Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Few places in Spain have two names, one of which is Vitoria-Gasteiz, the administrative center of the Basque Autonomous Region in Spain.
The history of the city dates back to 581, when the Visigothic king Luvigild founded the city of Victoriacum, trying to emulate the Roman model in honor of one of his victories.
However, this is not reliable enough, because some historians and experts believe that Victoriacum was not located on the site of today's city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, but somewhere nearby, perhaps at the foot of Mount Gorbea, where there was a village called Vitoriano.
In 1181, Sancho VI, King of Navarre, founded the city of Nueva Victoria as a defensive post on top of a hill, on the site of the former location of the village of Gasteis. The troops of Alfonso VIII of Castile conquered the city in 1200 and attracted the territories of the Kingdom of Castile. There was a gradual expansion and in 1431 King Juan II gave the title "City".
A major episode in the later history of Vitoria-Gasteiz is the battle of Vitoria in the War of Independence in 1813. Napoleon Bonaparte's French troops were defeated by the Duke of Wellington, and French control of Spain is history. In honor of this victory, a monument commemorating this battle was built in the central square of the city, known as the Monument of Independence.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is a city that has something to show as an architectural heritage. Among the leaders in this category are the 14th-century Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria and its 17th-century tower. Doors decorated with statues and reliefs open under its main portal. Its interior is impressive with its chapels, containing images from the Gothic, Flemish and Italian Renaissance, and in one of them can be seen paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck.
Today, the cathedral is being restored and is of interest to experts from around the world studying its architecture. Intoxicating with its set of relief scenes depicting episodes from the life of St. Peter and The Holly Mother of God is the Church of St. Peter the Apostle - a Gothic church also dating from the 14th century. St. Archangel Michael is a Gothic Revival church from the XIV-XVII century, on the veranda of which is the image of the Virgin Blanca, considered the patron saint of the city and with an altar, the work of Gregorio Fernandez.
Other religious monuments in the city are the church of San Vicente Martir and the Basilica of San Prudencio. The Casa del Cordon is a building built in the 15th century, and one of its towers dates from the 13th century, and is a fine example of civil Gothic architecture.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is a city on a level and for this reason it is inevitable to have museums. One of them is the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Alava. Located in the arcade of the new cathedral, it offers samples of the province's religious heritage, divided into groups of stone, wood carvings, wood paintings and much jewelry.
Also interesting is the Museum of Natural Sciences and the Archaeological Museum, housed in a 16th-century wooden house, famous for its Roman sculptures found in Alava and medieval figures. The Museum of Playing Cards is dedicated to the production of cards, which is one of the most characteristic of Vitoria. The museum presents more than 6,000 maps, some of them very old.
Vitoria-Gasteiz, as a city marked by war, has a specific museum - the Arms Museum. It has a rich palette of weapons from all periods - from prehistoric axes to the weapons of the twentieth century. The museum has a large collection of medieval weapons and a reconstruction of the Battle of Vitoria in 1813 during the War of Independence.
From an urban point of view, Vitoria is a medium-sized city, the line of which is adapted to the traditions of each historical moment. The medieval city is housed in an almond-shaped shape around a hill foundation, and the new parts of Vitoria-Gasteiz have been built in accordance with the development plan - enchanting parks, recreation areas and high quality of life. An absolute balance has been achieved by combining the preservation of the city's identity with the need to accommodate the growing population.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is one of the cities that is terribly tolerant of its inhabitants - there is no division between rich and poor, everyone feels equal, whether a nobleman or a mob.
Vitoria-Gasteiz has received several international awards for atmosphere and appearance, achieved with this urban development plan. A special award is called the "green ring" and is a network of parks and green spaces built around the city and designed to be the lungs of the future Vitoria. This ring is currently formed by the green areas of Salburua, Zabalgana, Armenita, Rio Alegria, Gamara, Abetskuto and Atska-Landaberde.
There are other things that the world has heard about Vitoria-Gasteiz and these are the production of Michelin tires, the automotive industry - here Daimler Crysler produces its models Vito and Viano, aeronautics. The city is a crossroads of roads between Spain and France, and its inhabitants are called Vitorianos or Gasteiztarras, although tradition has called them Babazorros.