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Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Donibane Garazi | |
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 Old bridge over river Nive | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port  | |
  Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port  Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port | |
| Coordinates:43°09′54″N1°14′08″W / 43.165°N 1.2356°W /43.165; -1.2356 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Pyrénées-Atlantiques |
| Arrondissement | Bayonne |
| Canton | Montagne Basque |
| Intercommunality | CA Pays Basque |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Laurent Inchauspé[1] |
Area 1 | 2.73 km2 (1.05 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 1,487 |
| • Density | 540/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 64485 /64220 |
| Elevation | 159–320 m (522–1,050 ft) (avg. 180 m or 590 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John [at the] Foot of [the] Pass";Basque:Donibane Garazi;Spanish:San Juan Pie de Puerto;Occitan:Sant Joan de Pei de Port) is acommune in thePyrénées-Atlantiquesdepartment in south-western France.[3] It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean foothills. The town is the old capital of the traditionalBasque province ofLower Navarre. Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the second most popular starting point of theFrench Way (Camino Francés).[4] It is a member ofLes Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.
The town lies on the riverNive, 8 km (5.0 mi) from the Spanish border, and is the head town of the region ofBasse-Navarre (Lower Navarre in English) and was classified among the Most Beautiful Villages of France in 2016.[5] The Pays de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, also calledPays de Cize (Garazi inBasque), is the region surrounding Saint-Jean-Pied-Port. The town's layout is essentially one main street withsandstone walls encircling. It is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) by air and 75 kilometres (47 mi) on road away fromPamplona (Basque:Iruña), the capital ofUpper Navarre, across the Spanish border.
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The original town at nearbySaint-Jean-le-Vieux was razed to the ground in 1177 by the troops ofRichard the Lionheart after a siege. TheKings of Navarre refounded the town on its present site shortly afterwards.
The town was thereafter a town of theKingdom of Navarre, and the seat of the sheriff of theLower Navarre district ("merindad" ofUltrapuertos orDeça-Ports). It remained as such up to the period of theSpanish conquest (1512-1528) when KingHenry II of Navarre decided to transfer the seat of the royal institutions toSaint Palais (Donapaleu) on safety grounds.
In 1998, thePorte St-Jacques[6] (city gate) was added to theUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites as part of the sites along theRoutes of Santiago de Compostela in France.[7]
The town has traditionally been an important point on theWay of St. James, thepilgrimage toSantiago de Compostela, as it stands at the base of theRoncevaux Pass across thePyrenees.Pied-de-Port means 'foot of the pass' in Pyrenean French. The routes from Paris,Vézelay andLe Puy-en-Velay 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.[4]
91% of people did the pilgrimage on foot and 7% by bike. In contrast toSarria, 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.[4]
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 greyschist, and retain distinctive features, including inscriptions over their doors. One, a bakery, lists the price of wheat in 1789.
The 14th-century red schist Gothic church, Notre-Dame-du-Bout-du-Pont,[8] stands by the Porte d'Espagne. The original was built bySancho the Strong of Navarre to commemorate the 1212Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa whereMoorish dominance of Spain was undermined.
Above the town at the top of the hill is thecitadel, remodelled byVauban in the 17th century.
Outside the walls is a new town, with theHôtel de Ville and apelotafronton.
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Traditional crafts and foods remain in the town, including Basque linen from the Inchauspé family since 1848.[9] The town is now an important tourist centre for thePyrenees and the French Basque country and there are shops, restaurants and hotels.
St-Jean-Pied-de-Port specializes in sheep's milk cheese, like theOssau-Iraty 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-handedpelote at thefronton. There are large fairs four times a year.
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port station is the southern terminus of therailway 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.
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