Vitoria

Vitoria (vētō'rēä), city (1990 est. pop. 209,506), capital of Álava prov., N Spain, in the Basque region. It is a manufacturing and administrative center producing furniture, motor vehicles, and refined sugar. It was probably founded in the 6th cent. by the Visigoths; in 1181 Sancho the Wise of Navarre named it Vitoria to commemorate a victory over the Moors. At Vitoria in 1813 Wellington won the decisive battle of the Peninsular War against the French under Joseph Bonaparte and Jourdan. The 12th-century church of San Miguel is noted for its woodwork.