Zugarramurdi is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the province and autonomous community of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

in northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It passed into history as the setting of alleged occult activity featured in the infamous

Basque witch trials The Basque Witch Trials of the seventeenth century represent the last attempt at rooting out supposed witchcraft from Navarre by the Spanish Inquisition, after a series of episodes erupted during the sixteenth century following the end of milita ...

held in

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed ...

in the seventeenth century. The town is home to the Basque witch museum and the ''Witch Caves''. Every year, spectacular fires are lit in the caves near Zugarramurdi for the celebration of the ‘day of the witch’ on the

summer solstice The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer s ...

.Article about ''The Day of the Witch'' on easyjet.com
/ref>

Etymology

Zugarramurdi is a toponym with unknown meaning, even though it comes from Basque. The philologist

Koldo Mitxelena Koldo Mitxelena Elissalt () (also known as ''Luis Michelena''; 1915, Errenteria, Gipuzkoa – 11 October 1987, San Sebastián) was an eminent Basque linguist. He taught in the Department of Philology at the University of the Basque Country, a ...

proposed that the etymology of the name could be “place with abundancy of ruined elms”, coming from zugar (elm) + andur (ruined) + the suffix –di (it indicates abundancy). However, Mitxelena himself admitted not having proof about this theory. In Basque and in Spanish it seems that the name of the village is transcribed in the same way, although the z is pronounced differently in both languages. Because of that, the pronunciation slightly varies.

Legend

It is said that the word “

akelarre ''Akelarre'' is the Basque term meaning Witches' Sabbath (the place where witches hold their meetings). ''Akerra'' means male goat in the Basque language. Witches' sabbaths were envisioned as presided over by a goat. The word has been loaned ...

” comes from the field next to one of the small Zugarramurdi caves, where the witch meetings used to take place. The Basque word akelarre means “the field of the he-goat”, as well as 'witches sabbath'. Those present in the meetings used to call the caves from this field, because in it, a big black he-goat used to graze (called Akerbeltz in Basque). It is said the he-goat turned into a human when the witches gathered, so it is thought the goat was the devil itself. This is why Zugarramurdi is often called “The Cathedral of the Devil”. The legend of Zugartamurdi is the main plot of the 2013 Spanish film, ''La brujas de Zugarramurdi'' (in English, it is ''

Witching and Bitching ''Witching & Bitching'' ( es, Las brujas de Zugarramurdi, links=no; ) is a 2013 Spanish comedy horror film co-written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia. It stars Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, and Carmen Maura. It won the most awards at the 28th ...

'').

Gallery

File:Zugarramurdi 1.jpg, Street of Zugarramurdi File:Zugarramurdi 2.jpg, Typical architecture File:Iglesia zugarramurdi.jpg, Asunción Church File:Zugarramurdi cueva.jpg, The "Cave of the Witches" near Akelarre in Zugarramurdi

References

External links

Homepage of Zugarramurdi

ZUGARRAMURDI in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
Municipalities in Navarre {{navarre-geo-stub