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EntityQ389859· pop 20· linked from 32 articles

Somport or Col du Somport, known also as the Aspe Pass or Canfranc Pass, (el. 1632 m.) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain. Its name is derived from the Latin Summus portus. It was one of the most popular routes for soldiers, merchants, and pilgrims to the tomb of St. James following the route from Arles to cross the Pyrenees. They travelled from Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, via Somport to Jaca, Aragon, Spain.

Key facts

Mountain pass.name
Somport
Mountain pass.photo
Puerto_del_Somport.jpg
Mountain pass.photo_caption
Pass as seen from Spain
Mountain pass.elevation_m
1632
Mountain pass.traversed
road
Mountain pass.map
France
Mountain pass.map_caption
Location of Somport
Mountain pass.label
Somport
Mountain pass.location
France–Spain border
Mountain pass.range
Pyrenees

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Country
France
Located in
Aísa
Elevation
1640
Image
Puerto del Somport.jpg
Connects with
Route nationale 134
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Somport
located in protected area
Pyrénées National Park
mountain range
Pyrenees
carries thoroughfare
French Way in Aragon
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Military history
  • Pilgrimage history
  • Modern history
  • Sports
  • See also
  • References

Somport or Col du Somport, known also as the Aspe Pass or Canfranc Pass, (el. 1632 m.) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain. Its name is derived from the Latin Summus portus. It was one of the most popular routes for soldiers, merchants, and pilgrims to the tomb of St. James following the route from Arles to cross the Pyrenees. They travelled from Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, via Somport to Jaca, Aragon, Spain.

==Military history== There is recorded evidence of both the Vandals and the Visigothic invaders having used the relatively easy entrance to Spain from France in the fifth century. The Roman road constructed here, known as the Via Tolosana, was also used by Muslim invaders in the eighth century in their attempt to conquer France.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Somport” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

On the map

2 mapped locations