31ST AUGUST AND THE DEVASTATED CITY

This Thursday’s events come with news: from the Kursaal a cannon will recreate the battle between the French and the Anglo-Portuguese of 1813 and for security reasons no shots will be fired in the narrow streets of the Old Town.

On August 31, 1813, at two in the morning and after days of intense bombardments, Donosti was devastated. Occupied by the French for years, the Anglo-Portuguese allied troops entered the city, maintaining a hard fight. A fire and the explosion of a French ammunition depot causes the French to withdraw.

The English entered but they did so by looting, burning, raping and murdering over eight days, from August 31 to September 8, causing the withdrawal of the French Army.

The only thing that survived the fire was Calle Trinidad, which served as accommodation for the allied troops and which has since been renamed 31 de Agosto. The census of inhabitants of San Sebastián went from 5,500 to 2,600 inhabitants. Today we remember such a tragic event but above all the reconstruction of the city that began with the famous Zubieta meeting.

Souce: Donosti City & El Diario Vasco