Canfranc

Canfranc municipality
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Aragon
Province :	Huesca
Comarca :	Jacetania
Coordinates	42 ° 43 ′ N , 0 ° 32 ′ W Coordinates: 42 ° 43 ′ N , 0 ° 32 ′ W
Area :	71.60 km²
Residents :	540 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	7.54 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	22880
Municipality number ( INE ):	22078
administration
Official language :	Castilian
Website :	www.canfranc.com

Canfranc is a Spanish town in the Pyrenees on the border with France . It is located in the Aragón Valley south of the Somport Pass in the Huesca Province of the Autonomous Community of Aragon .

Canfranc is also the capital of the municipality of the same name and consists of two parts: the original Canfranc, also called Canfranc Pueblo or Canfranc Quemado, and the larger Canfranc Estación, four kilometers up the valley . Canfranc is on the Aragonese branch of the Camino de Santiago .

history

Canfranc was established in the Middle Ages as a border station. The name Campus Francus (for example: free field) is said to have been given due to the task of its residents to keep the path free of obstacles for travelers and pilgrims . The historical evidence of the place was largely destroyed in the fire of 1944. At this point in time, the "new" Canfranc had already emerged with the settlement around the Canfranc Estacíon station . Its centerpiece was the international train station. Although the plan soon turned out to be too optimistic and was only used very little after the railway line in the direction of Pau was closed , it has given the place a bizarre fame to this day.

With the emergence of skiing and hiking tourism in the Pyrenees , the place awoke again, the ski areas Astún and Candanchú are served by buses from here.

Until the introduction of the EU internal market , the local shops supplied French shopping tourists with inexpensive spirits .

At the turn of the millennium, the Somport road tunnel was inaugurated, which runs parallel to the old rail tunnel. Currently (as of 2006) work is being done on the restoration of the station. The resumption of train services to Pau by the SNCF is planned for 2020.

Attractions

Canfranc Pueblo

At the southern exit of the village are the remains of the Romanesque parish church and a very well preserved Romanesque bridge with an arch. The remains of the pilgrims' hospice founded in the 12th century near the parish church can no longer be visited. Furthermore, the remains of a medieval castle above the village have recently been excavated.

Canfranc Estación

Parish Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Canfranc-Estación

Torreta de Fusilería

When France built a new road to Somport in the 19th century , which was also easy to defend with the Portalet fortress, the Spanish decided to build new defenses against a possible French intervention. One is the Torreta de Fusilería, located south of the village on a small ledge. The building, which is surrounded by a moat, looks medieval. On four floors it offered space for 25 people, in addition to an office room there was a kitchen, hospital room, dungeon and firewood store. In the mid-1990s, the Torreta was to give way to the new construction of the Spanish national road N-330. The townspeople prevented the demolition. After the subsequent reconstruction, it served for some time as a museum and information center for the construction of the Somport road tunnel. Currently (as of 2006) it should not be publicly accessible. (See website Canfranc / Lugares de Interés.)

Somport road tunnel

The entrance to the Somport road tunnel is located at the end of the village . From the beginning of the 1990s, this tunnel was dug parallel to the old rail tunnel as a connection between France and Spain. It is one of the safest road tunnels in Europe. However, because of the poor road conditions on the French side, it should be used below the forecast traffic volume.

Col de Ladrones fortress

Another defensive structure built in the 18th century and renewed around 1900. It is picturesquely above the village in the Col de Ladrones and is in very poor condition.

railway station

Partial view of the train station

Regional trains at Canfranc Estacion station

The most important attraction in Canfrancs is its train station, which was planned as part of the Pau – Canfranc and Saragossa – Canfranc railway lines . During the Second World War , the station was the main transhipment point for looted gold , which Nazi Germany paid to Spain and Portugal for raw materials such as tungsten .

population

Number of inhabitants
year	1991	1996	2001	2004	2007
Residents	486	509	532	564	672

literature

Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
Enciclopedia del Románico en Aragón: Huesca. Fundación Santa María la Real del Patrimonio Histórico, Volume I (Jacetania), Aguilar del Campoo 2016, ISBN 978-84-15072-94-2 , pp. 205-208.