Editing Girona (section)

==History==
{{see also|Jews of Catalonia}}

[[File:Riu Onyar a Girona, c. 1852.jpg|thumb|Onyar river in Girona, c. 1852|left]]
The first historical inhabitants in the region were [[Iberians]]; Girona is the ancient '''Gerunda''',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iñesta |first=Enric Cabrejas |date=2016-12-26 |title=Per què es diu Girona? |url=https://www.diaridegirona.cat/girona/2016/12/26/per-diu-girona-49087367.html |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=Diari de Girona |language=ca}}</ref> a city of the [[Ausetani]]. Later, the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] built a [[citadel]] there, which was given the name of ''Gerunda''. The [[Visigoths]] ruled in Girona until it was conquered by the [[Moors]] in 715. [[Charlemagne]] reconquered it in 785 and made it one of the fourteen original [[counties]] of Catalonia. It was sacked by the Moors in 827, 842, 845, 935, and 982. [[Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona|Wilfred the Hairy]] incorporated Girona into the [[County of Barcelona]] in 878.

In the 11th century, [[Alfonso II of Aragon|Alfonso II of Aragon and I of Barcelona]] declared Girona a city. The ancient county became a [[duchy]] within the [[Principality of Catalonia]] in 1351 when King [[Peter III of Aragon]] gave the title of [[Duke]] to his first-born son, John. In 1414, King [[Ferdinand I of Aragon|Ferdinand I]] in turn gave the title of [[Principality of Gerona|Prince of Girona]] to his first-born son, [[Alfonso V of Aragon|Alfonso]]. The title is currently carried by Princess [[Leonor, Princess of Asturias|Leonor]] of [[Principality of Asturias|Asturias]], the second since the 16th century to do so.

The earliest documented evidence of a Jewish community in Girona dates to about 885.<ref name="Alberch">{{cite book |author=Ramon Alberch i Fugueras |title=Jewry Guide of Girona |publisher=Certeza and the City Council of Girona |year=2005 |isbn=978-8472131859 |location=Girona, Spain |pages=131}}</ref>  The 12th century saw the [[Jew]]ish community of Girona flourish, having one of the most important [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] schools in Europe. The [[Rabbi]] of Girona, [[Nahmanides|Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi]] (better known as Nahmanides or Ramban) was appointed Great Rabbi of Catalonia. Centered on the [[Jewish quarter (diaspora)|Jewish Call]] (Call Jueu), the Jewish community of Girona came to an end in 1492,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-18 |title=Girona {{!}} Spain, Map, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Girona-Spain |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> when the [[Catholic Monarchs]] outlawed Judaism throughout [[Spain]] and Jews were given the choice of conversion or exile (see [[Alhambra Decree]]). For 400 years before that time, the Jewish cemetery was located beside the road to France, just north of the old city between the mountain [[Montjuïc (Gerona)|Montjuïc]], or ''hill of the Jews'' in medieval Catalan, and the river Ter.<ref name="Alberch" />

Girona has undergone twenty-five [[siege]]s and been captured seven times.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} It was besieged by the French royal armies under Charles de Monchy d'Hocquincourt in 1653, under [[Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds]] in 1684, and twice in 1694 under [[Anne Jules de Noailles]]. During the [[Third siege of Gerona (Peninsular War)|Third siege of Girona]] of the [[Peninsular War]], the city was besieged from May to December 1809 by 35,000 French [[Napoleon]]ic troops under Vergier, [[Pierre François Charles Augereau, duc de Castiglione|Augereau]] and [[Laurent, marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr|Gouvion Saint-Cyr]].  Continuously under heavy bombardment, Girona held out obstinately under the leadership of [[Mariano Álvarez de Castro|Álvarez de Castro]] until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate on 12 December.  Girona was the center of the [[Ter (department)|Ter department]] during the French rule, which lasted from 1809 to 1813. The defensive [[city wall]]s of the western side were demolished at the end of the 19th century to allow for the expansion of the city, while the walls of the eastern side remained untouched but abandoned.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

In recent years{{When|date=October 2023|reason="Recent"  not a clear definition of time.}}, the missing parts of the city walls on the eastern side of the city have been reconstructed. Called the ''Passeig de la Muralla'' it now forms a tourist route around the old city.