Plaza de la Virgen Blanca

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Plaza de la Virgen Blanca is one of the oldest meeting points in Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country of Spain. In the middle of it there is the monument to La batalla de Vitoria a battle which took place in the city in 1813 during the Napoleonic wars.

Contents

Plaza de la Virgen Blanca Vitoria 05 2012 1809.JPG
Plaza de la Virgen Blanca

History

In the Middle Ages the square was Vitoria's city center. It was the place where all activities, including bullfights and food markets, were carried out. At the end of the 18th century, Plaza de España or Plaza Nueva was built right next to it by Vitorian architect Justo Antonio de Olaguibel. Due to the construction of the new square the old one became the local's meeting point. In 2007 the flowers that were in the middle of it were removed and fountains were installed in order to modernize the square.

Virgen Blanca Festivities

At 6:00 pm, Celedon's descent is performed from the top of the Church of San Miguel to a balcony across the Virgen Blanca square, where Celedón (a rag doll with an umbrella) slides all the way down suspended by a wire. Meanwhile the citizens stand below it, showering themselves in champagne and singing Celedón's song. Once he reaches the balcony the staff hide the rag doll and a human Celedón appears. Next up, he has to cross the square, helped by a group of friends, to reach the Church of San Miguel and greet the crowds below and wish everyone a happy celebration. This performance marks the start of the celebration in Vitoria-Gasteiz. At 10:00 pm, the Virgen Blanca brotherhood is in charge of organizing a lantern procession.

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Virgen Blanca Festivities

The Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca have been celebrated every year, since 1884. It is held on 5 August, but the celebrations begin the day before, on the 4th, and end on 9 August it honours the patron saint of the city, and features a programme of special events, activities and free open-air concerts.

Celedón

Celedón is a symbol of the villager native of Alava. Wearing a beret and dressed in a traditional blouse, always accompanied by an umbrella, the personage has been located by the historians in diverse environments. This man or personage opens the holidays of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque province of Araba-Álava in Spain.

The Virgen Blanca is the patron saint of the Spanish city Vitoria-Gasteiz. Its festivity is celebrated on 5 August, commonly known as Andre Maria Zuriaren jaiak or las fiestas de la Blanca.

Blusas

Blusas are Basque citizens who dress in the traditional clothes of the region and attend events in Vitoria-Gasteiz such as the Virgen Blanca Festivities. The blusas assemble in groups called cuadrillas, and their main role is to provide entertainment at these events.

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Plaza de los Fueros Place

The Plaza de los Fueros is a plaza or square located in the city centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is the capital of the Basque Country, Spain. It was built in 1979 in memory of the county code of laws named fuero in Spanish.

Vitoria massacre

The massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria is the massacre that took place on March 3, 1976, in the Basque capital during the so-called Spanish Transition: in a day of strike, the Spanish Armed Police Corps used tear gas to force the workers out of the parish where they were gathering in assembly. As the workers left the Church of San Francisco de Asís, in the working-class neighbourhood of Zaramaga, they were shot by the police. This resulted in 5 dead workers and 150 injured with gunshot wounds. The same police described the facts as a massacre. These facts inspired Lluís Llach celebrated song Campanades a morts.

Portals of Vitoria-Gasteiz Medieval towers in Spain

The Portals or Arcs of Vitoria-Gasteiz were Medieval crenelated towers that fortified the entrances to a street of the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz. This tower had a gateway in its center.

Second tower of the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca

The Second tower of the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, also called Tower of the Correría was the smaller of the two towers that noted for its height, the other tower exist today intact, that were in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

References

Coordinates: 42°50′48″N2°40′24″W / 42.84667°N 2.67333°W / 42.84667; -2.67333