Leintz Gatzaga Salt Museum, the home of the white gold of Gipuzkoa.

Meet the Salt Museum of Leintz Gatzaga, a museum that surprises for its history and charm.

The small municipality of Leintz Gatzaga, hides under its slopes some of the most interesting and important historical-cultural projects of the Basque Country. At the foot of the Sanctuary of Dorleta, 250 meters from the historic center of this Gipuzkoan village, we find the Salt Museum of Leintz Gatzaga, a space full of history where one of the best salts of the entire peninsula is produced. The predecessor of this museum, the salt exploitation of Leintz Gatzaga, is the culprit of the importance that this municipality had in the past, when salt, also known as “white gold”, was one of the most demanded products by our society. Salt gave so much to this Basque town that both the name of the municipality and the coat of arms have clear references to this coveted natural product.

The supercontinent Pangea, the continent that was formed due to the movement of tectonic plates more than 300 million years ago, is the origin of the salt that today is obtained in the Gipuzkoan municipality of Leintz Gatzaga, curious isn’t it? Another luxury raw material for Basque gastronomy!

Also known by its Basque names “Leintz Gatzagako Gatz Museoa” or “Gatz Ekomuseoa”, this Basque museum shows us the secrets of the salt that supplied a large part of our whaling fleet. Can you imagine transporting fish for months without the help of cold storage?

Between mountains, in the lower part of the valley of Leintz, in one of the most humid and shady areas of the municipality, the saltwater channel that gives rise to the salt mines that occupy us today makes an appearance. A space, where the scarcity of hours of sunshine gave rise to the only salt mines in the entire peninsula in which fire is used to obtain salt. The salt mines of Leintz Gatzaga are one of the greatest treasures hidden in our territory. And you, do you know the Leintz Gatzaga Salt Museum?

History: It all began more than 300 million years ago, when the supercontinent known as Pangea, rose from the depths of the sea carrying a large amount of salt in its interior. And the fact is that none of the rivers that cross Leintz Gatzaga is salty. The subway seams of solid salt in Leintz Gatzaga are responsible for salifying the small spring that flows under the salt flats.

It is not known exactly when this salt spring began to be exploited, but the archaeological remains found in the vicinity lead us to believe that in the Iron Age they already made use of it. This “factory” was in operation until 1975, when forced by the price stipulated by the market and the cost of obtaining the salt of Leintz Gatzaga, the factory ceased its activity leaving behind more than 600 years of tradition and history. From the Iron Age to the present day, the salt mines have been exploited by different methods and techniques, data that thanks to the conservation and reconstruction that the municipality of Leintz Gatzaga has made on the salt mines, we can know in the same place where salt was once obtained. The town of Leintz Gatzaga, owes its foundation, social evolution and economic development to the salt industry, a fact that is evidenced by the 2 dorlas (copper containers where salt was obtained) that we find in the coat of arms of the town. All this information has led us to this inland town of Gipuzkoa, a perfect getaway for the whole family in search of one of the most coveted salts of our territory.

Exploitation: The Leintz Gatzaga Salt Museum shows us the different techniques by which its salt mines have been exploited. Although the way of evaporating the water has changed over the years along with new technologies, the raw material has always been the same, water and subway salt seams.

And this is how today, in Leintz Gatzaga, they obtain their salt, by means of forced evaporation. We would like to emphasize that this is a unique process in the Iberian Peninsula, a process worth seeing and being part of.

Souvenirs: The museum has a small store where in addition to being able to purchase their own salt, they give us the possibility to buy a wide range of natural products produced with Leintz Gatzaga salt: soaps, sweets…Although many categorize them as souvenirs or souvenirs, for us they are much more than souvenirs, something like luxury gastronomic products, unique. A collection, of which we do not hesitate to take a sample of all of them.

Women workers: Women in power. Once again, they, the women, are the main protagonists. According to documents from different periods, women were the ones who did practically all the work. Imagine, 24 hours a day producing salt and also educating their children and doing all kinds of domestic chores. They had to be Basque.

Guided tour: The mixture of passion, humor and knowledge with which Aitor guides us through the different spaces of the Salt Museum of Leintz Gatzaga are worthy of mention. Without losing the smile, we made an interesting and intense visit in which we learned everything about these salt mines. An entertaining, practical and didactic visit in which we traveled in time from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century checking the way of producing salt in first person, with fire. Thanks to the models, instruments, mechanisms, springs and documents that we found in the Leintz Gatzaga salt complex, it is easy to imagine the way of life of the ancient salt makers, people who lived by and for salt.

During the guided tour, special mention is made of the connection of the Leniz salt mines with the culture of the apple and the Basque whalers, two aspects that today we see represented by the Igartubeiti and Albaola spaces, if you have not visited them, know that they are two of the most interesting projects of our culture and history. We leave you their respective articles:

Experiences: The Leintz Gatzaga Salt Museum offers different experiences around the salt mines, the medieval village and the local products. The most demanded, offers a fusion of all this:

A real experience around the salt of Gipuzkoa in which we will enjoy 3 intense hours among the dorlas, being part of the traditions and charms of Leintz Gatzaga. Although the 3 stages of this experience are highly recommended, we must highlight the salt making workshop, in which the youngest of the house (and not so young) will enjoy turning water into salt that later we will take home. Shall we become salt makers for a day? Ask for their experiences!

Dorlak: Aitor, in charge of the Leintz Gatzaga Salt Museum, mentioned during the guided tour the great semantic similarity shared by the words dorla (salt press in Basque) and dolarea (apple press in Basque). Both concepts seem to come from a common denominator, a fact, which makes us think that the word dolarea may come from dorla. It is also curious the similarity between the name Dorleta and the mentioned words, a connection that we should not overlook according to Aitor, are they all connected?

Dorleta: The current Sanctuary of Dorleta, an ancient castle from which the salt production of Leintz Gatzaga was defended and controlled, is nowadays one of the most visited places by cyclists, since the Virgin of Dorleta is the patron saint of this group. Many great cyclists have visited the sanctuary to deposit their jerseys and give thanks for their successes.

Environment: The valley of Leintz, located in the middle of nature, gives us a perfect environment to relax and enjoy nature, history and Basque culture. A space where we find the protagonist of today, the Gipuzkoan village of Leintz Gatzaga. Located halfway between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Mondragon (Arrasate in Basque), Leintz Gatzaga (Salinas de Leniz in Spanish), enchants us with its simple and quiet old town where it is still possible to contemplate some of the access gates of the old walled complex of Leintz Gatzaga. The facades and gates that we find as we pass through the center of this medieval village, make us travel back in time, taking us to a time when the grandeur of the palaces and mansions of this town were known by all Basques and Basques. We highly recommend walking through the old town, it is small and can be easily walked in less than 30 minutes. Although it is not possible to park next to the museum, there is a parking lot 250 meters away, in the center of town, where we can park our vehicles.

Jakion: Jakion is another of Leintz Gatzaga’s star projects. This food brand has one of the most demanded services by the baserritarraz (villagers in Basque): The opportunity to transform their products into jams or preserves making their products last longer in time and have all the sanitary controls demanded by today’s markets. These new products, often more attractive in the eyes of consumers, offer an outlet for the hundreds of kilos of production that exceed current demand and that used to go to waste. Thus, Jakion not only offers us one of the best natural products of Euskadi, but also offers a fundamental service for the first sector of our territory. Natural products direct from Basque farmhouses and salt more than 300 million years old, in Leintz Gatzaga they have a luxury gastronomy!

Where to eat: The village of Leintz Gatzaga is famous for having the highest number of restaurants per inhabitant in the Basque Country, and among its streets and green pastures we can count up to 5 restaurants for only 250 inhabitants. In our case, after visiting the Salt Museum and Jakion, we went to Soran Etxea, a hotel and restaurant located in the center of the medieval village of Leintz Gatzaga, a space where we had the pleasure of sharing a table with Susana (responsible for Jakion), Aitor (responsible for the Salt Museum of Leintz Gatzaga) and Eugenio (former mayor of the town). A pleasant, interesting and entertaining meal in which we shared different points of view about the town, its potential and the direction of tourism in the Basque Country. By the way, it was here, in this majestic 16th century palace, where we discovered the international entrecot café Paris, a dish in which the entrecot is fused with more than 40 herbs or spices based on butter, a fusion to be repeated!

The strength and mentality of the inhabitants of Leintz Gatzaga to recover the heritage of their village made us fall in love with them, just as we did with the salt museum of the town, two spaces that are now part of our most precious museums and historical-cultural spaces in the Basque Country. And you? Do you still do not know the Salt Museum of Leintz Gatzaga?