| The first written mention of Donostia-San Sebastian refers to a monastery in the district now called San Sebastián El Antiguo. According to some historians, the place was primitively known as Izurum.
Donostia comes from the evolution of the word Donebastian (Done=Saint, and Sebastian).
Although we know nothing of its foundation, the first data is given by a false document in 1014 by Sancho el Mayor de Navarra, according to whom the monastery of San Sebastian was placed in the hands of the abbot of Leyre and the bishop of Pamplona
In the 11th and 12th centuries, the monastery of San Sebastian El Antiguo, a spiritual centre and the birthplace of the social and administrative life of the population of the area, would have become a town, were it not for the events we will now describe. In this way, today the centre of San Sebastian is located on the hill where there is now the Palacio Real de Miramar.
What you must not miss:
• Playa de la Concha
• Palacio Real de Miramar
• La Mota castle on the Monte Urgull
• Monte Igeldo
• Church of Santa María in calle Mayor
• San Telmo Museum |
