View source for Jaca

{{other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = 
| official_name                   = Jaca
| native_name                     = Chaca <small>(Aragonese)</small><br>Xaca <small>(Aragonese)</small>
| image_skyline                   = Jaca a los pies de la peña Oroel.JPG
| image_caption                   = Jaca as viewed from the Rapitan fort.
| image_flag                      = Bandera de Chaca.svg
| image_shield                    = Blasón de Chaca.svg
| image_map          = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=y|frame-width=285|frame-height=180|frame-align=center|frame-coordinates={{Coord|39.5|N|3.7|W}}|zoom=4|type=point|title=Jaca|marker=city|type2=shape|stroke-width2=2|stroke-color2=#808080|text=Interactive map of Jaca.}}
|map_caption              = Location of Jaca
| pushpin_map              = Spain Aragon#Spain 
| subdivision_type                = [[Countries of the world|Country]]
| subdivision_type1               = [[Autonomous communities of Spain|Autonomous community]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[province of Spain|Province]]
| subdivision_type3               = [[Comarcas of Aragon|Comarca]]
| subdivision_name                = Spain
| subdivision_name1               = [[Aragon]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[province of Huesca|Huesca]]
| subdivision_name3               = [[La Jacetania]]
| leader_title                    = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name                     = Juan Manuel Ramón Ipas
| area_total_km2                  = 406.34
| area_land_km2                   = 
| area_water_km2                  = 
| population_as_of                = {{Spain metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
| population_footnotes = {{Spain metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
| population_total                = {{Spain metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
| population_density_km2          = auto
| timezone                        = CET
| utc_offset                      = +1
| timezone_DST                    = CET
| utc_offset_DST                  = +2
| coordinates                     = {{coord|42|33|N|0|33|W|region:ES|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m                     = 820
| website                         = {{url|http://www.jaca.es}}
}}

'''Jaca''' ({{IPA|es|'xaka}}; in [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]]: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.enciclopedia-aragonesa.com/voz.asp?voz_id=20323&voz_id_origen=4184 |title=Toponyms: towns with local name in Aragonese in Great Aragonese Encyclopedia |access-date=2016-08-06 |archive-date=2012-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111103202/http://www.enciclopedia-aragonesa.com/voz.asp?voz_id=20323&voz_id_origen=4184 |url-status=dead }}</ref>) is a city of northeastern [[Spain]] in the province of [[Huesca (province)|Huesca]], located near the [[Pyrenees]] and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the [[Aragón (river)|Aragón River]], situated at the crossing of two great early medieval routes, one from [[Toulouse]] to [[Santiago de Compostela]] and [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] to [[Zaragoza]]. Jaca was the city out of which the [[County of Aragon|County]] and [[Kingdom of Aragon]] developed. It was the first capital of the [[Kingdom of Aragon]] until 1096 and also the capital of [[Jacetania]].

==Villages==
Besides Jaca town, there are a number of outlying villages in the municipality of Jaca, including the ski resort of [[Astún]].

==History==
The origins of the city are obscure, but its name is apparently of [[Iacetani]] origin, as [[Strabo]] lists them as one of the most celebrated of the numerous small tribes inhabiting the [[Ebro]] basin. Strabo adds that their territory lay on the site of the wars in the 1st century BC between [[Sertorius]] and [[Pompey]]. According to the atlas of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, Jaca was a town where minted coins were made<ref>Talbert, R., (2000). (ed.)  Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. [[Princeton University Press]].  Map 25, E3. Also CDROM disc entry Map 25.</ref>  from the second half of the 2nd century BC, a small number of which are now in the [[British Museum]].<ref name = SNG>Bagwell-Purefoy, P., and Meadows, A., (2002). Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum (SNG).  Volume IX.  The British Museum 2. Spain. SNG No's 775-776</ref> The coins show an unidentified bearded head to the right with an inscription to the left and also have an image of a dolphin. The reverse depicts a horseman carrying a spear to the right, with an inscription below in Iberian reading ''iaka''.<ref name = SNG/> In the year 195 BC, the Roman consul [[Cato the Elder]] began the conquest of the city, ending in the spring of 194 BC.<ref>Livy, History of Rome, book xxxiv.</ref> 

After Roman rule, the [[Visigothic]] nobility took over most of Iberia. However, in 720, [[Huesca]] is conquered by the Muslims reaching out as far as [[Sobrarbe]]. Muslim advances in Europe had a turn of events after the [[Battle of Tours]] (732). By that time, the region of [[Jacetania]] would remain as a buffer zone in favour of the [[Carolingian Empire]] against Muslim dominions.<ref>Joseph F. O’Callaghan ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Cornell University Press 1975, p. 163.</ref> By 799 Aureolo stabilised an independent county which gradually evolved until [[Ramiro I of Aragon]] (1035–1063) granted it the title of City and capital of the [[Kingdom of Aragon]]. In 1063 it was the site of the [[Synod of Jaca (1063)|Synod of Jaca]].<ref>Joseph F. O’Callaghan ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Cornell University Press 1975, p. 208.</ref> As the Aragonese domains expanded to the south, conquering land from [[Al Andalus]], the capital city was moved from Jaca to Huesca in 1096. The loss of capital status did not mean that Jaca lost other urban functions related to its geographical location. Thus, it continued to play its role as a market city and services for its region.<ref>Joseph F. O’Callaghan ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Cornell University Press 1975, pp. 219, 485.</ref>

The plagues and fires of the late Middle Ages plunged Jaca into a deep crisis from which it would not emerge until the intervention of [[Ferdinand the Catholic]] to form a local government. The bourgeoisie was favored by this situation and many became patrons of artists whose results can be seen especially in the cathedral. The city was consolidated as a military post from which to defend the peninsular kingdoms from a hypothetical French invasion. In this regard, [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] ordered the construction of several fortresses throughout the Pyrenees, including in 1592 the pentagonal Jaca citadel, designed by the Italian engineer [[Tibúrcio Spannocchi]] in the fields that had formed the Burgo Nuevo, the neighborhood built outside the city walls.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jaca.com/historia.html|title=History of Jaca (Jaca.com)}}</ref>

During the Middle Ages, Jaca was home to Aragon's oldest [[Jewish]] community until the 1492 [[expulsion of the Jews from Spain|expulsion of the Jews]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jaca |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jaca |website=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref>

On December 12&ndash;13 1930 the [[Jaca uprising]], a mutiny whose leaders demanded abolition of the monarchy, was suppressed with some difficulty. It was an early event that preceded the [[Spanish Civil War]]. Jaca fell to the forces of the coup against the Second Republic in the early months of the war. August 1936 saw the arrest, rape and execution of the young militant [[Desideria Giménez Moner]], aka ''La Cazoleta'', by Carlist soldiers. Murdered alongside her on 7th August 1936 was Pilar Vizcarra Calvo, a pregnant widow who had recently witnessed the execution of her husband.<ref name="church">{{Cite book|last=Garrot Garrot|first=José Luis|title=La iglesia católica, cómplice del genocidio franquista en la guerra civil|url=https://omegalfa.es/downloadfile.php?file=libros/la-iglesia-catolica-complice-del-genocidio-franquista.pdf|access-date=2023-09-23}}</ref><ref name="docmemorial">{{Cite web|url=https://documentalismomemorialistayrepublicano.wordpress.com/2020/01/05/desideria-gimenez-moner-republicana-asesinada-con-16-anos-por-sicarios-falangistas-por-encabezar-con-una-bandera-roja-el-1o-de-mayo-de-1936-en-jaca/|title=DESIDERIA GIMÉNEZ MONER, REPUBLICANA, ASESINADA con 16 años por sicarios falangistas, por encabezar con una bandera roja el 1º de mayo de 1936 en Jaca|access-date=2020-07-11|date=2020-01-04|lang=es-ES}}</ref> Before the end of 1936 the father of ''La cazoleta'', Juan José Giménez Artieda was also executed and they were buried in a mass grave, along with more than 300 other victims of the [[White Terror (Spain)|White Terror]], in the cemetery of Jaca.<ref name=massgrave>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sipca.es/censo/1-ARQ-HUE-001-130-054/Fosa/común/16.html&fosa|title=Fosa común 16 - Jaca|access-date=2020-07-11|lang=es}}</ref>

==Climate==
Jaca has a submediterranean climate ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfb'') bordering a submediterranean climate ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfa'') with strong [[humid continental climate|continental]] influences caused by the city's high altitude of {{convert|820|m|ft}}. Winters are cool and summers are warm, with hot daytime temperatures but relatively cool nights. There isn't any real dry season, but the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring. The average [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] is {{convert|768|mm|in}} per year. [[Frost]] is common and so is [[snowfall]], snow being common from late November to early March. Heavy snowfalls are sporadic and usually occur during cold spells. Jaca's average annual temperature is {{convert|12.2|C|F}}. 

[[File:Acceso a la fortaleza de Jaca.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Citadel of Jaca.]]
[[File:Detalle del Capitel del rey David con músicos.jpg|thumb|right|Detail of the interior of Jaca Cathedral.]]

{{Weather box
|width= 80%
|location= Jaca, 1981–2010
|metric first= yes
|single line= yes
|Jan high C= 9.5
|Feb high C= 11.0
|Mar high C= 14.7
|Apr high C= 16.2
|May high C= 20.5
|Jun high C= 25.7
|Jul high C= 29.4
|Aug high C= 29.0
|Sep high C= 24.4
|Oct high C= 19.0
|Nov high C= 13.2
|Dec high C= 9.8
|year high C= 
|Jan mean C= 4.4
|Feb mean C= 5.3
|Mar mean C= 8.3
|Apr mean C= 10.0
|May mean C= 14.0
|Jun mean C= 18.4
|Jul mean C= 21.6
|Aug mean C= 21.3
|Sep mean C= 17.5
|Oct mean C= 13.2
|Nov mean C= 7.9
|Dec mean C= 4.9
|year mean C= 
|Jan low C= -0.8
|Feb low C= -0.4
|Mar low C= 1.8
|Apr low C= 3.7
|May low C= 7.5
|Jun low C= 11.1
|Jul low C= 13.7
|Aug low C= 13.6
|Sep low C= 10.6
|Oct low C= 7.3
|Nov low C= 2.6
|Dec low C= 0.0
|year low C= 
|Jan precipitation mm= 57.9
|Feb precipitation mm= 48.9
|Mar precipitation mm= 47.8
|Apr precipitation mm= 82.2
|May precipitation mm= 76.4
|Jun precipitation mm= 48.6
|Jul precipitation mm= 37.4
|Aug precipitation mm= 43.2
|Sep precipitation mm= 68.2
|Oct precipitation mm= 89.6
|Nov precipitation mm= 89.0
|Dec precipitation mm= 79.3
|year precipitation mm= 
|Jan precipitation days= 10.0
|Feb precipitation days= 8.7
|Mar precipitation days= 8.6
|Apr precipitation days= 11.8
|May precipitation days= 12.5
|Jun precipitation days= 7.1
|Jul precipitation days= 6.1
|Aug precipitation days= 6.4
|Sep precipitation days= 7.5
|Oct precipitation days= 10.9
|Nov precipitation days= 11.3
|Dec precipitation days= 11.0
|year precipitation days= 
|unit precipitation days= 1&nbsp;mm
|precipitation colour = green
|source 1= [[World Meteorological Organization|World Meteorological Organization (WMO)]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=2185 |title=World Weather Information Service. Jaca |work=[[World Meteorological Organization]] |access-date=14 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
|date=January 2021}}

==Main sights==
Jaca boasts several [[medieval]] walls and towers surrounding the 11th-century [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[Jaca Cathedral]].

The Jaca citadel, a fortification dating to the late 16th century, is home to a colony of [[rock sparrow]]s.

The Diocesan Museum of Jaca (Museum of Medieval Sacred Art) protects Romanesque and Gothic [[fresco]]s, some of which were found in the most remote locations in the Jaca district.

==Tourism and sports==
Jaca is a [[tourism|tourist]] destination in the region for summer holidays and [[winter sport]]s.

Starting in the early 1970s, the city was transformed from being a small provincial and [[garrison]] town to become the gateway to a mid-tier mountain sports area with two major winter resorts (Valle de Astun and Candanchu) within a {{cvt|30|km}} drive of the city.

The accompanying urban and infrastructure development in the 1970s and 1980s was controversial, with many claiming that the town lost a lot of its original charm and authenticity to the interests of developers.

The development experienced by the city, with the construction of a nationally known ice-skating rink (the Pista de Hielo del Pirineo), a small convention centre (the Palacio de Congresos) and countless second homes, had a profound impact on the economy of the Valley (Valle del Aragon), where many of its inhabitants evolved from small-scale subsistence farmers in Jaca and the surrounding villages to become part of a tertiary economy.

Jaca was the host city of the 1981 and 1995 Winter [[Universiade]]s. The city also hosted the [[2007 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival]]. Its popularity for winter sports was a motivating factor in the city's failed bids for the [[1998 Winter Olympics]], [[2002 Winter Olympics]] and [[2010 Winter Olympics]], which were awarded to [[Nagano (city)|Nagano]], [[Salt Lake City]] and [[Vancouver]]. It was again the applicant city of Spain for the [[2014 Winter Olympics]], but the bid failed again when it was not selected as a candidate city and the games were ultimately awarded to [[Sochi]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Jaca - Castillo de San Pedro - Patio de armas03.jpg|Armour courtyard of the citadel
File:Jaca - Castillo de San Pedro - Garita de entrada02.jpg|Statues inside the citadel representing the Spanish tercios way of living
File:Jaca - Catedral - Portada Occidental - Figuras04.jpg|Statues on the west façade of the cathedral
File:Jaca - Catedral - Interior - Coro01.jpg|Cathedral, interior
File:Jaca - Castillo de San Pedro - Iglesia - Fachada.jpg|Church of San Pedro
File:Jaca - Casa Borau.jpg|Casa Borau
File:Jaca - Plaza de la Catedral.jpg|Plaza de la Catedral
File:Jaca - Calle Mayor.jpg|Calle Mayor
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Diocese of Jaca]]
* [[Ascara]]
* [[Castiello de Jaca]]
* [[Larrosa]]
* [[Villanovilla]]
* [[Bescós de Garcipollera]]
* [[Bergosa]]
* [[Acín]]
* [[List of municipalities in Huesca]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Jaca}}
* [http://www.jaca.es/ Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116103505/http://www.jaca.es/ |date=2011-01-16 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041206075051/http://www.valledelaragon.com/ingles/turismo/museodiocesano/default.asp Diocesan Museum of Jaca]
* [http://jaca.costasur.com/en/index.html Jaca: Useful information about tourism and lodgings]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Canfranc]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[The Aragonese Way]] of the [[Way of St. James]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Santa Cruz de la Serós]]}}
{{end}}
{{La Jacetania}}
{{Municipalities in Huesca}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities in the Province of Huesca]]
[[Category:Pyrenees]]
[[Category:Cultural tourism in Spain]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities in Spain]]