Seaport and city (pop., 2001: 178,377), northern Spain.
The city is situated at the mouth of the Urumea River on the Bay of Biscay , near the French border. First mentioned in 1014, it was chartered by Sancho the Wise of Navarra 0441; 1175. The town was burned in 1813 after Anglo-Portuguese troops took it from the French during the Peninsular War . Formerly the summer residence of the Spanish royal court, it is now a fashionable seaside resort. Nearby is Mount Urgull, with the 16th-century Mota Castle at its summit. Donostia-San Sebastián is the official place-name, incorporating first the Basque name and then the Spanish.