About a hundred km north of Barcelona, Girona is the capital city of the province equally named Girona. The roman Gerunda was occupied by the Arabs before Charlemagne (Charles the Great, King of the Franks) conquered it back in 785, successively fell into the possession of Vilfredo el Velloso (Wilfredo the Hairy). Annexed into the Crown of Aragon, Girona helped afterwards the rebellions against Spanish Kings Felipe IV and Felipe V. During the Independence War in 1809, conquered by the army of General Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, the city developed behind its hero Mariano Alvarez de Castro. On December 12, 1909, the French finally won over Girona.