Karrantza Harana/Valle de Carranza (in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

''Karrantza Harana'', in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''Valle de Carranza''), is a town and municipality located in the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, in the Basque Country. It is located in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

of Enkarterri and it is the westernmost and largest (by area) municipality of the province. Film director

Víctor Erice Víctor Erice Aras (; born 30 June 1940) is a Spanish film director. He is best known for his two feature fiction films, ''The Spirit of the Beehive'' (1973), which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, and '' El Sur'' (1983 ...

was born there.

Etymology

The first recorded appearance of the toponym of Carranza is on the Chronicle of Alfonso III, dated in the 10th Century, where it appears as ''Carrantia''. According to the text, ''Carrantia'' was one of the towns known to be populated during the reign of Alfonso I,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

. The origin of ''Carrantia'' comes from the

Cantabri The Cantabri ( grc-gre, Καντάβροι, ''Kantabroi'') or Ancient Cantabrians, were a pre-Roman people and large tribal federation that lived in the northern coastal region of ancient Iberia in the second half of the first millennium BC. Thes ...

an dialect, meaning "high rocks". From ''Carrantia'' it would evolve to Carranza, the current

toponym. ''Karrantza'' is the Basque toponym, an adaptation of Carranza following the Basque orthographic rules, and it is the official name of the municipality since 2001.

History

The first known vestiges of the human presence in the valley of Karrantza are some lithic tools, from the late Middle Paleolithic.History of Karrantza
at the Karrantza's Town Hall official website (in Basque) In Karrantza is located the sanctuary of Venta Laperra, the oldest of the entire Basque Country, with several forms of

Paleolithic art The art of the Upper Paleolithic represents the oldest form of prehistoric art. Figurative art is present in Europe and Southeast Asia, beginning between about 40,000 to 35,000 years ago. Non-figurative cave paintings, consisting of hand s ...

. There is evidence of ancient pastoral activity, as well as art forms belonging to

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

s from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The oral traditions tells of the presence of

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in the lands of the valley, which were interested in the exploitation of

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...

from the Ubal mountains. Diggings effectuated in some of the caves within the municipality revealed

Roman pottery Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient Rome, mostly for utilitarian purposes. It is found all over the former Roman Empire and beyond. Monte Testaccio is a huge waste mound in Rome made almost entirely of broken amphorae used for ...

. In 1903 more than one hundred Roman coins were found, all dated from 238 to 260. The first records about the valley of Karrantza are from the 8th Century, when the

Alfonso I was conducting a series of resettlements on the Atlantic region of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, as they were mentioned in the Chronicle of Alfonso III one century later. The valley of Karrantza was incorporated to the

Lord of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...

in the 12th Century. It belongs to the territory of the Enkarterri, which was itself incorporated to Biscay in the 13th Century.

Population

* 1900 - 4,237 people * 1910 - 4,463 people * 1920 - 4,506 people * 1930 - 4,458 people * 1940 - 4,479 people * 1950 - 4,687 people * 1960 - 4,490 people * 1970 - 3,953 people * 1981 - 3,392 people * 1991 - 3,149 people * 2001 - 2,887 people * 2004 - 2,884 people

Geography

Karrantza is located in the westernmost part of the Enkarterri region and is the largest (by area) of all the municipalities of

. Karratza is 54 kilometers away from the head of province

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and limits at north by the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

, at east mostly with the Cantabrian exclave of Villaverde de Trucios, and the Basque municipalities of Turtzioz and

Artzentales Artzentales (Artzandaritz) is a municipality in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...

, at south with the

province of Burgos The Province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladolid. ...

and at west with the tiny municipality of Lanestosa and the Cantabrian community.

Sports

The Karrantza CD football club is the most important sport club. It is in regional categories of Basque football.

References

External links

CARRANZA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{authority control Municipalities in Biscay