Luzaide / Valcarlos

Luzaide / Valcarlos municipality
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Navarre
Province :	Navarre
Comarca :	Auñamendi
Coordinates	43 ° 6 ′ N , 1 ° 18 ′ W Coordinates: 43 ° 6 ′ N , 1 ° 18 ′ W
Height :	365 msnm
Area :	44.66 km²
Residents :	329 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	7.37 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	31660
Municipality number ( INE ):	31248
administration
Official language :	Castilian , Basque
Mayor :	Fernando Alzón Aldave ; (Luzaidegatik)
Website :	www.luzaide-valcarlos.net

Luzaide / Valcarlos ( Basque Luzaide, Spanish Valcarlos) is a place and municipality in northern Spain in the autonomous region of Navarre . It is located on the road connecting the French Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port ( D933 ) to the Spanish Roncesvalles (national road N-135) over the Pyrenees pass Puerto de Ibañeta .

General

It is one of the few Spanish towns north of the main ridge of the Pyrenees . The connections to neighboring France - Pyrénées-Atlantiques , formerly Lower Navarre (französ. Basse-Navarre , the French part of) the kingdom of Navarre - are closely for historical and geographical reasons, the connection to Spain is on a twisting mountain road via Roncesvalles place . Valcarlos is located on the Rio Luzane river , known in France as the Nive d'Arnéguy .

Valcarlos does not consist of a single village, but rather has developed in the form of a scattered settlement with different settlement cores that can be a few hundred meters or a few kilometers apart. The geographical and functional center is Elizaldea , near this main district are Gaindola and Azoleta . A little further away are Pekotxeta and Gañekoleta ' . Along the border with France, in times of different tax burdens for alcohol, tobacco products and cosmetics, sales items, so-called Ventas , developed, most of which had emerged from a homestead and included a restaurant and sales room. The shifts in the course of the border in the course of history mostly took place in the course of armed conflicts. Among other things, the eastern part of the place was slammed under the name Ondarrola France.

Population development of the municipality

Source: INE archive - graphic processing for Wikipedia

Place name

Luzaide / Valcarlos has a twofold naming tradition with different meanings. With the democratic constitution of 1978 the basis for bilingualism in Navarre was laid, from January 31, 1989 the municipality bears the double name Luzaide / Valcarlos, before that only Valcarlos was the official name, while Luzaide was used in non-official language.

The Spanish name refers to the Roland saga , according to which Charlemagne's army is said to have camped here after the Battle of Roncesvalles . Aymeric Picaud passed the valley in the 12th century and mentions him in Jacob's book :

To the north of the mountain there is a valley, called Valcarlos, in which Charlemagne camped with his army when the fighters fell in Roncesvalles, and through which many pilgrims to St. James pass who do not want to climb the mountain.

The Basque name Luzaide possibly means “long way”: from luzea (long) and bide (way) . The Basco-French philologist Jean-Baptiste Orpustan traces the name back to the long distance that the shepherds had to cover with their animals before the place was created, before they encountered a human settlement again. The central point of the municipality is Elizaldea (Basque: area around the church).

history

The area around Valcarlos, which has been an administrative unit since 1592, has been settled for a very long time, which has been proven by prehistoric finds. Parts of the Battle of Roncesvalles are said to have taken place in the area.

Traditions and Folklore

The folkloric highlight in Valcarlos is the Bolantes festival at Easter. Bolantes are the dancers who, on this occasion, perform traditional dances dressed in local costumes. These are z. B. Bolant-iantzak , Erdixka-Lauetan , Jauziak or Makilariak (dance in which a stick, the makila , is thrown into the air and picked up again.) The origin of the festival may have been the carnival of the area. The whole village is involved in the preparations for a few months. In assemblies, a festival director is elected, the mayordomos or gorriak , as well as other posts that play a role in the course of the festival: flag bearers, banderari , makilari , zapurrak , atxo ta tupiñak .

Individual evidence

↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).

Web links

Valcarlos, geographical and historical description ( Memento of February 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish)
Valcarlos in the Enciclopedia Auñamendi de Bernardo Lasa

Navigation bar St. James " Camino Francés "

← Previous location: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 8 km | Luzaide / Valcarlos | Next town: Puerto de Ibañeta 15 km →

[1] Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).