ESTELLA  , a

town of northern Spain, in the province of Navarre, on the left bank of the river Ega, 15 M . W.S.W. of Pamplona . Pop . (1900) 5736 . Estella, which occupies the site of a Roman town of uncertain name, contains several monasteries and churches, a medieval citadel, and a college which was formerly a university . Its principal industries are the manufacture of woollen and linen fabrics and brandy-making; and it has a considerable trade in fruit, wine and cattle . Estella commands several defiles on the roads from Castile and Aragon, and on that account occupies a position of considerable strategic importance . It was long the headquarters of Don Carlos, who was proclaimed king here in 1833 . In 1873 it was the chief stronghold of the Carlists, and in 1874, when driven from other places, they succeeded in retiring to Estella . On the 16th of February 1876 the Carlists in the town surrendered unconditionally . For an account of the Carlist rising see SPAIN: History .