Oñati

Oñati municipality
	Oñati - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Basque Country
Province :	Gipuzkoa
Comarca :	Debagoiena
Coordinates	43 ° 2 ′ N , 2 ° 25 ′ W Coordinates: 43 ° 2 ′ N , 2 ° 25 ′ W
Height :	230 msnm
Area :	107.31 km²
Residents :	11,380 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	106.05 inhabitants / km²
Founding:	1467
Postal code :	20560
Municipality number ( INE ):	20059
administration
Website :	Oñati

Oñati ( Spanish Oñate ) is a town with around 10,000 inhabitants and a municipality (municipio) with a total of 11,380 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Gipuzkoa in the autonomous region of Basque Country in northern Spain .

Location and climate

The city is located on the upper reaches of the Río Deba approx. 65 km (driving distance) southeast of Bilbao and approx. 45 km northeast of Vitoria-Gasteiz at an altitude of approx. 230 m in the southern slopes of the Cantabrian Mountains . The climate, influenced by Biscaya , which is about 30 km north as the crow flies, is temperate; Rain (approx. 1035 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	5,646	5,975	7,225	10,715	11,335

The significant increase in population in the second half of the 20th century is mainly due to the exodus from the surrounding rural areas triggered by the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of smallholders.

history

Small finds from prehistoric times were discovered in the area around Oñati; Celtic , Roman and Visigoth evidence, however, is missing. The first written mention of the place name comes from the year 1200; at that time the landlords (señores) were vassals of the King of Navarre . A county of the same name (Condado de Oñati) has existed since 1481. The place received city rights in 1467 and a university just under 80 years later, the oldest in the Basque Country. After lengthy negotiations, the city was incorporated into the Basque province of Guipúzcoa in 1540. A pioneering congress for the unification of the Basque language was held in Arantzazu in 1968.

Attractions

The Torre Zumeltzegi , built around 1500, is the last surviving testimony to the former independence of the Counts of Oñati.
The university building is the most important Renaissance structure in the Basque Country. It has housed the International Institute for the Sociology of Law since 1988 .
The three-aisled church of San Miguel Arcángel was built in the transition from the late Gothic to the Renaissance. The cloister (claustro) with rich tracery windows is of particular importance . The altar retabel (retablo) with its twisted Solomonic columns is a work of Churriguerism .
Several fountains and imposing city palaces (some with stone coats of arms ) enrich the townscape. The town hall (Casa Consistorial) built in 1778 is also worth seeing.

outside

The church of the Santa Clara de Bidaurreta monastery, approx. 1 km away, houses a beautiful Renaissance altar from the 16th century with a Pietà .

The pilgrimage church of Arantzazu , about 10 km south of the village, was built on the site of a Franciscan monastery from the 15th century. After many renovations to the old church, a new basilica was built on the same site in 1951. The avant-garde construction for the time was designed by the architects Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza and Luis Laorga . The sculptures of the 14 apostles on the facade were created by the sculptor Jorge Oteiza .