Sare

Sare is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France on the border with Spain.GeographyThe commune is backed by the Pyrenean mountain range, which forms a basin around the village open to the east and the north. Its geological history explains the formation of caves that were occupied by the Aurignacian. The Bronze Age left a number of funerary monuments on the slopes and mountain plateaus of the region.It is located some 15km to the east of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Atlantic Ocean, in the western foothills of the Pyrenees.The summit of La Rhune, a mountain iconic of the Basque country, is situated approximately 4km to the west of the village. The summit can be reached by the Petit train de la Rhune, which commences from the Col de Saint-Ignace, 3.5km to the west of the village on the D4 road to Saint-Jean-de-Luz.HistoryToday, its territory forms an enclave in the Navarre, a region of Spain, with which it shares a 25km border. This in particular has had significant consequences on the history of the village, with centuries of pastoral agreements with neighbouring Spanish villages. During the Peninsular War the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by the future Duke of Wellington breached the frontier and repelled the French troops who had stationed themselves in forts on La Rhune.