamenco, but the north of the peninsula completely refutes this stereotype. It is no coincidence that Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Euskadi are called “green Spain”. The humid but fairly warm climate gives these areas a surprisingly rich flora. Winters in the Basque Country are cool, but not frosty (+6 +9), summers are not hot (approx. +20), and it often rains. The vegetation is diverse - almost all the trees of the middle zone are found in Euskadi: oak, beech, alder, ash, birch, maple, poplar, willow, but in addition to them, artificially planted palm trees also survive in this climate. Apple orchards and huge vineyards are also an integral part of the picturesque landscapes of the Basque Country.
Euskadi occupies a small area with a total area of ​​about 20 thousand square meters. km (of which 17,655 are in Spain), however, this small corner of the Atlantic coast attracts with its diversity of landscapes and the unique flavor of its settlements. The sights of the Basque lands deserve a separate story, so this article provides only very brief information about the main cities of Euskadi.

Province of Araba (Alava)
Gasteiz (Vitoria) is the capital of the Basque Country with a population of 210 thousand people. The city was founded at the end of the 12th century by the Navarrese king Sancho the Wise. Gasteiz is home to the government and parliament of the Basque Country. The bilingual inscription on the facade of the administrative building reads: “We need peace.” The historic city center is located on a high hill. In the heart of the old quarters is the Church of San Miguel with a statue of the White Virgin, the patroness of the city, installed above the entrance. In the past, a cleaver-machete was kept in this church - a symbol of Gasteiz's independence, on which the rulers of the city swore to uphold its laws. In Gasteiz there is the Museum of Archeology, an exposition of Basque life, arranged in the premises of a 15th-century inn; a few kilometers from the city, in an ancient castle, there is the Museum of Heraldry.
However, Gasteiz lives not only in the past; it has many industrial enterprises, primarily metallurgical and mechanical engineering. Despite this, the capital Euskadi is considered one of the cleanest cities in all of Spain. In the vicinity of the city there are salt mines and reservoirs.

Province of Vizcaya
Bilbo (Bilbao) was founded by the lord of Vizcaya, Diego Lopez de Haro, in 1300 on the site of a small village. Surrounded by hills, the city lies on the banks of the Nrvion River near the Atlantic coast.
Over its long history, the city was under siege several times, during the Civil War of 1936-1939. lay in ruins. Now with 370 thousand inhabitants, Bilbo is the largest commercial port in Spain and one of the largest centers in Europe for shipbuilding, steel production and chemical fertilizers. The city has well-developed public transport; in 2000, its organization was recognized as the best in the European Union.
The newly built S. Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art helped create Bilbo's reputation not only as an industrial center, but also as a tourist attraction. Frozen above the river, a grandiose, silver-shimmering, abstract structure, called the symbol of the new computer age, has become the hallmark of the city and attracts tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world to Bilbo.

Guernica. A small city in the province of Vizcaya, with a population of only 16 thousand people. Guernica is called the spiritual capital of Euskadi, giving it a special role in the history of the Basque Country. From time immemorial, the leaders and elders of this people gathered here under the shade of the “Basque oak”; here the Spanish monarch confirmed the privileges enshrined in the code of Basque laws. It is no coincidence that, wanting to take revenge on the rebellious people, the fascist dictator Franco chose Guernica as his target. At the height of the Civil War, on April 26, 1937, the peaceful city, for the first time in human history, was subjected to massive bombing by German aircraft, which led to a large number of casualties among the population. Shocked by this tragedy, P. Picasso wrote his famous painting “Guernica,” recognized as one of the most powerful works of art exposing the horrors of war.
Currently, in the city garden of Guernica there is a young oak tree growing from an acorn of the sacred oak. Near this place is the Casa de Juntas, where Euskadi was declared autonomous in 1979.
Not far from the city are the caves of Santimamise, decorated with rock paintings made 12 thousand years ago.

Province of Guipuzcoa
Donostia (San Sebastian). A beautiful resort town, home to film festivals and other social events. Donostia has 180 thousand inhabitants. The most recognizable landmark of the city is a cozy bay surrounded by a golden strip of beaches, in the center of which is the island of Santa Clara, which looks like a huge turtle.
Although Donostia is the most fashionable resort in the north of Spain, industry, including metalworking and engineering, is well developed in it, as indeed in all major cities of Euskadi.

Province of Nafarroa (Navarre)
Iruña (Pamplona) was the capital of the Kingdom of Navarre in the Middle Ages. Now Irunya has 180 thousand inhabitants. The city has a university and industrial enterprises. The Spanish name of the city of Pamplona became widely known thanks to E. Hemingway’s novel “Fiesta”. As in the time of Hemingway, the feast of Saint Fermin is held annually in Iruña with the obligatory run of bulls through the city streets to the bullfighting site. Many tourists from Europe and America come to the holiday to take part in risky entertainment and test their courage, dodging angry bulls rushing through the narrow streets.

Iparalde (Northern Euskadi)
The French provinces of Euskadi are most famous for their resorts on the Atlantic coast - Bayonne (Bayonne), the capital of the province of Lapurdi (Labourg) and nearby Biaritz. The mild climate, beautiful sandy beaches, and comfortable hotels attract tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world to these cities. Biarritz hosts annual golf and windsurfing competitions, and local windsurfing schools are considered the best in Europe. Baiona, a city that has largely preserved its medieval appearance, is known not only for its architectural sights, but also for its culinary traditions - its unique chocolate and ham.
On the road from Baiona to Donibane Garassy (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) - the main city of the province of Behenafarroa (Basse-Navarre) there are the caves of Oxozelaya, which means “Wolf Paradise”. In the caves you can see prehistoric rock art, a cluster of stalactites and stalagmites.
And the city of Maule (Moleon) in the province of Suberoa (Sul) is primarily perceived as the center of the Suleti dialect - the most different from other dialects of the Basque language.

Even before my first visit to Spain, when I mentioned the Basque Country, I, like probably many other foreigners, thought first of all about Bilbao. Bilbao is a famous economic center and the owner of such an attractive tourist attraction as the Guggenheim Museum, and an ordinary tourist, not too keen on the details of Spanish political geography, can easily mistake this beautiful port capital of the Basque province of Vizcaya for the administrative center of the entire autonomy.

However, the capital of the Basque Country, famous for its gastronomy and strong economy of a region consisting of three provinces, is Vitoria, a city with almost a thousand years of history, which is also the administrative center of Alava, one of the richest provinces of the country. The presence of financial resources here is felt in everything: even a tourist visiting for one day is given free glossy booklets, they offer excursions to ancient buildings now owned by the municipality at ridiculous prices or completely free of charge; the facades of the houses in the center are in excellent condition, unlike many other Spanish administrative centers. And the municipality gives away to the townspeople the flowers purchased for the festivities dedicated to the city’s patroness, Virgen Blanca (August 4–9), for planting in flower beds.

History of the capital of the Basque Country

Vitoria was born on the site of the small settlement of Gasteiz in 1181. King Sancho IV of Navarre, apparently not in vain nicknamed the Wise, chose a village located on a hill as the site for the construction of a castle-fortress for the purpose of defense against warlike Castile, vassal ties with which he managed to break later. Then came a period of active growth of the city: the military was replaced by merchants and artisans, life began to boil in the narrow medieval streets, and numerous shops opened. In subsequent centuries, the central area of ​​the city grew rapidly, looking like an almond from a bird's eye view. Today this architectural ensemble is the main distinguishing feature of the Basque capital. By the end of the 18th century, the city had already gone beyond the fortress walls. So-called "arquillos" appeared, terraced earthen mounds descending from the mountains on which the construction took place, allowing the city to expand further over the hilly terrain.

Despite its turbulent military past (here, for example, in 1813 the decisive victorious battle with Napoleon's troops in the War of Independence took place), a huge number of ancient houses and churches have been preserved in today's Vitoria and its surroundings. Economic Basques do not allow their architectural monuments to turn into silent witnesses of antiquity, interesting only to tourists and historians. The cultural component is combined with the commercial one, as a result, monuments are restored and become available - often in a transformed form - to everyone. For example, the oldest building in the Basque Country from the 14th century, Casa del Cordón, houses a wonderful restaurant, one of the most popular in the city for weddings and other large-scale events. In many surrounding villages (in Laguardia, in particular), comfortable hotels are equipped in houses of the 16th–17th centuries. It’s hard to believe, looking at the house of some long-deceased lord in the village of Argomaniz, standing literally in the middle of an open field, that behind the centuries-old stone walls and ancient window shutters is hidden a hotel equipped with the most modern equipment.

In Vitoria itself, lovers of ancient architecture and the simply curious are recommended to visit the early 16th-century palaces of Bendaña and Villa Suso. According to the latest built on the remains of an ancient city wall, The municipality offers a free tour during which you can see the mysterious grave of a young girl found during archaeological excavations. There are many legends in the city surrounding this strange non-Christian burial, but municipal workers who regularly hold events in the palace apparently are not afraid of ghosts.

Terrorism in the Basque Country

About the scary thing: Many people associate the Basque Country, unfortunately, with ETA terrorism, and some of my friends who live outside of Spain were surprised why we chose this particular region as a holiday destination: “there are terrorists there.” Often the notorious “fly in the ointment” spoils not only the entire barrel of honey, but also the reputation of the beekeeper far beyond the borders of his country. However, we, living in Spain, know that the majority of the inhabitants of the Basque Country are against terror, as evidenced by recent demonstrations and black and white “No ETA” posters on government buildings in Vitoria, written in Spanish and Basque.

Basque

The mystery of the origin of the Basque language, or euskera as the locals call it, still remains unresolved. Various researchers confirm the existence of connections between Basque and Iberian, Berber and some Caucasian languages ​​(even with Georgian), but there is no clear and unambiguous opinion about its origins.

What is indisputable is that euskera is one of the oldest Western European languages, even older than the Indo-European ones. In ancient times, Basque was spoken over a vast territory - from the Ebro River to the Garona and from the Western Pyrenees to Catalonia, but with the invasion of Indo-European tribes (Celts, Romans and others), the size of the territory where this language was used was reduced. By the 19th century, the area of ​​influence of the Basque language had approximately halved. Nevertheless, many Basque place names have survived to this day. Euskera is now spoken in the Basque Country, where it was recognized in 1979 as a second official language along with Spanish, as well as in a small part of Navarre and in the French Northern Basque Country, although the French authorities do not yet recognize it as an official language.

Food in the Basque Country

When Spaniards mention the Basque Country, they usually first of all talk about gastronomy: “se come tan bien!” The most famous “television chef” in Spain, Arguignano, as well as such a master of cuisine as Arzak, are natives of the Basque Country. And who hasn’t heard of the famous Basque “tapas” - small sandwiches with all sorts of things or mini-portions of salads, fish or other hot or cold snacks. In the Basque Country, in almost any bar you will find “tapas”, sometimes prepared like works of art. Every self-respecting Basque bar or restaurant annually participates in competitions for the best “tapas” of the year. The diplomas received are proudly displayed in prominent places, such as behind the bar counter, which is usually made of dark wood. The region has rightly earned the glory of autonomy, where “the food is so good,” as the Spaniards themselves put it (“se ​​come tan bien!”).

Things to do in Vitoria

If you happen to visit the capital of the Basque Country, be sure to visit the Mendizorroza sports complex, even if you are not a big sports fan. The fact is that at a time when there are no sporting events inside the complex, a food market will be set up right on the basketball court. Here you can buy the famous sheep cheese “Idiazabal” at a much lower price than in supermarkets, and most importantly, of better quality. Sellers, using the richness of the Spanish language, call themselves not “productores”, but “elaboradores” (both words can be translated as “producers”), thus emphasizing the unique nature of their own, often family-run, cheese production. The secrets of making cheese are passed down from generation to generation and are carefully kept secret from possible competitors. The author of these dates was entrusted with the information only that cheese is usually boiled for 3–4 hours depending on the amount of milk, stored in special basements for 3–4 months, and beech logs are used for smoking. They also sell cheeses “for special connoisseurs”, “for the amateur”, which sometimes last up to two years. Indeed, not everyone will like the taste, smell and cost of these cheeses.

Sights of Vitoria

Don't forget about cultural values ​​during magical breakfasts, lunches and dinners with tapas and wine! Victoria is one of the few Spanish cities to have two cathedrals. Restoration work has been going on in the old (XIII-XIV centuries) Cathedral of Santa Maria for several years. The European Union awarded the restoration project the Europa Nostra Prize, which is the largest EU financial contribution to Spanish cultural heritage to date.

The new Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1907–1973) is a modern religious building. Inside there is a museum of religious art. All year round in the cathedral you can see the famous Neapolitan belen (a Christmas miniature sculptural composition traditional in Catholic countries), donated to the city by one of the patrons of the arts and consisting of 58 figures.

Pay attention to other religious buildings of the Basque capital, as well as the numerous parks surrounding the city. Believe me, Vitoria still has many interesting surprises and routes in store!

Spanish Chronicles