Roncesvalles Orreaga (Basque) | |
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| Orreaga / Roncesvalles | |
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 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Roncesvalles Location in Spain | |
| Coordinates:43°0′N1°19′W / 43.000°N 1.317°W /43.000; -1.317 | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community | Navarre |
| Province | Navarre |
| Comarca / Eskualdea | Auñamendi |
| Judicial district | Agoitz / Aóiz |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Luis Echeverría Echávarren |
| Area | |
• Total | 15.1 km2 (5.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 923 m (3,028 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,564 m (5,131 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 910 m (2,990 ft) |
| Population (2018)[1] | |
• Total | 21 |
| • Density | 1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Orreagatar |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 31650 |
| Dialing code | 948 |
| Website | Official website |
Roncesvalles (/ˈrɒnsəvælz/RON-sə-valz,[2][3]Spanish:[ronθesˈβaʎes];Basque:Orreaga[oreaɣa];Aragonese:Ronzesbals[ɾonθezˈbals];Occitan:Roncesvals;French:Roncevaux[ʁɔ̃s(ə)vo]) is a small village andmunicipality inNavarre, northernSpain. It is situated on the small riverUrrobi at an altitude of some 900 metres (3,000 ft) in thePyrenees, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from theFrench borderas the crow flies, or 21 kilometres (13 mi) by road.
Roncesvalles is famous in history and legend for the death ofRoland in 778, during theBattle of Roncevaux Pass, whenCharlemagne's rearguard was destroyed byBasque tribes.[4]
When a party of horsemen from the Kingdom of Navarre arrived at the Duchy of Burgundy in 1439 to negotiate Prince Charles of Navarre's marriage to Agnes of Cleves, the Duke of Burgundy's niece, the prior of Roncesvalles was their chief ambassador. He was described as a "noble knight".[5]
The smallcollegiate church contains several curiousrelics associated with Roland. The battle is said to have been fought in the valley known asValcarlos, which is now occupied by a hamlet bearing the same name, and in the adjoining pass of Ibañeta (Roncevaux Pass). Both of these are traversed by the main road leading north from Roncesvalles toSaint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, in the FrenchBasque Country.
Since theMiddle Ages, this collegiate church of Santa María de Orreaga/Roncesvalles has been a favorite resting place forCatholicpilgrims along theFrench Way path, the most popular variant of theWay of St. James, since it is the first place to have a rest after crossing the French Pyrenees. The church, a former pilgrim's hospice, was built at the end of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth centuries. The oldest building is the Chapel of Sancti Spiritus, or "Charlemagne's Silo" built in Romanesque style in the 12th century.[4]
Every year thousands of pilgrims begin their way toSantiago de Compostela at Roncesvalles.[4]
The area was also the site ofthe 1813 Battle of Roncesvalles during thePeninsular War.
marriage of agnes of cleves charles of navarre.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roncesvalles".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 689.
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43°0′33″N1°19′12″W / 43.00917°N 1.32000°W /43.00917; -1.32000
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