Navarre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Navarra” redirects here. For other uses, see Navarre (disambiguation).

Comunidad Foral de Navarra
Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa


Flag	Coat of arms

Capital

Pamplona (Basque: Iruña)

Official language(s)

Spanish;
Basque co-official
in the north of community.

Area
– Total
– % of Spain

Ranked 11th
10,391 km²
2.2%

Population
– Total (2005)
– % of Spain
– Density

Ranked 15th
593,472
1.3%
57.11/km²

Demonym
– English
– Spanish
– Basque

Navarrese
Navarro/a
napartar

Statute of Autonomy

August 16, 1982

Parliamentary
representation
– Congress seats
– Senate seats

5
1

President

Miguel Sanz Sesma (UPN)

ISO 3166-2

Gobierno de Navarra

Navarre (Spanish Navarra, Basque Nafarroa) is an autonomous community in Spain. Its official Spanish-language name is Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Basque Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa (for an explanation of foral, see fuero).

1 Community
2 Cultural heritage
3 History
4 Energy policy
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Community

Navarre is bordered on the west by the autonomous community of the Basque Country (formed by the provinces of Bizkaia, Guipúzcoa and Álava, although Navarre only has a border with the latter two), on the south by the autonomous community of La Rioja, on the east by the autonomous community of Aragon (formed by the provinces of Zaragoza/Saragossa, Teruel and Huesca, although Navarre only has a border with Zaragoza and Huesca), and on the north by the country France.

The community is governed as an autonomous region, with its own parliament (Parlamento de Navarra) and government (Gobierno de Navarra). As in other autonomous regions in Spain, health, employment, education and social services, together with housing, urban development, environment protection policies are under the responsibility of its own institutions. Unlike other regions (and like the Basque Country), it has almost full responsibility for collecting taxes, which must follow the overall guidelines established by the Spanish government but may have some minor differences.

There are 272 municipalities in Navarre. See List of municipalities in Navarre. One-third of the population lives in the capital, Pamplona (Basque Iruña).

[edit] Cultural heritage

Navarre is a mixture of its ancient Basque tradition and the Mediterranean influences coming from the Ebro. The Ebro valley is amenable to wheat, vegetables, wine, and even olive trees, as in Aragon and La Rioja. It was a part of the Roman Empire, and in the Middle Ages it became the taifa kingdom of Tudela.

A chapel in Roncesvalles

During the Reconquista, the Northerners extended southwards. In the Middle Ages, Pamplona was a crossroads for Basques, (Gascons from beyond the Pyrenees) and Romance speakers.

The Basque language has been losing ground for centuries.^{[citation needed]} Upper Navarrese is the dialect of the Basque language spoken in the region. Often feelings of "Basqueness" are linked to use of the language. For example, a person from a place where Basque was lost decades ago might say that they are not Basque, but that their grandfather was. Feelings of Basqueness often are carried onto politics with Basque nationalism being stronger in the North, either within Navarrese branches of Basque parties like Batasuna, Aralar, Eusko Alkartasuna or EAJ-PNV or as homegrown movements like Batzarre. Among the parties that downplay links to the Basque Country, there are regional branches of Spanish parties such as the PSOE, as well as regional parties such as UPN (Unión del Pueblo Navarro) and Convergencia de Demócratas Navarros.

[edit] History

Main article: Kingdom of Navarre

The Javier Castle

During the time of the Roman Empire, the territory of the province was inhabited by the ancient Vascones, an ancient people who inhabited the southern slopes of the Pyrenees. The area was never fully subjected nether by the Romans nor by the Arabs. In 778 a Frankish army was defeated by the Basques in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. In 824 the Basque chieftain Iñigo Arista was chosen king of Pamplona which laid the foundations of the Kingdom of Navarre. The kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Sancho III of Navarre and coverred the areas of the present-day Navarre, Basque Country, La Rioja, Cantabria; parts of Castilla y Leon and Aragon. However, after his death the country was divided between hissons and never fully recoverred. The army of Navarre took part in the decisive battle of Las Navas de Tolosa alongside the other Spanish Kingdoms in 1212 after which the Muslim possessions in the Peninsular were greatly reduced to a small territory to the south-east. Navarre was finally absorbed in the united Spanish Kingdom in 1513 and only a small area to the north of the Pyrenees was taken by France. The former state obtained some specific rights after its incorporation in united Spain.

[edit] Energy policy

Main article: Wind power in Spain

Navarre leads Europe in its use of renewable energy technology, and is planning to reach 100% renewable energy generation by 2010. By 2004 61% of the region's energy was generated by renewable sources, consisting of 43.6% from 28 wind farms, 12% from over 100 small-scale water turbines and 5.3% from 2 biomass and 2 biogas plants. In addition, the region had what was then Spain's largest photovoltaic power plant at Montes de Cierzo de Tudela (1.2 MWp capacity), plus several hundred smaller photovoltaic installations.

Developments since 2004 have included further photovoltaic plants at Larrión (0.25 MWp) [1] and another at Castejón (2.44 MWp), also once the largest in Spain [2].