Monte Urgull

**Because the city was burned to the ground in 1813 — by its allies, not its enemies.** ⚠ **The event**: **in August 1813, during the Peninsular War against Napoleon**, **English and Portuguese forces besieged San Sebastián** — ⚠ **held by a French garrison**; ✅ **so the besiegers were Spain's allies**. ⚠ **What followed the storming**: **the troops entered the city and got out of hand** — **widespread looting, burning and killing**; **for days**. ⚠ **And the city burned almost entirely**: ✅ **only about one street survived — Calle 31 de Agosto** (31 August Street, **named for the date of the disaster**). ✅ **The city was rebuilt immediately afterwards** on a regular grid — ⚠ **so what is called the «old town» is 19th-century**, **not medieval**. ✅ **The memory is living**: ⚠ **every 31 August the lights of that street are put out and candles lit** — **in commemoration of the night of the fire**; ✅ **an affecting tradition worth attending if you coincide with it**. ⚠ **And the museum in the Urgull castle explains the episode fully.**