Oiartzun (, ) is a town and municipality located in the Basque Country, in the province of

Gipuzkoa 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-Atlantiqu ...

lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria (Peñas de Aya in Spanish).

Etymology

The name traces back to ''Oiasso'' or ''Oiarso'', a Roman town closely connected to the ''Arditurri'' mines in the massif of Aiako Harria, which contained large amounts of silver and copper. However, it has been pinpointed to the current border town of

Irun Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Spanish Civil War, ...

, so the name may have referred to the whole area.

Geography

A river bearing the same name meanders through the meadows and neighbourhoods of this sparse municipality. That is one of its main features, it is scattered in different quarters across the valley. Elizalde lies on a prominence and it is the central nucleus of the town, with the main church San Esteban and town hall being located there. At the foot of Elizalde lies Altzibar by the Oiartzun River. Ugaldetxo developed into an urban built-up area surrounded by industrial estates near the AP-8 motorway, while the rest of the neighbourhoods have hung onto their rural and picturesque landscape to a large extent.

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (El Noble) or the one of Las Navas (el de las Navas), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarc ...

chartered it as town but it took some decades before its independence from Orereta was total. San Esteban plazatik Oiartzun

Sports

The town's football club, Oiartzun KE, plays at Karla Lekuona. The women's side has competed in the highest division of Spanish football, making Oiartzun one of the smallest towns in the country home to a top-flight club.

Notable people born in Oiartzun

* Sebastián Lartaún, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Cuzco from 1570 to 1583 * Xabier Lete (1944–2010), writer, poet, singer and politician * Izaskun Zubizarreta Guerendiain, (1970–2024), ski mountaineer * Juan María Lekuona (1927–2005), priest, poet and linguist * Rafael Picavea y Leguía (1867–1946), industrialist, politician and journalist *

José Manuel Lasa José Manuel Lasa (born 21 May 1939) is a Spanish former cyclist. He competed in the individual road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics and finished fourth overall in the 1969 Vuelta a España. He is the older brother of fellow cyclist Miguel ...

(born 1940), cyclist * Txomin Perurena (born 1943), cyclist * Maixux Rekalde (1934–2022), pacifist, activist, journalist * Miguel María Lasa (born 1948), cyclist * Iker Leonet (born 1983), cyclist

Twin towns

Oiartzun is twinned with: * Carhaix,

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

References

External links

Roman Museum of Oiasso
(Basque, Spanish, English and French)
Town Hall official site
(Basque and Spanish)
Guispuscoa Government site: Oiartzun
(Basque and Spanish)
OIARTZUN in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
Information available in Spanish Municipalities in Gipuzkoa Donostialdea {{Basque-geo-stub