Bay of Txingudi

The Great Cross of Hendaye (French: Croix d'Hendaye) is a stone cross located on the town square of Hendaye, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in southwestern France. The cross includes references to apocalyptic beliefs about Christianity, Rosicrucianism, and alchemy. Many, including devotees of Nostradamus, the Bible Code, and especially the 2012 phenomenon, believed that a great comet would pass by, or crash into the earth in the year 2012, and interpreted the Cross of Hendaye as another reminder that 2012 would be the end.

Hendaye (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃daj]; Basque: Hendaia, Spanish: Hendaya) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.The town, Metropolitan France's most southwesterly and a popular seaside tourist resort, stands on the right bank of the River Bidassoa – which marks the Franco-Spanish border – at the point where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean in the French Basque Country. Hendaye has three distinguishable parts: la ville (the town), which stretches from Saint Vincent's church to the area around the SNCF railway station and the industrial zone; la plage (the beach), the seaside quarter; and les hauteurs (the heights), the villas and camping sites on the hills between and behind the other two areas.

Hendaye station (French: Gare d'Hendaye) is a railway station in Hendaye, France, on the Bordeaux-Irun and Madrid-Hendaye lines. The station is served by TGV high speed trains, Intercités de nuit night trains, Intercités long distance and TER local services operated by the SNCF, Trenhotel and Arco services operated by RENFE, and EuskoTren services. The Euskotren 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge services operate from a station on the forecourt of the SNCF station, for which separate ticketing is required. The station is a border railway station where all trains have to stop, as those coming from/going into Spain have to change gauge from 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge to 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge. The electric supply also changes here from 1500 V DC (overhead France) to 3000 V DC (overhead Spain). Between the stations of Hendaye and Irun, both track gauges run together.

Les Deux-Jumeaux (formerly Hendaye-Plage) is a railway station in Hendaye, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Bordeaux–Irun railway line. The station is served by TER (local) services operated by the SNCF.

The siege of Fuenterrabía took place in 1523 when the Franco-Navarrese army had taken it in a new incursion after the failure of the third attempt to reconquer the Kingdom of Navarre, which had been occupied since 1512 by troops from the unified Crown of Castile and Crown of Aragon, with Navarrese support. There were Navarrese on both sides. The Fuenterrabía of the 16th century also included most of the municipal term of the current city of Irun, the municipality of Lezo, and parts of Hendaye, Urruña (Behovia neighborhood) and Pasajes (Pasajes de San Juan). The town and fortress were located on a hill surrounded by thick walls, mountains and the sea at the mouth of the Bidasoa River.Its border situation and its geographic characteristics made both Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Francis I of France covet its possession. For this reason, both nations appointed commissioners to elucidate the problems of water limits in the conflicts of the towns of Fuenterrabía and Hendaye, something that until then had been solved by agreement. In 1512, the first counteroffensive was carried out to recover the kingdom of Navarre after its invasion by the Crowns of Castile and Aragon, in which Marshal Pedro de Navarre with 2000 men within the contingent of Lautrec and Borbón were stopped by Luis I of the Cave, II Lord of Solera. To prevent another invasion, the fortification proceeded, ordering in November of that year the construction of a castle in Behovia, which reinforced the effectiveness of the Fuenterrabía fort. As of 1517, the territorial rights of the area were defined by law by the two kingdoms, that of Spain and that of France, leaving the natives divided.

The Bidasoa (Spanish: [biðaˈsoa]; French: Bidassoa, pronounced [bidasɔa]) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the province of Navarre, the river actually results from the merger of several streams near the village Erratzu, with the stream Baztan that rises at the north-eastern side of the mount Autza (1,306 m) being considered the source of the Bidasoa. It joins the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay) between the towns of Hendaye and Hondarribia. The river is best known for establishing the borderline at its lower tract. This stretch is crossed not only by aircraft at low height but by important European communication axes, namely AP8 E5 E80 - E70 A63 (motorway, connection at the Biriatu toll), main roads N1 - N10 (connection at the roundabout of Saizar by the river) and major French and Spanish railway networks,—Renfe and SNCF. Besides these major lines, other regional ones cross it too, e.g. regional railway EuskoTren (terminus in Hendaye) and another double bridge (pedestrians/vehicles) joining the towns on the border, i.e. the historical Santiago Bridge (Way of St. James). At this stage of the river, urban landscape prevails (built-up area). Before pouring its waters into the ocean, it forms a bay called Txingudi located between these towns and Irun, the site being designated Wetland of International Importance in 2002, with a total area of 1.28 km2 (0.49 sq mi). The banks of Hondarribia hold the minor San Sebastian Airport serving domestic flights and currently mired in controversy over its lengthening and upgrading scheme.

Irun Ficoba is a railway station in Irun, Basque Country, Spain. It is owned by Euskal Trenbide Sarea and operated by Euskotren. It lies on the San Sebastián-Hendaye railway, popularly known as the Topo line.

Fuenterrabia (Basque: Hondarribia; Spanish: Fuenterrabía; French: Fontarrabie) is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, in Basque Country, Spain. The border town is situated on a little promontory facing Hendaye (France) over the Txingudi bay. A service boat makes the trip between the two cities. The town holds an ancient old quarter with walls and a castle. In addition, Fuenterrabia features a beach across the Bidasoa from the touristy housing estate Sokoburu in Hendaye, alongside a mountain called Jaizkibel providing a hilly backdrop to the town. A road leads north-east from the beach area to the Cape Higuer, located in this municipality. The town harbours the San Sebastian Airport, which serves domestic flights. The population as of 2005 is 15,700 inhabitants.

Stadium Gal is a football stadium in Irun, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. It is owned by Real Unión, currently in Segunda División B. The capacity of the stadium is 5,500 spectators. The stadium is located on the left bank of the Bidasoa river, which forms the border between Spain and France (on the right bank is the French-Basque town of Hendaye); it is about 300 metres from the road and rail bridges which are the crossing points over the river between the nations.

The siege of Hondarribia of 1638 took place in June – September 1638, between Spain and France during the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659). The French army commanded by Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, Bernard de La Valette, Duke d'Épernon and Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis composed of 27,000 men and several warships besieged the city for two months, firing 16,000 shells into the walled city, leaving only 300 survivors, most of them women and children. The city was virtually destroyed, but nevertheless did not surrender. On 7 September, the Spanish army led by Juan Alfonso Enríquez de Cabrera, 9th Admiral of Castile, relieved the city and defeated the French forces. The raising of the siege is celebrated annually on 8 September in a parade, known as Alarde. After the French disaster of Fuenterrabía (Hondarribia), Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis attempted to blame the defeat on Bernard de La Valette, Duke d'Épernon, who had refused to lead the attack, believing that it would fail. For the successful resistance, the city received the title of «Muy noble, muy leal, muy valerosa y muy siempre fiel».

The Plaiaundi Ecology Park is a 24 -hectare coastal wetland lying where the Bidasoa River meets the sea in the Bay of Biscay. This is in the Basque country of northern Spain, close to the border with France. It is near Irun and Hondarribia in Gipuzkoa, Spain, and Hendaia in France. The confluence of the sea and river have made it one of the most important sites for migratory birds in Europe, with up to 175 species seen visiting the park each year. It is a natural flora and fauna reserve. The park contains three lagoons, two of which are tidal, and a beach.

Pheasant Island (French: Île des Faisans/Île de la Conférence, Spanish: Isla de los Faisanes, Basque: Konpantzia, Faisaien Uhartea Konferentziako Uhartea) is an uninhabited river island located in the Bidasoa river, located between France and Spain, whose administration alternates between the two nations every 6 months.