Somport

Col du Somport
The former border checkpoint on the Somport Pass
Compass direction	north	south
Pass height	1640  m
region	Department Pyrénées-Atlantiques department , France	Huesca Province , Aragon , Spain
Valley locations	Urdos	Canfranc
expansion	Pass road
Mountains	Pyrenees
profile
Ø pitch	3.3% (924 m / 28 km)	1.6% (442 m / 28.2 km)
Max. Incline	9.5%	8.2%
map
Coordinates	42 ° 47 '45 "  N , 0 ° 31' 37"  W Coordinates: 42 ° 47 '45 "  N , 0 ° 31' 37"  W.

The Col du Somport / Puerto de Somport (altitude 1640  m ) is one of the oldest Pyrenees crossings and border crossing between France and Spain . The Celts , Carthaginians , Romans and Moors used this pass. Its name is the polished form of the Latin summus portus = highest (Pyrenean) transition, which it actually was for centuries. In Jacob's book he is called Portus Asperi , probably with reference to the Aspe valley on the French side.

Pilgrimage

In the context of the Camino de Santiago , it is and was important for the pilgrims who went to Santiago de Compostela via Toulouse .

Just below the pass are the ruins of the old pilgrim hospital Santa Cristina de Somport from the 11th century. There is an opinion that it was built in 1078 on the initiative of King Sancho Ramírez of Aragón , another says that two knights had it built on Somport as thanks for surviving a snow storm. Both versions probably complement each other, because the promotion of the Camino de Santiago from private as well as state funds was common practice. It is possible that the origins of the monastery go back to the 7th century in the reign of the Visigoth king Wamba and the activities described above are then extensions. In 1623 it was placed under the order of the Jaca Preachers , to which the last monks moved some time later. According to a canon from Roncesvalles , the monastery was in ruins as early as 1661 .

The importance of the hospice can be assessed from the fact that it is named jointly with the hospices in Jerusalem and the Great St. Bernhard as pillars of Christianity in the Book of Jacob . A visit to the wintry Somport in bad weather (near the ski stations Astún and Candanchú ) makes this assignment understandable.

Railway tunnel

The old railway tunnel under construction of the road tunnel

The Spanish-French agreement to build a Trans-Pyrenees railway was signed in 1880. On the Spanish side, the line to the Canfranc valley was completed in 1883 and train traffic began. The construction of the route from the north was delayed. The railway tunnel under the pass was dug from 1908 to 1915. In 1928 the French Pau – Canfranc railway was opened. At Canfranc station (Estación internacional de Canfranc) the trains were re-gauged and border formalities were completed. In 1970 the train traffic through the tunnel was stopped after an accident. The now functionless station building in Canfranc is considered the largest in Spain. The old railway tunnel was used as a laboratory and workshop space when the road tunnel was built. The southern entrance to the station is only served by two pairs of trains a day, to and from Huesca .

Road tunnel

The road tunnel under the Somport was essentially built from 1999 to 2002 and opened to traffic on January 17, 2003. In the construction planning phase of the expressway leading to the tunnel, a protest movement supported by European environmental groups developed from 1992 onwards. The arguments directed against the construction mainly referred to the additional fragmentation of one of the last Western European brown bear areas while at the same time renouncing the reactivation of the disused railway line. In the vicinity of the former Cette Eygun train station on the French side, several international protest camps were held with v. a. from Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain and Spain. Subsequently, the construction site was briefly occupied several times. In 1994 the protests against the Somport tunnel culminated in a demonstration by 8,000 environmentalists.

Pass road

The importance of the Somport pass road for traffic has declined sharply since the opening of the Somport road tunnel in January 2003.

Web links

• Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical Guide to Pilgrims: The Way of St. James ; Madrid et al .: Ed. Everest, ⁸ 2002; ISBN 84-241-3835-X .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} La estación internacional de Canfranc ; Article dated August 12, 2007 on Cajón desastres.
2. ↑ Lugares abandonados: La estación de Canfranc ; Article on taringa.net/

Navigation bar St. James " Camino Aragonés "

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