Azkoitia
Azkoitia | |
|---|---|
| Azkoitia's central square, with Paroquia Santa Maria La Real Azkoitia's central square, with Paroquia Santa Maria La Real | |
|
Coat of arms of Azkoitia Coat of arms | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Coordinates: Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community | Basque Country |
| Province | Gipuzkoa |
| Comarca | Urola Kosta |
| Founded | 1331 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ana Azkoitia (Basque Nationalist Party) |
| Area | |
• Total | 54.71 km2 (21.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 113 m (371 ft) |
| Population (Lua error in Module:Settlement_Wikidata at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).)Lua error in Module:Settlement_Wikidata at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Settlement_Wikidata at line 197: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Demonym | Spanish: azcoitano |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 20720 |
| Website | Official website |
Azkoitia (Spanish: Azcoitia) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, in northern Spain. It is also the seat of the municipality of the same name.
Geographical setting
[edit | edit source]Azkoitia and the municipality of the same name, are located on and around the upper Urola river valley, centered on a small alluvial plain surrounded by the Basque Mountains. Except for the valley itself, the terrain is rather rugged, with elevations ranging to little less than 950 meters.
Population
[edit | edit source]
As of 2004[1], the municipality numbered 10,946 inhabitants, of whom 5,324 (49.867%) were men and 5,262 (50.133%) were women. Age is distributed among the sexes rather evenly with children and adolescents (0 to 17 years of age) forming 16.235% of the population, adults (18 to 54 years of age) making up 53.744%, and senior citizens forming the remaining 30.021%.
Historical relevance
[edit | edit source]Azkoitia was the birthplace of the mother of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. Ignatius' maternal grandfather, Don Martin Garcia de Licona, had purchased Balda Tower in the mid-15th century. Recurring bloody encounters in the region persuaded the king, Henry IV of Castile, to reduce the tower from a fortress to a courthouse. On 13 July 1467 Don Martin's daughter, Dona Marina Saenz de Licona Balda married Don Beltran Ibanez de Onaz y Loyola from neighbouring Azpeitia in the Licona family home in Azkoitia. The original wedding contract still exists.
Loyola's birth house is still preserved as a museum a part of a large Jesuit compound. It is located a few kilometers east of Azkoitia's city center, at the small community of Azpeitia, and is a major tourist attraction.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]- Official Website Information available in Spanish and Basque.
- AZKOITIA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) Information available in Spanish
Notes
[edit | edit source]
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
