Roncesvalles

Roncesvalles, known in Basque as Orreaga, is an Augustinian monastery and pilgrim complex in the municipality of Aurizberri, Navarra, situated in dense beech forest at the foot of the Pyrenees at approximately 900 metres. It has been one of the most important pilgrim hospices on the Camino Frances since the twelfth century.

The collegiate church of Santa María contains the silver Gothic statue of the Virgin of Roncesvalles, the patron of pilgrims on this route, and the tomb of Sancho VII of Navarra. Adjacent to the church, the twelfth-century Royal Hospice, one of the oldest continuously operating pilgrim hospitals in Europe, still receives pilgrims today.

For nearly all pilgrims on the Camino Frances, Roncesvalles is the first overnight stop after crossing the Pyrenees, and the evening pilgrim blessing in the collegiate church is one of the most emotionally significant moments of the route.