Historical San Sebastian

San Sebastian in Basque Country came to prominence in the 1100s when, eager to be visited by individuals hiking the Camino De Santiago trail, the city “found” some of St. James' bones in their cathedral.  

This was a real boom to the city for several, bringing in many travellers and tourism, until Rome demanded that the bones be sent to and stored at the Vatican.

The city remained quiet but affluent until the 1500s when it was conquered by Spain and brought into the territory.  The city's strategic location offered good shipping routes to the Americas and beyond and became a favourite of the Spanish royalty who built their summer homes here.  This attracted many of the Spanish nobility with it and the city continued to flourish.

In the 1800s, Napoleon and his forces captured San Sebastian but British and Portuguese troops besieged the city and freed it from French forces.  The troops, however, ransacked and burnt the city to the ground, with only one street surviving.  This street is now called August 31st Street to commemorate that impactful day.

The city has been beautifully rebuilt in an organized neo-classical design, housing beautiful plazas and buildings such as Constitution Square and the Town Hall.  The buildings have been well-maintained and now offer tourists some attractive shopping streets and lots of Basque-cuisine restaurants.

The attractive Constitution Square

The Spanish Civil War in the 1930s turned the tides for the city.  The Spanish Nationalists were able to defeat the Basque Nationalists and take control of the city, executing the city’s mayor and hundreds of others and causing people to flee from the city.  

August 31st 

In addition, as Franco was determined to unite Spain under one banner, he created rules and regulations outlawing the Basque language, the use of Basque-related names, the teaching of Basque history in school etc., in order to destroy the city's spirit.  

In the 1950s, large industrial production in the region brought a substantial number of immigrants to the city and reinvigorated urban development and prosperity.  

Even with all of these changes, the Basque natives remained determined to gain back the right to their cultural heritage. As a result, a climate of protest and street demonstrations followed. This desire for the Basque Country to be independent and autonomous was indeed so strong that it also sparked the development of the separatist organization ETA in the 1960s.  

After Franco’s death in the 1970s and the appointment of Prince Juan Carlos as the new leader, democracy was restored in Spain.  This reinvigorated the desire for Basque Country autonomy which fueled the initiatives of the ETA even further.  Terrorist attacks and initiatives ran rampant in San Sebastian and surrounding areas, once again hurting the city.  

Over time, however, a variety of initiatives - such as the opening up of the EU which allowed for the capture of many terrorists and a general fatigue around the ETA's violent reign - resulted in a backlash against and the dissipation of the ETA.  And by the early 2000s, the ETA was no longer considered problematic.

Although the Basque Country does not have complete autonomy or independence, they have been given almost complete authority over their own region.  Individuals pay taxes to the local government and this local government, in turn, pays 6% of these taxes to the Federal Government. The Basque people have complete control over their schools, health, transportation, language, justice systems and beyond.  The portion to the Federal Government appears to pay for a joint military and membership in the EU etc.

The community’s passion for their cultural heritage can be seen in all parts of the city.  Only Basque Flags are hung (with the exception of likely 2 Spanish flags which can be seen on a government building), the Basque language is used throughout the city and Basque food reigns supreme.  Even though other types of food restaurants have opened in the region, they almost never survive as the Basque community is said to only want to eat Basque food!  

San Sebastian has emerged from the conflict and is beginning to draw in thousands of tourists once again.  Next year, for example, San Sebastian has been chosen as the EU’s Cultural City of the year which will undoubtedly spur even more tourist development.  It will certainly be exciting to see how the city grows.