The fortress city that grew by building upwards, not outwards

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For centuries, the Spanish city of Pamplona was trapped by its own defenses. Forbidden from expanding beyond its massive star fort walls, the population had to adapt through density, creating a unique urban landscape shaped by military necessity and the evolution of modern artillery.

Pamplona’s urban evolution was dictated by its role as a strategic stronghold. During the 16th century, King Philip II commissioned a massive fortification system designed by Giovan Giacomo Paleari and Vespasiano Gonzaga. This transformed the city into a pentagonal star fort, with walls that effectively functioned as a containment belt. Because the military feared that any construction near the walls could provide an advantage to an approaching besieger, a strict building ban was enforced on the city's outskirts.

This restriction forced a vertical solution to urban growth. As the population increased, the city could not expand its footprint, so it instead increased its housing density. This led to the construction of higher, narrower houses and the gradual disappearance of inner courtyards. This architectural pattern persisted until the early 20th century, when the advent of modern warfare rendered the old fortifications obsolete. In 1915, the Army finally permitted the destruction of the southern walls and abolished the building ban, allowing the city to finally breathe outward.

While the city is globally famous for the San Fermín festival and the running of the bulls—brought to international literary fame by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel *The Sun Also Rises*—its history is much more turbulent. The city has transitioned through Visigothic, Frankish, and Umayyad rule, and survived the devastation of the Napoleonic Wars, where French troops were blockaded by the Spanish army until 1813. Today, it stands as the 29th largest city in Spain, with a population of approximately 208,243 as of 2024.

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