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Getaria | |
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Coordinates: 43°18′16″N2°12′13″W / 43.30444°N 2.20361°W | |
Country | Spain |
Autonomous community | Basque Country |
Province | Gipuzkoa |
Comarca | Urola Kosta |
Government | |
• Mayor | Nika Lertxundi (Bildu) |
Area | |
• Total | 10.6 km2 (4.1 sq mi) |
Population (2018) [1] | |
• Total | 2,818 |
• Density | 270/km2 (690/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 20808 |
Area code | 34 (Spain) + 943 (Gipuzkoa) |
Getaria is a town on the Urola coast, in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in northern Spain. It borders Zarautz to the east and Zumaia to the west.
Getaria is well-known for being the hometown of Juan Sebastián Elcano: a sailor famous for being the first to circumnavigate the world. He was the captain of the Nao Victoria , the only ship in Magellan's ill-fated fleet to complete the voyage.
Today, Getaria is also famous for its restaurants that serve grilled fish and white wine with a Denomination of Origin somewhere in the Getariako Txakolina near the town. The town is also home to the Cristobal Balenciaga Museum.
In May 2012, a two-man team from Getaria won Google's 'Model Your Town' competition by creating a complete 3D representation of their home town.
Traditionally, the name of the city was written as Guetaria. Since 1980, however, the official toponym has been Getaria, which is an adaptation of the modern Basque orthography. Thus, in Spanish it is written Guetaria, and in Basque, although pronounced the same way, it is written Getaria.
Apart from Getaria in Gipuzkoa, there is another town 61 kilometres up the coast in Lapurdi (Labourd), in the French Basque Country, which is called Guéthary in French, but the Basque pronunciation and spelling of the two towns is the same. Both towns are located on the Basque coast, and throughout history many have sought the origin of the towns' names. The most convincing hypothesis, based on archaeological evidence, is that the name of Getaria comes from the Latin word "cetaria". In classical Latin, pronounced [ketaria], it means "a place where fish is preserved". Indeed, evidence of Roman fish canneries has been found in both places.
Another possible origin of the name is the Gascon word "guaita", which means "lookout". During the Middle Ages, several villages on the Basque coast were colonised by the Gascon people, and among these villages were both Getarias. [It has therefore been suggested that Getari could be the result of a mixture of "guaita" and "-ari": a suffix used in the Basque language to denote professions and meaning watchman. For others, however, the name Getaria comes from a mixture of "guaita" and "-erri", which means town, creating a word that means the town of the watchman.
Another possible origin of the name is "guaita" in the Gascon language which means "lookout". During the Middle Ages, various villages on the Basque coast were colonized by Gascons, and among these villages both Getarias could be found.[ citation needed ] Therefore, it was believed that Getari could be the result of a mix between "guaita" and "–ari": a suffix that is used in the Basque language for professions and means vigilante. For others, though, the name of Getaria results from the mix of "guaita" and "–erri", meaning town, creating a word that means the town of the vigilant.
The municipality of Getaria occupies part of the central coast of Gipuzkoa, in the Cantabrian Sea. This stretch of coast is made up of a steep cliff where erosion has created a series of coves and points.
The historic quarter of Getaria is located between the mainland and Mount San Antón, known as the Mouse of Getaria because of its mouse-like shape. This mountain, which characterises the town, was an island until the 16th century.
In the interior of the municipality is Mount Garate (278 m). It runs parallel to the coast and on its smooth slopes are several farms belonging to the municipality of Getaria. These farms, called baserri , are typical of the Basque Country. Almost all the land between Garate and the coast is covered with vineyards, due to the microclimate that this area generates.
The beginnings of a village in what is now Getaria could have been found in Roman times, as evidenced by the discovery of an "ace" from the earlier pre-imperial period, 2 BC.
The village of Getaria was founded between 1180 and 1194 by King Sancho VI of Navarre, making it one of the oldest towns in the province, along with San Sebastián. In the second half of the 12th century, the expansion and domination of the Cantabrian ports was a priority for the Kings of Navarre. After the conquest of Gipuzkoa around the year 1200, King Alfonso VIII of Castile confirmed his Fuero "eo modo quo rex Navarra illud dedit vobis habendum" in San Sebastián on 1 September 1209. In 1571, the historian Esteban de Garibay confirmed the Navarrese origin of the village in his book Compendio Historial, stating that in 1209 Alfonso VIII granted Getaria the Fuero of San Sebastián, thus confirming its jurisdiction within Navarre. Finally, the "Diccionario Geográfico-Histórico de España (1845-1850)" states that the town archives contain a letter from King Alfonso VIII of Burgos dated 20 January 1201. In this letter it is stated that the inhabitants of Getaria had the right to pasture, water, meadows and forests. It is therefore clear that Getaria was founded by the Kings of Navarre.
Throughout its history, Getaria has enjoyed various privileges that attest to its status as a town. Here are some of them:
As far as the maritime activities of the city were concerned, they were the main source of income for the city in the Middle Ages. In the fifteenth century, the gap that existed between the island of San Antón and the historic centre was closed. The port is located to the south of the island and was traditionally used as a whaling port. In fact, in 1878 the last whale was caught in nearby waters by fishermen from Zarautz and Getaria, who managed to bring it to the port. Today it is an important port on the Basque coast.
During the Thirty Years' War, in the summer of 1638, Cardinal Richelieu planned a campaign to annex the strategic territory of Gipuzkoa. To achieve this, he wanted to occupy Hondarribia with 20,000 soldiers. He also needed a port to accommodate a fleet of 50 ships that would destroy any plan to relieve Hondarribia. The port of Getaria was therefore chosen for this strategic plan. On 24 July 1638, the Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral Lope de Hoces was attacked from Getaria. Only one Spanish galleon survived the attack. However, when the troops of Geoffrey II (Archbishop of Bordeaux) tried to take the town, they were destroyed by the defenders of Getaria and Zarautz and reinforcements from neighbouring towns. Finally, the village was destroyed by the artillery of the French galleons, but not a single French soldier came close to its walls. Soon after, on 7 September, the siege of Hondarribia would fail.
During the Peninsular War, in 1811, Getaria was occupied by French troops, who left in 1813 after causing considerable damage.
During the Carlist Wars, in 1835, the village was once again practically destroyed. After being besieged by the Carlists, it was finally taken in 1836 and set on fire from several points,[citation needed] leaving only 16 houses badly damaged. The parish church, in particular, suffered the effects of the attack and required extensive repairs.
Getaria's main sources of income are fishing, tourism and the cultivation of Txakoli.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the people of this village worked more in agriculture than in fishing, and they produced the best txakoli in Gipuzkoa. Nowadays, txakoli is still produced, but in smaller quantities. Fishing has therefore become the main source of income. Nowadays, however, fishing is in decline.
Cider is also produced in the Askizu, Akerregi and Meagas districts.
Political party | 2011 [2] | 2007 [3] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Votes % | Councillors | Votes % | Councillors | |
Bildu | 46,67% | 5 | - | - |
Partido Nacionalista Vasco (EAJ-PNV) | 40,46% | 5 | 62,31% | 8 |
Aralar | 9,57% | 1 | 23,04% | 2 |
Eusko Alkartasuna (EA) | - | - | 7,93% | 1 |
Gascon is the vernacular Romance variety spoken mainly in the region of Gascony, France. It is often considered a variety of Occitan, although some authors consider it a different language.
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component parts of the Basque Country by many, especially by the Basque nationalists.
Hondarribia is a town situated on the west shore of Bidasoa river's mouth, in Gipuzkoa, in Basque Country, Spain.
Gipuzkoa is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques at the northeast, with the province and autonomous community of Navarre at east, Biscay at west, Álava at southwest and the Bay of Biscay to its north. It is located at the easternmost extreme of the Cantabric Sea, in the Bay of Biscay. It has 66 kilometres of coast land.
The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Txakoli or chacolí is a slightly sparkling, very dry white wine with high acidity and low alcohol content produced in the Spanish Basque Country, Cantabria and northern Burgos in Spain. Further afield, Chile is also a minor producer.
Aia is a village situated on the slopes of Mount Pagoeta in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. It is located 30 km to the west of Donostia-San Sebastián and about 10 km inland from the coastal town of Zarautz. Aia is set amongst hills and forests, and surrounded by mountains. The town has a large church, the Church of San Esteban, which includes a notable centrepiece. The population of Aia has gradually declined since the 1950s, to a population of 1,750 in 2005.
Lazkao is a town and municipality located in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country.
Oiartzun is a town and municipality located in the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.
Pasaia is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birthplace of the famous admiral Blas de Lezo and of the fashion designer Paco Rabanne.
Zarautz is a coastal town located in central Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, in Spain. It is bordered by Aia to the east and the south and Getaria to the west, located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of San Sebastián. It has four enclaves limiting the aforementioned municipalities: Alkortiaga, Ekano, Sola, and Arbestain. As of 2014, Zarautz has a population of 22,890, which usually swells to about 60,000 in the summer.
Guéthary is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is located in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, the town traditionally standing on the northernmost coastal linguistic boundary of the Basque language. Guéthary station has rail connections to Hendaye, Bayonne and Bordeaux.
Buenechea is the Spanish spelling of a Basque surname which also occurs in the variants Bonechea, Buonechea, Boenechea and Bonachea. The modern Basque spellings are Buenetxea and Bonetxea. This surname is not common; Buenecheas and Buenetxeas between them number fewer than 100 in the whole of Spain, for the most part located in Gipuzkoa, where diocesan records indicate only around 1000 persons have been born with this name and its variants in the 300-year period 1600–1900. It is made up of the elements "buen, bon" + "etxea" ('house'). The name therefore is originally related to "Goyenetch(e)", "Goyenech(e)" and "Go(i)enetxe".
Etxeberria (Basque pronunciation:[etʃeβeri.a], modern Basque spelling) is a Basque language placename and surname from the Basque Country in Spain and France, meaning 'the new house'. It shows one meaningful variant, Etxeberri (no Basque article –a, 'the'), and a number of later spelling variants produced in Spanish and other languages. Etxebarri(a) is a western Basque dialectal variant, with the same etymology. Etxarri (Echarri) is attested as stemming from Etxaberri.
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián, is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, 20 km from the France–Spain border. The capital city of the province of Gipuzkoa, the municipality's population is 188,102 as of 2021, with its metropolitan area reaching 436,500 in 2010. Locals call themselves donostiarra (singular), both in Spanish and Basque. It is also a part of Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián.
A trainera is a traditional boat of the Cantabrian Sea coast at the southern end of the Bay of Biscay, propelled by oars, and formerly sailing. It is a boat of fine lines with raised prow and rounded stern, to resist the waves of the Cantabrian sea. Traineras were originally used by fishermen to bring in the day’s catch of anchovies and sardines from sea to market, usually competing to sell their caught fish before others came in. Today, this historical tradition has become a major sport of coastal boat racing.
The Kontxako Bandera (Basque) or Bandera de la Concha is one of the oldest and most famous estropada race along the Bay of Biscay, held annually in the Kontxa, the main bay of San Sebastián, Spain. It takes place on the first two weekends in September and regularly draws crowds of more than 100,000 people and around 20 rowing teams. It was first held in 1879 and has been held most years since with the main exception of the war years.
Txakoli de Getaria - Getariako Txakolina is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines, located around the towns of Getaria and Zarautz, small fishing towns on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, in the province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. A small amount of grapes are also grown around the town of Aia.
The Basques were among the first people to catch whales commercially rather than purely for subsistence and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain, when writing about Basque whaling in Terranova, described them as "the cleverest men at this fishing". By the early 17th century, other nations entered the trade in earnest, seeking the Basques as tutors, "for [they] were then the only people who understand whaling", lamented the English explorer Jonas Poole.
Nestor Basterretxea Arzadun was a Basque artist, born in Bermeo, Biscay, Basque Autonomous Community. In the 1950s and 1960s, he spearheaded along with other artists such as Jorge Oteiza, Remigio Mendiburu, or Eduardo Chillida, an avant-garde artistic movement concerned with the crisis of Basque identity, and formally a special focus on large volumes and the concept of emptiness.