Geographical location.

Located in the north of the Iberian peninsula, on the Bay of Biscay, Gipuzkoa is one of the provinces making up the Basque Country. Gipuzkoa can be easily and quickly reached thanks to a modern motorway and road network, a railway system linked to the main Spanish and European cities and three nearby airports - Hondarribia (San Sebastián), Sondika (Bilbao) and Foronda (Vitoria) - which offer national and international flights.

Built around a beautiful bay, its capital, San Sebastián (180,000 inhabitants), is an elegant, modern and harmonious city, where a high quality of life can be enjoyed. Its climate is characterised by a slight range in temperatures, with mild winters and cool summers.

 

  

Ekain

Segura's city walls

Oñati

Old town of San Sebastián

 

History.

From pre-historic times, Gipuzkoa was the home to Vascons, who laid the bases of their own culture thanks to their language, beliefs and lifestyles. Numerous and important traces of Gipuzkoa's history can be found scattered through the province, such as:

  • The pre-historic caves of Ekain and Altxerri.
  • The megalithic stations of Altzania, Oianieku and Egiar.
  • The old road that linked Gipuzkoa with Alava, in Zegama.
  • Segura's city walls and the historical-medieval centre of Arrasate.
  • Carlos V's fort in Hondarribia, that has now been turned into a Parador.
  • The fortified houses and ancestral homes to be found all over the province (Legazpia, Mutriku, Zarautz, Azpeitia…).
  • The 17th-century Loyola sanctuary.
  • The ancestral homes in Oñati and its famous university.
  • The Romanesque area and the historical old town of San Sebastián.

The origins of San Sebastián are lost in time as no specific documents are available about the first settlement. The oldest document dates back to 1014. In the 13th century, Sancho the Wise of Navarre granted the Fuero de San Sebastián (code of laws), which marked the chronological beginning of its history.

Together with other ports along the coast, fishermen from this town were some of the first to be involved in whale fishing and the town's activity soon spread to other industrial and commercial areas. A walled city up to 1863. There have been 12 fires so far in the town's history. The last fire was during the War of Independence in 1813. The survivors went to Zubieta and agreed to rebuild the city.