Zarautz (, ) is a coastal town located in central
Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, in Spain. It is bordered by
Aia AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to:
Aia
* Aia, a small town in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain
* Peñas de Aya, small mountain range in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa
* Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis
* Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ...
to the east and the south and
Getaria to the west, located about west of
Donostia/San Sebastián. It has four
enclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...
s limiting the aforementioned municipalities: Alkortiaga, Ekano, Sola, and Arbestain. , Zarautz has a population of 22,890, which usually swells to about 60,000 in the summer.
The Palace of Narros, located adjacent to Zarautz's long beach, is where Queen
Isabella II and
Fabiola of Belgium once spent their summer holidays. The beach is known for being the longest in the Basque Country and one of longest of the
Cantabrian cornice.
The Mayor of Zarautz since 2015 has been Xabier Txurruka (
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque Nationalist Party ( , EAJ; , PNV; , PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially the Basque National Party in English, is a Basque nationalist and regionalist political party. The party is located in the centre of the political spectrum. It has been de ...
).
History
*1237: The site is founded as a town and its Navarrese
charters confirmed by king
Fernando III of Castile.
*1857: The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Zarautz, thanks to the enterprise "Fabril Linera". An era of economic growth and development begins.
*1936: The Civil War begins and Zarautz overwhelmingly supports the Republican cause.
*1936: The province falls to
Falangist forces in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, who carry out reprisals against the Basque nationalists.
At the end of the 19th century, and the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of Zarautz as a luxury tourist destination grew, and many well-known people began to holiday there:
Umberto II of Italy
Umberto II (; 15 September 190418 March 1983) was the last King of Italy. Umberto's reign lasted for 34 days, from 9 May 1946 until his formal deposition on 12 June 1946, although he had been the ''de facto'' head of state since 1944. Due to hi ...
,
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
,
Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
... A number of lavish houses and mansions sprang up, particularly along the beach. Nowadays, many of these buildings have become public buildings or have been demolished and replaced by chic apartment buildings.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Zarautz became a more affordable destination, and is now perhaps best known for its surfing and water sports.
Infrastructure and transport
Road
Zarautz is connected to the European road network and to the rest of Spain by the
A8 motorway.
Gastronomy
As it is tradition in the Basque Country,
gastronomy
Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...
is a very important part of Zarautz. Many restaurants can be found in Zarautz, offering traditional as well as modern fine cuisine. Zarautz is home town of one of the most famous cooks in Spain,
Karlos Arguiñano, whose hotel and restaurant can be found right in front of the beach. He also created a prestigious cooking school called
Aiala.
As in all cities around
The Basque Country, there are a lot of gastronomical societies in Zarautz. They are very traditional and called
Txoko in Basque.
Public transport
Zarautz has two railway stations, and trains (
Euskotren Trena) connect it with San Sebastian and Bilbao.
Zarautz has two bus lines operating within the town.
Museums
There are two museums in Zarautz, the Photomuseum and the Art and History Museum of Zarautz. In "Dorre Luzea" there are frequent art exhibitions. The town also has many other picture galleries.
Churches
There are three main churches in Zarautz and many other smaller churches. Santa Maria la Real is the main church, with a very interesting altar piece and a Romanesque structure. Santa Clara is also quite interesting, built in a baroque style. Finally, Franciscanos church, which has been virtually rebuilt, features a very interesting library.
Recreation

Zarautz has first class sporting facilities, such as an old and elegant Golf Club. But Zarautz is renowned worldwide as a surfing destination. Over the last few years, it has become incredibly popular among surfers, and even a number of surfing schools have been established (Zarautz, Pukas).
Sport
Zarautz is the birthplace of the Basque Weightlifting Federation as well as the Gipuzkoa Weightlifting Federation. Since 1968
weightlifting
Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
(ZKEhalterofilia) has been one of the sports that can be practiced at the local sports club (Zarautz Kirol Elkartea). Since then, every summer an international weightlifting event has taken place in the town. At first, very famous athletes took part in that competition such as
Serge Reding and
Alain Terme to name a few. In recent times, the event has become a club competition in which the French champion Girondins de Bordeaux has won most of the top prizes.
The town is also famous as one of Spain's most popular surfing spots. Its 2.5 km beach offers highly consistent surfing with many different peaks for all standards of surfers. The town is a great place to learn how to surf and has been home to many of Spain's Champion surfers. Zarautz is one of the stops of the World Surf League's Qualifying Series.
Twin towns and sister cities
*
Cardano al Campo, Italy
*
Pontarlier
Pontarlier ( ; Latin: ''Ariolica'') is a Communes of France, commune and one of the two Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectures of the Doubs Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern ...
, France
*
El Hagounia, Morocco
See also
*
1980 Zarautz attack, an
ETA
Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
attack which killed five people in the town.
References
External links
Official websiteTourism in ZarautzVillage beaches website
{{coord, 43, 17, N, 2, 10, W, region:ES_type:city, display=title
Municipalities in Gipuzkoa
Tourism in Spain
Populated coastal places in Spain
Urola Kosta