Añua is a village in Elburgo municipality, in the province of

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

, Basque Country, Spain. The population of Añua was 31 inhabitants in 2007 but this has changed through the years and the population has grown consequently. It is from the sea. A building that is in the small village is the nativity church which was built in the 13th century, because of this ancient monument many people from the localities nearby come to admire it. There are also some old houses with architectural interest, some of rural style and others more modern from the 16th century. There is also a mill, which has a mythological story which is told every Saint John's Day to little kids. The story is about a man who worked in mill. One day it was raining so hard that he couldn't move from the mill because he was scared, but it also was too dangerous to stay there. So he called the “Galtzagorris”, which are some small mythological creatures that lived in the woods. These special creatures showed the miller the way home while they sang. Nowadays it is very common to see people from other villages coming to Añua to watch the show. There are also some special celebrations during the night of

Hallowe'en Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It is at the begi ...

. This is prepared by the whole council. The fiestas of the locality are the first weekend of September, the Nativity Day, which is the patroness of Añua.

Nativity church

Añua is an old and small group of country houses which has inside it a parish temple which has a direct influence with the old Basque Santiago's way of the interior and of artistic interest thanks to its presbytery and its abside from the 13th century. Experts place its style in the transition between the Romanic and the Progothic. This combination presents a slender decoration based on little columns, canes, blind sharp arches and splayed sharp windows, but with Romanic vices. They also appear as vegetal, animal and human carvings. The rest of the temple is subsequent, and its different elements were built-in in the next centuries. The entrance door in Gothic, from the 15th century, the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the Otazu- Guevera's Chapel are Gothic-renaissance from the 16th century, the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

from the 17th century and the tower was rebuilt in the 18th century. Inside what stands out are the mayor retable, from the baroque in the 17th century, and the Saint Sebastian Triptych from the renaissance, the 16th century. Nowadays, there are also some handmade representations of the nativity scene made by people from the whole council which some are very impressive to see. Many tourists visit the village to admire the old church and its surroundings and to know more about its history. File:Añua 04.JPG, Fountain File:Añua 03.JPG, Weather vane in Añua File:Añua 01.JPG File:Añua 02.JPG, House in Añua File:Añua 04 - Iglesia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora.JPG, Church of the Nativity File:Añua - Iglesia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora 14.JPG, Church of the Nativity File:Añua - Iglesia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora 12.JPG, Church of the Nativity

Nativity church

See also