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Somport (known also as the Aspe Pass, the Canfranc Pass, and Col du Somport in French) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees lying at 1632 m. altitude on the border of France and Spain. The pass, whose name is derived from the Latin Summus portus, was one of the most popular routes for crossing the mountains for soldiers, merchants, and St. James pilgrims taking the route from Arles from the city of Oloron-Sainte-Marie in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département down into Aragon.
Military History
There is recorded evidence of both the Vandals and the Visigothic invaders having used the relatively facile entrance to Spain from France in the fourth and fifth centuries, respectively. The Roman road constructed here, known as the Via Tolosana, was also used by Muslim invaders in the eighth century in their futile attempt to conquer France. The pass was fortified in the 16th century by the Hapsburgs in fear of French invasion, which however would not occur until the Peninsular War and the arrival of Napoleon's general Louis Gabriel Suchet in 1808. He was later followed by Colonel Leonard Morin who records in his Memoirs of the 5th Regiment (1812-13) both the danger of the pass and the horrible existence of the population of Canfranc. The French would leave by the same road after their defeat by General Francisco Espoz y Mina in 1814.
Pilgrimage History
This was arguably the most popular Pyrenaic pass for pilgrims on the Way of St. James until the pacification of Navarran and Basque bandits in the 12th century made the relatively easier Roncesvalles road safer for pilgrims. There is little of interest at the pass, except for the modern Ermita del Pilar (1992) and of course the natural beauty of the mountains. From this point to Santiago de Compostela it is approximately 840 km.
Modern History
A railroad line linking Canfranc, Spain with Pau, France opened to traffic in 1928 but was closed due to a freight-train accident 27 March 1970. More recently the 8.6km-long Somport Tunnel under the Pyrenees was opened on 7 February, 2003 with a cost of nearly 160 million euros for the Spanish side and approximately 91.5 million euros for the French. The building of the tunnel was somewhat controversial, particularly in France, with those opposing it claiming that it would effectively destroy the natural beauty of the Aspe Valley (Vallée d'Aspe). They wished instead for the reopening of the Pau-Canfranc rail line.
French deputy Jean Lassalle made headlines on 3 June 2003 when he interrupted the French National Assembly by singing the "love song" Se Canto, protesting Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement of the moving of 23 gendarmes guarding the Somport Tunnel to the town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie from neighbouring Urdos where their wives would probably be bored. Lassalle viewed this as offensive to the residents of Urdos.
"Somport"