Vitoria-Gasteiz, chief town of the Basque province of Álava and administrative center of the Autonomous Community of the País Vasco, lies to the south of the Cantabrian Mountains in a plain below the north side of the Montes de Vitoria. In recent decades a busy industrial area (mainly engineering and
foodstuffs) has grown up around the town, but agriculture is still an important source of income.
History
This was probably the Visigothic settlement of Gasteiz: hence its double name. It began to develop into a town of some consequence in the 12th century, when, after a Navarrese victory, Sancho the Wise renamed it Vitoria. In 1813 Wellington's troops defeated a French army commanded by General Jourdan in a battle fought to the south of the town, compelling the French to withdraw from Spain.
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