Labastida 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

or Bastida 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 ...

is a town and

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

of the

Rioja Alavesa Rioja Alavesa (), officially Cuadrilla de Laguardia-Rioja Alavesa, in Spanish, and Biasteri-Arabako Errioxako kuadrilla, in Basque, is one of seven ''comarcas'' that make up the province of Álava, Spain. It covers an area of 315.83 km² with a po ...

, 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 ...

in the Basque Country, northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is located between the

River Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an boxing the compass, east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean ...

and the

Sierra de Toloño Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" or " mountain chain" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Niev ...

mountain range, 4 km east of the city of Haro and 30 km south of the

capital

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

History

The presence of

dolmens A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (40003000 BCE) and w ...

and

neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

cemeteries indicate the long human history of this region. An archeological site in Salinillas de Buradón shows evidence of a pre-Roman

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

settlement of

Berones The Berones were a pre-Roman Celtic people of ancient Spain, although they were not part of the Celtiberians. They lived north of the latter and close to the Cantabrian Conisci in the middle Ebro region between the Tirón and Alhama rivers. O ...

, who migrated to the region in the 4th century BC. The hermitage of Santa Lucia dates to the 9th century, while the

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

of Remelluri, where some 300 tombs are carved out of bare rock, is thought to date to the 10th century. While the majority are Christian, Islamic burials also took place here, when the region was part of

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

. This Muslim presence diminished after the

reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

, when the village became part of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

. From this period, during the so-called

repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; , ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista and became known as the ''Desert of the D ...

(repopulation), settlers arrived from the Christian kingdoms of Navarra and Castile, speaking

and Spanish respectively, while a Jewish community also continued living in the village, giving the name of the Jewish Quarter to the part of the town around Plaza del Olmo. Today wine cellars under this neighbourhood occupy the tunnels and caves where the Jewish community conducted their ceremonies privately. In the medieval period, Labastida was a substantial fortified town. It occupied an important position close to the

and at a junction on routes between

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

and the Basque coast, and as a result the town changed hands constantly between Navarra and Castile from the tenth to thirteenth centuries. Finally and definitively it became part of

in the 16th century. Calle Mayor Labastida

It was in this period that the town found great wealth and prosperity. A large number of palaces were constructed in the Calle Mayor, where 29 stone coats of arms are still visible carved into their façades, as well as the new classical church, Our Lady of the Assumption, built in the 16th and 17th centuries and decorated in an opulent

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 ...

style. Manuel Quintano (1756-1818), winemaker and resident of the town, is credited with bringing the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

winemaking style to La Rioja after studying in France. In 1808,

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

passed through Labastida, where he stayed at the Paternina Palace.

Geography

The town is at 529m altitude, and is positioned between the

and the

mountain range. While Labastida falls within the specifications of a temperate oceanic climate, there are strong continental and Mediterranean influences. Annual rainfall of 733mm is low for the Basque Country and there is notably higher rainfall in spring and autumn. Winters are cool, though snowfalls are rare, while summers are hot and dry.

Economy

Located in the

wine region, the principal industry of the town is winemaking. Lagares or stone wine presses dating back to at least the tenth century have been found in the town and the surrounding countryside, showing that this has been the mainstay of the region for over a thousand years. Today there are still a large number of wineries in and around the town. Associated industries include tourism and other agricultural products.

Facilities

The town council maintains a sports centre, fronton and public swimming pools. In the Quintano Palace by the town hall can be found the cultural centre, which contains the tourism office, library, games and music rooms and other community facilities. The town has a school, a walk-in health clinic, various shops, hotels and guesthouses and a wide range of bars and restaurants.

Localities

The walled village of Salinillas de Buradón () is located 6 km north west of Labastida and was absorbed into the municipality of Labastida in the 1970s. Other locations within the municipality include the hamlet of Remelluri, today a winery, as well as the long-abandoned villages of Tabuérniga, Torrontejo and Buradón.

Places of interest

*The church of Our Lady of the Assumption: built in the 16th century, with Baroque interior, overlooking the main square, Plaza de la Paz. The Baroque sacristy was added in the 18th century. The tower is 54m tall. *The hermitage of Santo Cristo the oldest church in the town located at its highest point. Dates from the 12th century. *Casa Consistorial, this palace is today the town hall, built between 1730 and 1745. *Town walls *Palaces in the Calle Mayor *Arco del Toloño and Arco de Larrazuría, the two surviving gateways into the town. *Park of San Ginés, and from here many walking trails in the

including the track to the summit and the abandoned

Monastery of Santa María de Toloño Santa María de Toloño, also known as Our Lady of los Ángeles, is a ruined Spanish monastery located in the Sierra de Toloño near Labastida/Bastida, Labastida, Álava. Constructed by the Hieronymites, the monastery was destroyed in the First C ...

*San Andrés de Muga aquaduct

References

{{authority control Municipalities in Álava