Zarautz
Encyclopedia
Zarautz is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

, northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

The town is a popular tourist destination with the population swelling from its usual 22,812 to around 60,000 in summer. The Palace of Narros, located adjacent to Zarautz's 2.8 km long beach, is where Queen Isabella II
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...

 and Fabiola of Belgium
Queen Fabiola of Belgium
Queen Fabiola of Belgium is the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium. She was Queen consort of the Belgians for 33 years...

 once spent their summer holidays. The beach is known for being the longest in the Basque Country and one of longest of the Cantabrian cornice.

The Mayor of Zarautz since 2011 has been Juan Luis Ilarramendi (Bildu
Bildu
Bildu is a Basque nationalist, separatist and abertzale leftist political coalition active in the Basque Country and Navarre. It was official launched on 3 April 2011...

).

History

  • 1237 The city is awarded status as fuero
    Fuero
    Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...

     by king Fernando III of Castile.
  • 1857 The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Zarautz, thanks to the enterprise "Fabril Linera". An era of economic growth and development begins.
  • 1936 The Civil War begins and Zarautz overwhelmingly supports the Republican cause.
  • 1937 The province falls to Falangist
    Falange
    The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....

     forces in the Spanish Civil War
    Spanish Civil War
    The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

    , who carry out reprisals against the Basque nationalists.


At the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century, the popularity of Zarautz as a luxury tourist destination grew, and many well-known people began to holiday there. A number of lavish houses and mansions sprang up, particularly along the beach. Nowadays , many of these buildings have become public buildings or have been demolished and replaced by chic apartment buildings.

During the 70s and 80s Zarautz became a more affordable destination, and is now perhaps best known for its surfing and water sports.

Road

Zarautz is connected to the European road network and to the rest of Spain by the A8 motorway.

Gastronomy

As it is tradition in the Basque Country, gastronomy is a very important part of Zarautz. Many restaurants can be found in Zarautz, offering traditional as well as modern fine cuisine. Zarautz is home town of one of the most famous cooks in Spain, Karlos Arguiñano
Karlos Arguiñano
Karlos Arguiñano Urkiola is a chef, popular TV presenter and producer.His devotion to cuisine started when he was a child and helped at home because he was the eldest of four brothers and had a disabled mother.Before beginning his training in the field of cooking, he worked for CAF, a rail car...

, whose restaurant can be found right in front of the beach. He also created a prestigious cooking school called Aiala.
As in all cities around The Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

 there are a lot of gastronomical societies in Zarautz. They are very traditional and called Txoko
Txoko
A Txoko is a typically Basque type of closed gastronomical society. Traditionally they are only open to male members who come together to cook, experiment with new ways of cooking, eat and socialise...

 in Basque.

Public transport

Zarautz has two railway stations, and trains (Euskotren
EuskoTren
EuskoTren is a commuter rail service which operates in the Basque Country provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa. It is one of the three commercial brands of the public society owned by the Basque Government, Eusko Trenbideak - Ferrocarriles Vascos...

) connect it with San Sebastian and Bilbao.

Zarautz has two bus lines operating within the town.

Museums

There are two museums in Zarautz, the Photomuseum http://www.photomuseum.name and the Art and History Museum of Zarautz http://www.menosca.com. In "Dorre Luzea" there are frequent art exhibitions. The town also has many other picture galleries.

Churches

There are three main churches in Zarautz and many other smaller churches. Santa Maria la Real is the main church, with a very interesting altar piece and a Romanesque structure. Santa Clara is also quite interesting, built in a baroque style. Finally, Franciscanos church, which has been virtually rebuilt, features a very interesting library.

Recreation

Zarautz has first class sporting facilities, such as an old and elegant Golf Club. But Zarautz is renowned worldwide as a surfing destination. Over the last few years, it has become incredibly popular among surfers, and even a number of surfing schools have been established (Zarautz, Pukas).

Sport

Zarautz is the birthplace of the Basque Weightlifting Federation as well as the Gipuzkoa Weightlifting Federation. Since 1968 weightlifting
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

 (ZKEhalterofilia) has been one of the sports that can be practiced at the local sports club (Zarautz Kirol Elkartea). Since then, every summer an international weightlifting event has taken place in the town. At first, very famous athletes took part in that competition such as Serge Reding
Serge Reding
TotalTotalSerge Reding was a Belgian weightlifter.He was born as Serge Yvan Arthur Gérard in Oudergem and died in Manila, Philippines.-External links: *...

 and Alain Terme to name a few. In recent times, the event has become a club competition in which the French champion Girondins de Bordeaux has won most of the top prizes.
The town is also famous as one of Spain's most popular surfing spots. Its 2.5 km beach offers highly consistent surfing with many different peaks for all standards of surfers. The town is a great place to learn how to surf and has been home to many of Spain's Champion surfers. Zarautz is one of the places where the world championships in surfing takes place.

External links

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