Haro () is a town and municipality in the northwest of La Rioja province in northern Spain. It produces red wine, and hosts the annual Haro Wine Festival. Its architectural heritage includes the plateresque main entrance of the Church of Santo Tomás, the work of Felipe Vigarny, numerous palaces, and the old town, which was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1975. Haro was the first town in Spain to have electric street lighting.

History

There are several theories about the founding of Haro, though the most realistic theory is that of Domingo Hergueta, who argued that before the town, there was a lighthouse ( es, faro) near the village of Cerro de la Mota which illuminated the mouth of the Ebro river. The town was named for the lighthouse, and ''Faro'' later evolved into ''Haro''. During the Roman rule of Hispania, a fort called Castrum Bibilium was built in the cliffs of Bibilio. The first mention of Haro dates back to the year 1040, in a document of king García Sánchez III of Navarre"el de Nájera". Alfonso VI of León and Castile entrusted the

tenencia In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as oppo ...

to Diego López I de Haro after the death of Count

García Ordóñez García Ordóñez (died 29 May 1108), called de Nájera or de Cabra and Crispus or el Crespo de Grañón in the epic literature, was a Castilian magnate who ruled the Rioja, with his seat at Nájera, from 1080 until his death. He is famous in lit ...

and the first of the lords of Biscay to attach the name of this town to his patronymic was Diego's son,

Lope Díaz I de Haro Lope Díaz I de Haro (''c''. 1105 – 6 May 1170) was the fourth Lord of Biscay (from at least 1162). He was an important magnate in Castile during the reign of the Emperor Alfonso VII and in the kingdom of his son and grandson. Between 1147 and ...

. Since the early 19th century Haro has established a worldwide reputation for being the most important wine town in the Rioja wine region and remains so today even though the number of Bodegas in the region have multiplied 8 times to 574 during the past 50 years (1970 to 2020). The key focus of this reputation is at the Barrio Estación where 7 of the best Rioja Bodegas are located - namely Bodegas Bilbainas (founded 1859); Compañia Vinícola del Norte de España VNEf.1879; R. López de Heredia (f 1877); Bodegas Roda (f 1989); Bodegas Muga (f.1932); Bodegas La Rioja Alta S.A. (f.1890). In other parts of the town are Bodegas Martnez Lacuesta (f.1873); Bodega Berceo (f.1801); Carlos Serres (f.1896) and Ramon Bilbao (f.1924). Féderico Paaternina was founded in 1897 and became a very influential name in the wine business in Spain until its final collapse in 2010 when the Bodega closed and the brand of Banda Azul was sold to Berberana following a very difficult period after the appropriation of their owners Rumasa in 1983 by the new Spanish Government and the failure of the subsequent owner to keep the company as a going concern.(1) Wines of Spain by Jeremy Watson published 2002 by Editores Montagud of Barcelona. The New Spain of John Radford published by Faber in 1992 and Rioja by Ana Fabiano published in 2012. Portada de Santo Tomás de Haro

Notable people

* Manuel Risco (1735-1801), historian * Manuel Bartolomé Cossío (1857-1935), educator *

Lucrecia Arana Lucrècia Arana ( Haro, 23 November 1871 - Madrid, 9 March 1927) was a Spanish soprano-contralto singer. She is remembered for her unique voice and style in the zarzuela genre. Biography Arana's father died during the Third Carlist War when she ...

(1871-1927), singer * José María Mazón Sainz (1901-1981), politician * Eduardo Fajardo (1924-2019), actor *

Luis de la Fuente Castillo Luis de la Fuente Castillo (born 21 June 1961) is a Spanish football manager and former professional player who played as a left-back. He is the manager of the Spain national team. He amassed La Liga totals of 254 matches and six goals over 1 ...

(born 1961), footballer *

Ana Ibáñez Llorente Ana Ibáñez Llorente (born Haro, La Rioja, Spain 1981) is a Spanish television news anchor based in Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan a ...

(born 1981), TV personality Batalla del Vino - Haro - La Rioja

References

External links

Ayuntamiento de Haro
{{authority control Municipalities in La Rioja (Spain)

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links