Monday, June 25, 2012

The city walls

The five-kilometre walls around the city create an unusual and evocative stroll around its history. The city walls of Pamplona are one of the most interesting and best preserved military structures in Spain and hold the status of National Monument.

As a medieval city, Pamplona surrounded itself with walls to defend itself against invaders, although it was not until the incorporation of the Kingdom of Navarre into the Crown of Castile in 1515 that its strategic location turned it into an advanced post of the Spanish crown against France.

The development of the great and formidable fortress began at that time and has its high point in the Citadel. Bastions gates, half-moons, ravelins, forts... all give the walled enclosure the sobriety and sophistication of this kind of defensive system.

Pamplona's urban development in the 20th century meant that some sections had to be demolished so that the modern city could expand. Its essence remains, however.

A walk along the path around the walls, which runs between the Media Luna and Taconera parks, combines the coldness and silence of the stones with the warm and welcoming green landscape in the background. The best way to start is by visiting the Interpretation Centre of the Fortifications  of Pamplona. Located at the end of the Media Luna park, it is an excellent place to understand the construction, evolution and life of the walls.
Fuente Turismo de Navarra
Taconera

www.sanferminbalconies.com

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