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Agurain/Salvatierra

Coordinates: 42°51′09″N 2°23′22″W / 42.85250°N 2.38944°W / 42.85250; -2.38944
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Agurain / Salvatierra
Municipality
Coat of arms of Agurain / Salvatierra
Coat of arms
Agurain / Salvatierra is located in the Basque Country
Agurain / Salvatierra
Agurain / Salvatierra
Location of Agurain/Salvatierra within the Basque Country
Coordinates: 42°51′09″N 2°23′22″W / 42.85250°N 2.38944°W / 42.85250; -2.38944
CountrySpain
Autonomous community Basque Country
ProvinceÁlava
Eskualdea / ComarcaLlanada Alavesa
Founded1256
Government
 • MayorErnesto Sainz Lanchares (Basque Nationalist Party)
Area
 • Total
37.77 km2 (14.58 sq mi)
Elevation
605 m (1,985 ft)
Population
 (2024)[1]
 • Total
5,155
 • Density140/km2 (350/sq mi)
DemonymAguraindarra/Salvaterrano
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
01200, 01207
Official language(s)Basque, Spanish
WebsiteOfficial website

Agurain in Basque or Salvatierra in Spanish, officially Agurain/Salvatierra,[1] is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava in the Basque Autonomous Community, northern Spain. The municipality has a population of 5,155 inhabitants as of 2024[1] and is the most populous town in the cuadrilla of Llanada Alavesa.[2]

The council is headed by Iñaki Beraza, a member of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV).

Geography

[edit]

The municipality, located at the centre of the eastern Alavese Plains, comprises a core built-up area sitting on a low ridge 605m above sea level and consisting of three historical streets running north to south, Zapatari, Mayor and Carnicería, with ancient guild clusters on each. Two watercourses at the foot of the ridge, the Santa Barbara and Zadorra, historically outlined the town's north and west limits but are now increasingly absorbed by rapid urban development. There are several old neighbourhoods, such as the Madura, La Magdalena, and San Jorge, outside the town's walls. On either side of the road connecting the Portal del Rey (the main south entrance to the town) and the train station, a sprawl developed in the 1950s and 1960s called La Moncloa. The town continues growing east beside the Madura through new housing projects in the 2000s, e.g., Harresi Parkea.

Minor villages in the vicinity of the municipality of Salvatierra include:

  • Alangua
  • Arrizala – home to the dolmen Sorginetxe.
  • Egileor
  • Iturrieta – former village on a plateau, nowadays the site of an experimental farm; though not part of the municipality, it is sometimes included within it for statistical purposes.[citation needed]
  • Opakua – at the foot of the mountain Arrigorrista, lends its name to a winding mountain pass.

Economy

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Salvatierra benefits from its location on the important European road axis N-1 E-5 E-80 and the Northern Railway. Following the construction of these routes, the town has developed industry since the early 20th century. Historically,[when?] the Curtidos Salvatierra S.A.L. a tanning factory provided work for many inhabitants. As of 2008, the town numbers three industrial estates, the two existing so far and a new one under construction: Litutxipi across the train station, Agurain on the west (with PEM, former PUM Española, as its traditional flagship factory) and Galzar (urbanization works underway in 2008).[3] The two latter industrial estates participate in a wider regional logistic scheme known as the Vitoria Logistic Corridor.

A solar power plant in the outskirts of the town was inaugurated in 2007, currently the largest in the Basque Autonomous Community, with the goal of generating 350,000 kWh/year.[4]

History

[edit]
The San Juan church (2006)

The town of Salvatierra was founded in 1256 by the Castilian king Alfonso X on the former village of Hagurahin on top of a hill, a highly defensible position.[5] Castile sought to strengthen the territories bordering on the Kingdom of Navarre seized some decades prior. To strengthen these territories, and also to foster Castilian trade, the king founded various strongholds or free towns (salvas terras, seguras and villas francas) over the lands of Gipuzkoa and Álava en route to Gascony through the northern Way of St. James.

Salvatierra has experienced various scuffles, battles, and sieges because of its location bordering Navarre and its strategic position on the King's Highway to France. In the 13th century, the definitive layout of the town was established, with encircling walls and two large, fortified churches at the north and south ends (the churches of Santa María and San Juan, respectively). The olbeas were erected at this time too. These consisted of arcades, made originally of wood, next to both parishes in the marketplaces, and they have endured to the present, having been reconstructed in the 16th century.

The town thrived on its good location and trade along the Way of St. James, and it had a Jewish quarter located on today's Arramel St. In 1521, the town fended off the attack of its own lord, the Count of Salvatierra, who revolted against Emperor Charles V in the Revolt of the Comuneros. The Count failed to capture the town and was arrested and executed by imperial forces. Shortly afterward, the plague swept through the town, potentially causing the burning of Salvatierra on 1 August 1564, a disaster that some[who?] blame on a desperate attempt to end the epidemic. Except for the walls and both main churches, almost the whole town was destroyed, a fact reflected in a poem by Basque writer Joan Perez de Lazarraga.[6]

Salbatierra
egun ey dago tristeric
oyta dabela
eguiten asco negarric
çerren jarri da
guztia destruiduric
ez da gueratu
barruan ese galantic
çerca çabaloc
jarri ey dira bacarric
oy onezquero
ez da mercatu bearric (...)

— Juan Pérez de Lazarraga

After the fire, a reconstruction ensued during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Stately, walled homes, such as the Casa de los Diezmos on Carnicería St., were built in between the main streets[7] While construction slowed during the 18th century, there are still some outstanding works such as the pentagonal San Juan Church's baroque-style porch extending into the centre of the marketplace.

In the 19th century, during the First Carlist War, the walls were demolished to furnish a nearby fortress in Guevara, a key Carlist position, with proper material. Between the Carlist Wars, the railway to the French border was completed; the stretch between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Olazagutia was ready by 1862,[8] providing Salvatierra a railway station. Following that, the town expanded south out of the medieval nucleus by lining both sides of the road to the station and southwest of the N-1 road.

The town garnered attention at the height of the ETA terror attacks. On October 3, 1980, three unmasked gunmen murdered three Civil Motor Guard traffic officers: Corporal Avelino Palma Brioa, Constable Ángel Prado Mella, and Lance Corporal José Luis Vázquez Plata. The murders took place just minutes before the start of a cycling race that would have kicked off local Salvatierra fiestas. The murders received particular notoriety because the local priest, Ismael Arrieta Pérez de Mendiola, provided details to help the terrorists plan the attack. Father Ismael received 10 years in prison for each of the 3 murders (which the Supreme Court of Spain later reduced to 18 years).[9][10]

Crossroads

[edit]
Salvatierra on the east of Álava and Gorbea in the far background

Because of its location in the middle of a plain, Salvatierra has been an important crossroads as early as the Neolithic age, as evidenced by the presence of two important dolmens nearby. Scholars pinpoint the Roman manor Alba, a milestone in the Ab Asturica Burdigalam Roman road (extending west to east), in the nearby village of Albeniz (some others[who?] point to Salvatierra). The way winding down the pass (cave) of San Adrian into the plains around Salvatierra that was to become the Way of St. James evidences prehistoric traces of seasonal cattle migration, dolmens and burial mounds in the area. It was also used by the Romans and gained momentum after the seizure of Gipuzkoa and Alava by the Castilians.

The use of the Way of St. James diminished with the construction of newer and more convenient roads, like the one built through Salinas de Leniz in 1765, which proved more practical for carriages, resulting in the transfer of the traffic to the latter.[11] The diminished traffic later brought about some decay to Salvatierra. However, new communications were being built at the time: Vitoria-Gasteiz was connected to the town with a new road in 1820, and on to the corridor of Burunda. In 1862, the railway connecting Madrid and Irun arrived in the town. After having crossed the town right in the south entrance to the Medieval Nucleus for decades, currently the main road E-5 A-1 (Nacional I) passes by the town west to east en route to France.

Demographics

[edit]

The municipality has a population of 5,155 inhabitants as of 2024.[1] In 1997, the gross income per family was 6,784 € compared to 8,258 € in the Basque Autonomous Community. In the cuadrilla as a whole, 10.36% of the workforce is employed in agriculture, 35.78% in the industry sector, 47.92% in the service sector, and 5.95% in the construction industry.[12]

Language

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Spanish has been the main language of use in Salvatierra for at least the past 150 years. In 1841, there was an interpreter required by the town council for Basque-speaking residents.[13] The geographer Elisée Reclus includes the town within the boundaries of the Basque language area still in 1867.[14] Since the 1970s, younger generations that come out of Basque-language schools (called ikastolas) may speak or understand Basque.

Features

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The Santa Maria church
  • San Juan and Santa María churches: Due to the fortified nature of Salvatierra, both churches seal off the town's south and north entrances in a continuum with the town walls. Hence military architecture may be noticed (thick and stark walls, few windows, and outward corridors perched on their walls for the sentries). Their current construction dates from the period spanning the 14th to early 16th century. They are both made in late Gothic style and distributed in three naves.[15]
  • Dolmen Sorginetxe: This dolmen was constructed in the Neolithic and is located north of Arrizala, not far from another one, Aizkomendi, which located northeast of Salvatierra in the village of Eguilaz.[16] These dolmens, used as burial monuments, were arguably situated at crossroads. The area, especially the cavern of Lezao, hosts tales of witches and spells (the dolmen's name means 'witch house').
  • Olbeas of San Juan: The present-day arcade sloping up south to north dates to the 16th century, being rebuilt after the fire. Some of its columns are made of wood. A marketplace has been held there every Tuesday since the town charter was granted in 1256.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Datos del registro de Entidades Locales". Ministerio de Política Territorial y Memoria Democrática. Government of Spain. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Cuadrillas de Álava". Entidades Locales de Álava (in Spanish). Diputación Foral de Álava. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Industrial Estates". Alava Development Agency. Archived from the original on 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  4. ^ "Entra en marcha en Salvatierra el primer 'huerto' de energía solar del País Vasco" (in Spanish). DV. 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  5. ^ "El fuero de Salvatierra" (in Spanish). Euskonews&Media. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
  6. ^ "Lazarraga, eskuizkribuaren transkripzioa 48. or. aur" (in Basque). Gipuzkoako Artxibo Orokorra. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  7. ^ Portilla, Micaela J. (1991). Una ruta europea Por Álava A Compostela Del paso de San Adrián, al Ebro. Vitoria: Diputación Foral de Álava. p. 86. ISBN 84-7821-066-0.
  8. ^ "Envuelta a Vitoria de 1863" (in Spanish). Afinet. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
  9. ^ "Tres agentes de la Guardia Civil de Tráfico, asesinados en una carretera de Alava". El País (in Spanish). 1980-10-05. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  10. ^ "Ángel Prado Mella" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  11. ^ Portilla, Micaela J. (1991). Una ruta europea Por Álava A Compostela Del paso de San Adrián, al Ebro. Vitoria: Diputación Foral de Álava. p. 33. ISBN 84-7821-066-0.
  12. ^ "Lautadako Iraganbidea". Gaindegia. 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2008-01-30. Dossier in Basque
  13. ^ "Euskera en Agurain". Ayto. de Salvatierra. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2010-06-22. Site in Spanish
  14. ^ Reclus, Elisée (1867). "Les Basques, un Peuple qui s'en va". 2e période: 313–340.
  15. ^ Portilla, Micaela J. (1991). Una ruta europea Por Álava A Compostela Del paso de San Adrián, al Ebro. Vitoria: Diputación Foral de Álava. p. 82. ISBN 84-7821-066-0.
  16. ^ "Lugares Singulares: Los dólmenes de Sorginetxe y de Aizkomendi" (in Spanish). Alavavisión. Retrieved 9 February 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
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