On 21 June 1813, on the plain around Vitoria, Wellington's allied army smashed that of Joseph Bonaparte, the king Napoleon had imposed on Spain. The French lost almost all their artillery, their convoy of plunder and, within weeks, the war in the peninsula. Twelve stops between the heights of La Puebla, the bridge nobody guarded, the tower of Mendoza, the hill of Arinez, the village Graham could not get past, the road to France cut at Durana, the battle room of the Arms Museum, the bandstand that recalls Beethoven's battle symphony, the cathedral on the hill, the palace of the marchioness who loved King Joseph, the new square of the occupied city and the monument to the local general who fought at both Trafalgar and Waterloo. Approximate audio duration: 23 minutes.
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Vitoria 1813: la batalla que echó a Napoleón de España
El 21 de junio de 1813, en la llanura que rodea Vitoria, el ejército aliado de Wellington deshizo al de José Bonaparte, el rey que Napoleón había impuesto en España. Los franceses perdieron casi toda su artillería, su caravana de botín y, en pocas semanas, la guerra en la península. Doce paradas entre las alturas de La Puebla, el puente que nadie vigilaba, la torre de Mendoza, el cerro de Arinez, el pueblo que Graham no pudo cruzar, el camino a Francia cortado en Durana, la sala de la batalla en el Museo de Armería, el quiosco que recuerda la sinfonía de Beethoven, la catedral de la colina, el palacio de la marquesa que amó al rey José, la plaza nueva de la ciudad ocupada y el monumento al general vitoriano que estuvo en Trafalgar y en Waterloo. Duración aproximada de audio: 23 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~23 min of audio · 42.31 km on foot (~10 h 35 min walking) · about 11 h in total
You are in La Puebla de Arganzón, beside the river Zadorra, some fifteen kilometres from Vitoria. Look at the ridges rising south of the village. That is where, on the morning of 21 June 1813, the battle that decided Napoleon's war in Spain began.
A curious fact to start with: although Álava is just a step away, this village belongs to the province of Burgos. It is part of the Treviño enclave, an administrative island surrounded by Álava.
Spain had been occupied for five years. In 1808 Napoleon had placed his elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spanish throne. But by 1813 the Empire was …
2
The Bridge Nobody Guarded
You are standing before the old stone bridge of Trespuentes, over the Zadorra. Notice how the river makes a tight bend here, almost a hairpin. That bend was one of the keys to the battle.
The Zadorra was the great moat of the French defence. Several stone bridges crossed it, and the French blew up none of them. Worse still, this one was left practically unguarded.
In mid-morning, the British soldiers of General James Kempt's brigade, from the Light Division, crossed here. According to British accounts, a local peasant showed them the way. They reached the other side almost without a shot bei…
3
Mendoza: the Division That Did Not Wait for Orders
You are in front of the tower of Mendoza, a medieval stone fortified house within its walled enclosure. It was the cradle of the Mendoza lineage, one of the most powerful families in fourteenth and fifteenth century Castile. Today it houses a museum of heraldry.
On 21 June 1813, this quiet corner at the northern edge of the battlefield filled with soldiers. The allied column sweeping round from the north came down this way, including Thomas Picton's British Third Division.
Picton was known for his foul mouth and his impatience. His orders were to wait for the rest of the column to come up be…
4
The Hill of Arinez: the Centre Breaks
You are in Arinez, a small village west of Vitoria. Look at the hill above the village and the fields of grain all around. In the early afternoon of 21 June, this was the hottest point of the whole battle.
The French had placed their centre here, with dozens of guns trained on the Zadorra. Joseph Bonaparte and his chief of staff, Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, followed the fighting from the nearby heights.
With Picton coming in from the north and Kempt from the river bend, Wellington launched the assault on the hill. He was close by himself, directing his divisions. The village changed hands…
5
Gamarra Mayor: the Bridge Paid for in Blood
You are in Gamarra Mayor, beside the Zadorra, north of Vitoria. Today the city almost reaches this far. In 1813 it was a village surrounded by fields, with a bridge worth its weight in gold.
While Wellington attacked from the west, a fourth allied column under General Thomas Graham had made a long sweep round to the north. Its mission was the most ambitious of the day: cross the river here and cut the road to France.
The French understood the danger. General Honoré Reille defended this sector stubbornly. The British of the Fifth Division took the village around one in the afternoon, but ever…
6
Durana: the Road to France, Cut
You are in Durana, a small village on the banks of the Zadorra, northeast of Vitoria. In 1813 the royal road from Vitoria to Bayonne ran through here. It was the main highway between Madrid and France, Joseph Bonaparte's natural escape route.
That road was cut by a Spanish division: the one led by General Francisco de Longa. Longa had begun the war as a guerrilla in the northern mountains and ended it in command of thousands of men integrated into the regular army.
His soldiers attacked the bridge and village of Durana, held by troops serving Joseph, including Spanish units loyal to the Fren…
7
The Arms Museum: the Battle in Miniature
You are in front of the Arms Museum of Álava, on the Paseo de Fray Francisco, south of Vitoria. Inside are weapons from every age, from prehistoric axes to suits of armour and pistols. But one room is devoted to the ground you have just covered: the battle of Vitoria.
There you will see uniforms, muskets, sabres and artillery pieces from 1813, along with a reconstruction of the battlefield. It is the best place to fit the pieces together: La Puebla, the Zadorra, Arinez, Gamarra, Durana.
Look at the flintlock muskets. A good soldier could fire about three times a minute, and beyond a hundred …
8
La Florida: the King's Plunder and Beethoven's Symphony
You are in the Florida park, the great garden of central Vitoria, beside the bandstand. The park was laid out a few years after the battle. But what happened once the fighting ended deserves to be told in a place made for music.
As evening fell on 21 June, the bottleneck on the Salvatierra road collapsed. The French abandoned everything: wagons, guns, army chests, the baggage of officers and their families. Joseph Bonaparte jumped from his carriage and fled on horseback.
Allied soldiers threw themselves at the treasure instead of chasing the enemy. Coins, jewels, silver, clothes: the looting…
9
The Cathedral on the Hill: the City of 1813
You are in front of the Cathedral of Santa María, at the highest point of the medieval quarter, in the district of El Campillo. From up here you can see why armies paid attention to Vitoria: the hill commands the whole plain of Álava.
This hilltop was the original village of Gasteiz. In 1181 King Sancho VI of Navarre granted it a charter and named it Nueva Victoria. Santa María was born both as a church and as part of the town wall: notice how much it looks like a fortress.
It is a Gothic church of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Over the centuries its builders kept adding weight to…
10
Montehermoso: the Marchioness and King Joseph
You are in front of the Palacio de Montehermoso, a sixteenth century Renaissance building right beside the cathedral. It later became the bishop's palace and today it is a cultural centre. But in the early nineteenth century it was home to the Marquises of Montehermoso.
When Joseph Bonaparte came through Vitoria, he lodged in the palaces of the local nobility, and this was one of them. The lady of the house was María Pilar de Acedo, Marchioness of Montehermoso, a cultivated woman famous in her day for her beauty and wit.
Between the marchioness and the king a relationship developed that was …
11
The Plaza Nueva: the Day After
You are in the Plaza de España, which locals still call the Plaza Nueva, the New Square. Look at the perfect square of arcades and the town hall facade. It is a neoclassical square built between 1781 and 1791 to a design by the Vitoria architect Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel.
Olaguíbel also solved a hard problem: linking the medieval town on the hill with the plain below. To do it, he designed Los Arquillos, the stepped arcades just a few paces away. When the war broke out, all of this was nearly new.
During the occupation, Vitoria was a key piece for the French. It sat on the road from Madrid …
12
The Monument: Álava, Wellington and the Beginning of the End
You are in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, the heart of Vitoria, before the Monument to the Battle of Vitoria. Behind you stands the church of San Miguel, with the niche of the White Virgin, the city's patron. The monument was unveiled on 4 August 1917, after a competition launched for the battle's centenary.
Look at the lower part. The man on horseback is not Wellington: he is Miguel Ricardo de Álava, a general born in Vitoria in 1772, welcomed by the people of his city. Behind him, the French retreat with Joseph Bonaparte. Wellington occupies the upper tier, alongside the allied nations.
Ál…
How long does the "Vitoria 1813: the Battle That Drove Napoleon Out of Spain" audio tour take?
It has about 23 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 42.31 km walking route (~10 h 35 min on foot). Plan roughly 11 h in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Heights of La Puebla: Where It All Began" (coordinates 42.7654, -2.8299). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Vitoria-Gasteiz and pick "Vitoria 1813: the Battle That Drove Napoleon Out of Spain". No account required to start.
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