Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port lies where the Nive streams meet, at the foot of the passes over the Pyrenees. Pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostela passed through its streets beneath the castle of the kings of Navarre. The town became a prize in the struggle for Navarre after 1512; by 1530 Lower Navarre and its capital had been left to Henri II d'Albret. A rectangular citadel was built around the old castle in 1624–1627.