Canfranc has travelled back in time to remember one of the most important events in its history. This small town in the Aragonese Pyrenees celebrates this Saturday a new edition, the eleventh, of thehistorical re-creation of the inauguration of the Canfranc International Station, a festive and also vindictive event that has turned the surroundings of the emblematic railway building into a stage set in 1928.
Neighbors, volunteers and, above all, many visitors did not want to miss this day that pays tribute to the day the resort officially opened its doors. The main event began after 11:00 a.m. and reproduces the ceremony that took place almost a century ago, with the presence of characters in costume and the reading of the speeches given then by King Alfonso XIII and the President of the French Republic, Gaston Doumergue.
The celebration commemorates a key date in the history of the Spanish railway. On July 18, 1928, the Canfranc International Station was officially inaugurated in a ceremony presided over by Alfonso XIII, General Miguel Primo de Rivera and Gaston Doumergue. That day began the activity of an infrastructure destined to become for decades one of the main rail links between Spain and France.
The history of the project, however, goes back much earlier. In 1853, the Aragonese Economic Society of Friends of the Country promoted the construction of a railway connection through the Central Pyrenees. Although the initiative aroused interest on both sides of the border, the development of the railway still took several decades to become a reality.
CLAIMING STRATEGIC VALUE
The mayor of Canfranc, Fernando Sánchez, stressed that this recreation «is an event that is already rooted and that attracts more tourists». As he explains, this eleventh edition allows us to return to 1928 to remember «one of the most important moments in our history» and vindicate the strategic value that the station has had for Canfranc, Aragon and cross-border communications. In his speech, the mayor also wanted to remember those affected by the fire of the Cinco Villas, to whom he wanted to transfer all his support and solidarity.
With a sunny morning and high temperatures, among the dressed characters have been seen, among an expectant public, hats, caps and plenty of sun protection to comfortably follow the scheduled activities.
In addition to the historical reenactment, the program includes a fair of crafts and local products inspired by the atmosphere of the early twentieth century, musical performances and swing dances that complete a festive day around the historic railway building.
Undoubtedly, an unmissable event that allows you to relive a day that marked a before and after in the railway history of the Pyrenees.
