Apotzaga circular cemetery.

Cemetery of Apotzaga, the circular cemetery of Eskoriatza.

The circular cemetery of Apotzaga or Apozaga, is one of the jewels of neo-Basque style that we can visit in Euskadi. A monumental complex created in the twentieth century 2.5 kilometers from the town of Eskoriatza, in the parish of Apotzaga. This small urban nucleus of barely 20 houses and 60 inhabitants, has a very special charm. It also has a great artistic and historical heritage. A space surrounded by mountains, in which the church of San Miguel, the hermitage of San Bernabe, the soccer field, the society, and the cemetery that we present today take special prominence. We must emphasize that this is a unique space. A circular cemetery divided into different plots in which the funerary steles indicate the hamlet to which they belong. Do you dare to know the cemetery of Apotzaga with us?

As expected, this peculiar cemetery gains prominence on the feast of All Saints. At this time, the neighbors of the area come to pay homage to their ancestors. The rest of the year, this cemetery is a quiet place.

Circular cemetery.

Nowadays it is very difficult to find a circular cemetery in Euskadi. It is even more difficult to find a circular cemetery full of stelae. In this case, the Apotzaga cemetery was built in the second half of the 20th century. A space, that protected by a small stone wall, keeps in its interior a meticulous organization with elements like crosses, baptismal piles and different sculptures of religious character. But if we must highlight a figure, that is the discoidal stele. This circular cemetery is divided into 4 sections. In each one of them are the plots of 5 farmhouses. In each of these plots there is a funerary stele with the name of the farmhouse. The cross that we find in the center of the cemetery was brought from the neighborhood of Marin, in front of it, on one side, we find a small altar in honor of San Miguel. All this is protected by a half-height stone wall with a gate on which you can read the words “Gero” and “Arte”, which in Basque which in Basque means “see you later”.

Funerary stelae.

The stelae are one of the most emblematic elements of the Apotzaga cemetery. Small pieces of stone, which represent the different hamlets in the area. And we must remember that in the circular cemetery of Apotzaga the spaces are associated to the hamlets, not to the people. Some of the most important hamlets of this cemetery are Okarantza, Arroaga or Arane Goikoa. Moreover, in some of these stelae you can see signs that represent the trades that these families carried out. These funerary elements, as well as most of the aspects of this circular cemetery, were created from the funerary tradition of Euskal Herria.

Video of the Apotzaga cemetery.

As usual in all our publications, we have created a short audiovisual of the Apotzaga cemetery. A video, with which we intend to show you in a more real way what awaits you in your next destination. In case you like this type of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you can discover all the places and experiences we recommend in the Basque Country. We are waiting for you!

History of the Apotzaga cemetery.

The history of this cemetery was written by the neighbors of the parish of Apotzaga together with the parish priest who for 37 years was responsible for the church of San Miguel, Anastasio Otadui. In the 1960s, along with the remodeling of the church, it was decided to create a new cemetery. The traditional cemeteries of Euskal Herria were taken as a reference, with emphasis on the cemeteries of Iparralde (French Basque Country) and the Navarrese Pyrenees. In fact, we recommend you to visit the museum of stelae in Abaurre Alta. Joxe Mari Larrañaga (originally from Eskoriatza) and a draughtsman from Arrasate Mondragón worked on the design of the cemetery. Although Joxe Mari was the person who began to work on the design of this cemetery, as he did not have a degree as a draftsman or similar, he needed the help of an expert for its construction. Different testimonies of the neighbors, date in the year 1965 the first works to raise this cemetery, but there is no certainty of the concrete year in which the works began. As a curiosity, we must mention that in the interior of this Basque cemetery 2 elements stand out that do not have as origin the own Anteiglesia of Apotzaga, the baptismal font of the entrance and the central cross.

Anteiglesia de Apotzaga.

The church of Apotzaga is one of the most emblematic places of Eskoriatza. A rural area, protected by the peaks of the Anboto, Udalaitz and Murugain mountains, it offers a beautiful perspective of the area. Among all the buildings that we find in Apotzaga, we must emphasize the following ones:

Experiences in the Basque Country.

If you want to know Euskadi from a different point of view, if you want to enjoy original and fun activities, we encourage you to take a look at our reservation center. We leave you a short list with some of the most demanded experiences in Euskadi. We hope you like them.

The Apotzaga cemetery is one of those little known places in Euskadi. A unique place that we recommend you to visit in every trip to Eskoriatza. In case you have any questions about this cemetery, we encourage you to use the comment system that you will find below these lines. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo pasa!