Donostia–San Sebastián

Donostia–San Sebastián, city, capital of Guipúzcoa provincia (province), northeastern Basque Country comunidad autónoma(autonomous community), north-central Spain. It is a fashionable seaside resort at the mouth of the canalized Urumea River on the Bay of Biscay, east of Bilbao and near the French frontier.

First mentioned in a document of 1014, it was granted a charter of rights and privileges by Sancho VI (the Wise) of Navarre about 1160–90. In 1813 the town burned after Anglo-Portuguese troops took it from the French during the Peninsular War. It was formerly the summer residence of the Spanish royal court. The old town and harbour occupy an isthmus between the mainland and Mount Urgull, on whose summit stands the 16th-century Mota Castle. The well-planned modern town extends across both banks of the Urumea and to the broad beaches on La Concha bay, site of the famous regattas that take place on the Feast of St. Sebastian (January 20). In the old town are the Gothic church of San Vicente (1507), the Baroque church of Santa María (1743–64), and the former convent of San Telmo (1531–51), now a museum with a Basque ethnographic section. The new town has the notable neo-Gothic cathedral of El Buen Pastor (“The Good Shepherd”).

Aside from tourism, the chief sources of income are the manufacture of cement, chemicals, metallurgical products, beer, and chocolate, along with fishing. The service sector (commerce, transportation, and tourism) dominates the city’s economy. La Concha beaches attract thousands of visitors annually, as do annual international jazz and film festivals. Pop. (2006 est.) 180,090.