Basque Country (autonomous Community)
The Basque Country ( /ˈbæsk ˈkʌntri/, /ˈbɑːsk ˈkʌntri/; Basque: Euskadi ; Spanish: País Vasco ) is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories.
The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 to separate ethnic realities. The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Spanish soil. Notwithstanding this spirit, the territory of Navarre was left out and made into a separate autonomous community. The capital is Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria is the name in Spanish, Gasteiz in Basque), located in the province of Álava, and Bilbao its largest city, located in the province of Biscay.
The autonomous community of the Basque Country should not be confused with the larger Basque Country (Basque: Euskal Herria) of which it is a component part.
Read more about Basque Country (autonomous Community): Geography, Demography, History, Economy, Cuisine
Famous quotes containing the word country:
“... in the fierce competition of modern society the only class left in the country possessing leisure is that of women supported in easy circumstances by husband or father, and it is to this class we must look for the maintenance of cultivated and refined tastes, for that value and pursuit of knowledge and of art for their own sakes which can alone save society from degenerating into a huge machine for making money, and gratifying the love of sensual luxury.”
—Mrs. H. O. Ward (1824–1899)