Dictionary:
Na·varre (nə-vär', nä-)  |
A historical region and former kingdom of southwest Europe in the Pyrenees of northern Spain and southwest France. Inhabited from early times by ancestors of the Basques, it was ruled by a Basque dynasty from the 9th to the 13th century. The southern part was annexed to Spain (1512-1515), while the northern part remained an independent kingdom until it was incorporated into the French crown lands in 1589.
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Land and Economy
Navarre province forms the autonomous region of Navarra. The beautiful mountain slopes have extensive cattle pastures and vast forests that yield hardwoods, which are economically important. The fertile valleys produce sugar beets, cereals, and vegetables; vineyards are important in the Ebro valley. Hydroelectric energy and entrepreneurship have resulted in considerable industrialization since the 1950s. Manufactures include processed foods and metal parts.
History
The population of northern and western Navarre is largely of Basque stock, and the early history of the region is that of the Basques. The pass of Roncesvalles, which leads from France to Navarre, made the region strategically important early in its history. The Basques defended themselves successfully against the Moorish invaders as well as against the Franks; the domination of Charlemagne, who conquered Navarre in 778, was short-lived. In 824 the Basque chieftain Iñigo Aritza was chosen king of Pamplona, which was expanded under his successors and became known as the kingdom of Navarre. It reached its zenith under Sancho III (reigned 1000-1035), who married the heiress of Castile and ruled over nearly all of Christian Spain.
On Sancho's death the Spanish kingdoms were again divided (into Navarre, Aragón, and Castile). The kingdom of Navarre then comprised the present province of Navarre, the Basque Provinces (which were later lost to Castile), and, north of the Pyrenees, the district called Lower Navarre, now a part of France. In 1305, Navarre passed to King Philip IV of France. Navarre stayed with the French crown until the death (1328) of Charles IV, when it passed to Charles's niece, whose son, Charles II (Charles the Bad), played an important part in the Hundred Years War and in the French civil unrest of the time. In 1479, Navarre passed, through marriage, to the counts of Foix and then to the house of Albret. Ferdinand V (Ferdinand the Catholic), after defeating Jean d'Albret, annexed most of Navarre in 1515. The area north of the Pyrenees (Lower Navarre) remained an independent kingdom until it was incorporated (1589) into the French crown when Henry III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France. It was united with Béarn into a French province.
Until the French Revolution the kings of France carried the additional title king of Navarre. Since the rest of Navarre was in Spanish hands, the kings of Spain also carried (until 1833) the title king of Navarre. During that period Navarre enjoyed a special status within the Spanish monarchy; it had its own cortes, taxation system, and separate customs laws. In 1833, Navarre became the chief stronghold of the Carlists but recognized Isabella II as queen in 1839. As a reward for their loyalty in the Spanish Civil War, Franco allowed the Navarrese to maintain their ancient fueros, which were charters handed down by the crown outlining a system of self-government.
| Wikipedia: Navarre |
| Chartered Community of Navarre Comunidad Foral de Navarra Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa |
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| Coordinates: 42°49′N 1°39′W / 42.817°N 1.65°WCoordinates: 42°49′N 1°39′W / 42.817°N 1.65°W | |||
| Capital | Pamplona | ||
| Government | |||
| - President | Miguel Sanz Sesma (UPN) | ||
| Area (2.2% of Spain; Ranked 11th) | |||
| - Total | 10,391 km2 (4,012 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - Total | 620,337 | ||
| - Density | 59.7/km2 (154.6/sq mi) | ||
| - Pop. rank | 15th | ||
| - Percent | 1.3% of Spain | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | NA | ||
| Parliament | Cortes Generales | ||
| Congress seats | 5 | ||
| Senate seats | 5 (4 elected and 1 appointed) | ||
| Website | Gobierno de Navarra | ||
Navarre (Spanish: Navarra, Basque: Nafarroa) is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities - the "Chartered Community of Navarre" (Spanish: Comunidad Foral de Navarra; Basque: Nafarroako Foru Erkidegoa).
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During the time of the Roman Empire, the territory of the province was inhabited by the Vascones, a pre-Roman tribe who populated the southern slopes of the Pyrenees. The Vascones managed to maintain their separate Basque language and traditions even under the Roman rule.
The area was never fully subjugated either by the Visigoths or by the Arabs. In A.D. 778, the Basques defeated a Frankish army in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Two generations later, in 824, the chieftain Iñigo Arista was chosen King of Pamplona, laying a foundation for the later Kingdom of Navarre. That kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Sancho III of Navarre and covered the area of the present-day Navarre, Basque country, and La Rioja, together with parts of modern Cantabria, Castile and León, and Aragon.
After Sancho III died, the Kingdom of Navarre was divided between his sons and never fully recovered its importance. The army of Navarre fought beside other Christian Spanish kingdoms in the decisive battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, after which the Muslim conquests on the Iberian Peninsula were slowly reduced to a small territory in the south.
In A.D. 1515, the bulk of Navarre below the Pyrenees—Upper Navarre—was at last absorbed into a re-united Kingdom of the Spains but retained some rights specific to it. The small portion of Navarre lying north of the Pyrenees—Lower Navarre—later came under French rule when its Huguenot sovereign became King Henri IV of France; with the declaration of the French Republic and execution of Louis XVI, the last King of France and Navarre, the kingdom was merged into a unitary French state.
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, and 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 and administering taxes which must follow the overall guidelines established by the Spanish government but may have some minor differences.
It is made up of 272 municipalities and has a total population of 601,874 (2006), of which approximately one-third live in the capital, Pamplona (195,769 pop.), and one-half in the capital’s metropolitan area (315,988 pop.). There are no other large municipalities in the region. The next largest are Tudela (32,802), Barañáin (22,401), Burlada (18,388), Estella - Lizarra (13,892), Zizur Mayor (13,197), Tafalla (11,040), Villava/Atarrabia (10,295), and Ansoáin (9,952).
Despite its relatively small size, Navarre features stark contrasts in geography, from the Pyrenees mountain range that dominates the territory to the plains of the Ebro river valley in the south.
The climate of Navarre mixes influences from the Pyrenees mountains and Ebro river valley, creating a great difference between the climates of the north (much more humid and with frequent rainfall) and of the south (more Mediterranean with higher temperatures and more sporadic precipitation). One can pass from the humid Cantabrian valleys in the north to the arid, steppe-like Bardenas Reales on the banks of the Ebro river in just a few kilometers
Navarre is a mixture of its ancient tradition and 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. During the Reconquista, the Northerners extended southwards. In the Middle Ages, Pamplona was a crossroads for Gascons from beyond the Pyrenees and Romance speakers
Navarre leads Europe in its use of renewable energy technology and is planning to reach 100% renewable electricity generation by 2010. By 2004, 61% of the region's electricity 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]
Spanish is the official language in Navarre, together with Basque that is also an official language but only in the Basque speaking area.[3] The north-western part of the community is largely Basque-speaking, while the southern part is almost completely Spanish-speaking. The capital Pamplona is in the mixed region. Navarre is divided into three parts linguistically: regions where Basque is widespread (the Basque-speaking area), regions where Basque is present (the mixed region), and regions where Basque is absent (the Spanish-speaking area).[4]
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Navarre". Read more |
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