Puente la Reina
Puente la Reina, also officially known as Gares in Basque, is a notable place in the Spanish geography of the Chartered Community of Navarre. It lies in the merindad of Pamplona, in the region of Puente la Reina, situated in the Valdizarbe valley about 22 kilometres from Pamplona, the region’s capital. The population of this charming village stands at 2,944 residents according to the National Statistics Institute for 2023.
Besides its population, Puente la Reina stands out as a crucial point on the Way of St James, since this is where the two routes coming from France merge, cementing its historical and cultural importance in the network of routes leading to the Cathedral of Santiago in the city of Santiago de Compostela.
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Place name: Puente la Reina
According to tradition, the name Puente la Reina (“the Queen’s Bridge”) originated from the Romanesque bridge that crossed the Arga river, built in the 11th century by an unnamed queen of Navarre. It is commonly said this queen may have been Muniadona of Castile, wife of Sancho the Great, or Estefanía, wife of King García of Nájera.
Some place-name scholars disagree with the traditional account. For example, José María Jimeno Jurio believed the name derived from an old “Pons Rune“, where “Runa” was the original name of the Arga river, itself coming from “Iruña”, the Basque name for Pamplona.
Place name: Gares
The Basque term for the village, Gares, fell out of use as Basque disappeared from the region towards the end of the 19th century. However, the name survived to this day mainly thanks to written records left by the Navarrese historian José de Moret in the 17th century, and a few lesser-known local names (such as Garesbidea, “the road to Gares”, in the nearby village of Uterga). The name likely persisted orally among some locals until the early 20th century. In the second half of the 20th century, the name Gares was revived as the Basque name for the village and is now official. Its etymological origin remains uncertain; some believe it is related to the word “gari” (wheat) and interpret it as meaning wheat fields.
Demonym of Puente la Reina
The demonym of Puente la Reina is puentesino or puentesina, and in Basque it is garestarra.
Location of Puente la Reina
The village of Puente la Reina is located in the centre of the Chartered Community of Navarre, south of the Sierra del Perdón, in the Valdizarbe Valley, at an altitude of 344 metres above sea level.
In terms of territorial extent, it covers 39.7 square kilometres and is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Belascoáin and Zabalza, to the south by Mendigorría, to the west by Guirguillano, Mañeru and Artazu, and to the east by Obanos and Legarda.
Puente la Reina
| Country | Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous community | Navarra | |
| Province | Navarra | |
| Merindad | Pamplona | |
| County | Puente la Reina | |
| Judicial district | Pamplona/Iruña | |
| Association | Valdizarbe | |
| Location | 42°41′31″N 1°49′01″O | |
| Elevation | 344 m | |
| Area | 39.7 km² | |
| Population | 2,805 (2023) | |
| Density | 70.65 per km² | |
| Demonym | puentesino, puentesina / (eus.) garestarra | |
| Predominant language | Mixed zone | |
| Postal code | 31100 | |
| Phone prefix | 948 | |
| Mayor (2023) | Itziar Imaz Artázcoz (EH Bildu) | |
| Website | www.puentelareina-gares.es | |