|This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (December 2008)|
|The port at Hendaye|
|Elevation||0–108 m (0–354 ft)
(avg. 25 m or 82 ft)
|Land area1||8 km2 (3.1 sq mi)|
|- Density||1,805 /km2 (4,670 /sq mi)|
|INSEE/Postal code||64260/ 64700|
|1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.|
|2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.|
Hendaye (Basque: Hendaia) is the most south-westerly town and commune in France, lying in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and located in the traditional province Lapurdi (Labourd) of the French Basque Country. The town is a popular seaside tourist resort by the Atlantic coast, the "Côte Basque", lying at the same time on the right bank of the Bidassoa, which marks the border with Irún, Spain. It is currently the fifth largest commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and fourth urban area.
The town is arranged in two distinguishable parts: on the one side, the primal nucleus stretching from the church Saint Vincent to the area around the SNCF terminus and, on the other, the quarter developed next to the beach by the ocean, with a clear tourist vocation. The latest development (Sokoburu) has taken place in the most westerly sand spit located by the mouth of the river Bidassoa.
Hendaye acquired its independence from the Urrugne parish in 1598, when the Saint Vincent church was built. During the Franco-Spanish War, the town was briefly occupied by the Spanish, in September 1636.
On the fortified Île des Faisans ("Pheasant Island") in the river, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659, ending decades of intermittent war between France and Spain. Authority over the Île changes between France and Spain every six months.
All the same, the village kept being subject to destruction due to cross-border military activity. In the period following the rise of Napoleon to prominence, the village was levelled to the ground on this account, as described in 1799 by Wilhelm von Humboldt: "The settlement spreads over a rather wide area, and seems to have looked clean and pleasant time ago. Currently all the houses, but for a handful of them, lie destroyed. The empty walls can barely stand, while the ground before inhabited on is covered with overgrown bush and hawthorn. Ivy creeps up the walls, out of all but crumbling windows the desolate ocean can be seen through the room. Shells can still be come across the street here and there, but hardly ever can one bump into a person. Most of the inhabitants either perished in the danger and the helplessness of the runaway or they scattered across other places."
In 1864 the railway arrived in Hendaye, re-shaping forever the human and urban landscape of the village and prompting rapid development.
In October 23, 1940, Ramón Serrano Súñer, Francisco Franco, Adolf Hitler and Joachim von Ribbentrop met in the Hendaye railway station (then in German-occupied France) to discuss Spain's participation in World War II as part of the Axis. Franco, uneasy about committing his nation to another conflict so soon after the Spanish Civil War, was not convinced, and Hitler decided not to force the issue. Spain was officially neutral during the following five years of the war, though very much a pro-Axis state.
The town square, where there is a weekly open-air market on Wednesdays, is the location of the famous seventeenth century "Great Cross of Hendaye", a stone cross carved with alchemical symbols that occultists find to contain encrypted information on a future global catastrophe. The church of Saint-Vincent was built in 1598, and largely reconstructed over the centuries following fires and bombardments. Its most recent transformation was finished in 1968. The 13th-century crucifix is the principal treasure.
The ruins of the early seventeenth century fortifications, which were reinforced by Vauban in 1685, and the old cannons facing Hondarribia, are one of the features of the promenade along the Bay of Txingudi waterfront.
The Jumeaux rocks have become somewhat emblematic to Hendaye. These two high rock stacks, which have been carved out of the cliffs by wave action, are visible from the beach or from the domaine d'Abbadia, a nature park on the edge of the commune related to the Conservatoire du littoral project.
Hendaye doesn't have any specific music venues, but there are many places where bands can play. The covered pelota fronton at Belcenia has a high capacity and the basque folk band Oskorri have played here on more than one occasion. In summer, bigger bands can play in open air at the Hendaye Plage Rugby pitch. Toure Kunda, among others, have played here. Concerts can be organised in the Cinéma les Variétés, which also has a high capacity.
The closed market is a good place for starting-out local bands to stage small concerts. Rather than a pub scene, local bands often play in Hendaye's many campsites in the summer.
The Lanetik Egina music club is the hub of Hendaye's music scene. It has a very good reputation and organises regular concerts. It is also a place where musicians of all ages can meet up and form bands.
Perhaps the most successful band to come from Hendaye is the basque ska-punk band Skunk, who have made many albums.
Theatre and performance
The Cinéma les Variétés is a large classic theatre and cinema, which is a regular venue for theatre, dancing, and performance arts. There is also a cinema at Sokoburu, near the quartier de la Plage, called the Salle Antoine d'Abbadie, but it is only used on special occasions.
The Théâtre des Chimères, from Biarritz, regularly perform at Hendaye.
Art and literature
The Médiathèque municipale François Mitterrand is a public library offering the rental of books, magazines, films, and CDs. There is also an art gallery, which is the main one for Hendaye.
These a few of the regular festivals in Hendaye:
- Bixintxo (St Vincent)
- Mai du théâtre (theatre festival throughout the month)
- Fête du cidre (cider festival)
- Fête de la musique (music festival)
- Fête de la Mer (festival of the Sea)
- Fête Basque (basque festival)
Most of the town's restaurants are found in the quartier de la Plage and along the Bay of Txingudi waterfront.
Hendaye is locally well known for the quality of its txurros.
The town is an important railway junction, as Spain's mainline trains use a broader gauge than continental Europe, with the French railway network finishing here on the banks of the Bidasoa. There is also a station serving the beach quarter (Hendaye Plage) prior to the terminus, called the Gare des Deux Jumeaux. A Basque regional train line from Euskotren linking the town to Donostia-San Sebastián gets right to Hendaye, by the SNCF station.
There has been recent controversy concerning the new LGV Sud Europe Atlantique (TGV line), which is planned to pass inland of Hendaye without stopping in or anywhere near the town itself. Most of the local population, along with that of the rest of the Côte Basque, are in favour of the TGV, but against the new line, which would destroy the surrounding countryside, bypassing the town completely. It has therefore been suggested to upgrade the present line to make it suitable for the TGV, with a stop at Hendaye station. It is argued that this would also be much less expensive, and stimulate the local economy.
The commune of Biriatou to the south is the only other official member of the urban area. However, Béhobie, a quartier of Urrugne, situated between the communes of Hendaye and Biriatou, is generally regarded as a much more significant part of the agglomeration.
Twin towns↑Jump back a section
- Pierre Loti lived and died here (1894-1923. His house in Hendaye, Bakhar-Etchea ('La maison du solitaire'), still exists.
- Martin Guerre was born in Hendaye.
- Etienne Pellot was born and died here.
- Antoine d'Abbadie lived here.
- Joachim Labrouche was born in Hendaye.
- Robert Basauri, a rugby player who has been selected for the French national team, was born in Hendaye and played with the Stade Hendayais.
- The professional rugby player Jean-Michel Esponda was born in Hendaye and played with the Stade Hendayais. He has been selected many times for the French national team.
- Bixente Lizarazu grew up here and played with the Eglantins.
- The Junior World surfing champion Pauline Ado is a native and resident of Hendaye, and started surfing here.
- The Turkish poet Melih Cevdet Anday's surname is the Turkish pronunciation of Hendaye.
- It is the western end of the GR 10 long distance footpath.
- It marks the beginning (or end) of the Raid Pyreneen long distance cycle challenge.
- Hendaye has a Rugby and handball club, the Stade Hendayais, which was founded in 1908.
- It has a football club, the Eglantins.
- It has a surf club, the Bidasoa Surf Club.
- Hendaye is a popular surfing destination renowned for its soft beach break waves suitable for beginners.
- Since 2004, the world conception center for the watersports brand Tribord is located in Hendaye.
- Hendaye is renowned for its marina, which has 850 places, making it the third largest in Aquitaine.
- The Endaika rowing club was founded in 1889 and won three silver medals in the French championships in 2006 and 2007.
- Tennis players from around the world gather for the Summer tennis tournament.
- Official website (in Basque and French)
- Sur les pas des écrivains Pierre Loti à Hendaye at Terresdecrivains.com, accessed 16 July 2010
- HENDAIA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) (in Spanish)
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