Ordizia, what to see and do.

Ordizia, what to see and do in one of the most emblematic towns of Gipuzkoa.

Ordizia, formerly Villafranca de Ordizia, is one of the most emblematic towns in the Goierri region of Gipuzkoa. An urban center, located in the interior of the province of Gipuzkoa, protected by the Oria River and Mount Txindoki, encourages us to discover one of the most important medieval villages in the province of Gipuzkoa. This striking Basque village encourages us to visit its historic center, a space declared a monumental historical site from which characters of the stature of Andres de Urdaneta or Emma Garcia departed. To the charm of the streets and squares of Ordizia, we must add the traditional market of local products that has been held every Wednesday since the eleventh century. In addition to the different markets that are held in Ordizia, we must also take into account the local festivities, among them, the Basque festivities and the patron saint festivities in honor of Santa Ana. Ordizia is located in the heart of Euskadi, in fact, the 3 provincial capitals, Vitoria Gasteiz, Donostia San Sebastian and Bilbao are less than 1 hour away by car. Would you like to visit Ordizia with us?

Throughout this publication we are going to detail all the places that we recommend to see and enjoy in Ordizia. In case you have any questions, we encourage you to use the comment system that you will find at the end of this article to send them to us. We will try to respond as soon as possible.

What to see in Ordizia.

In the historic center of Ordizia most of the attractions of this urban center are agglutinated. Palaces, churches, squares and streets that we recommend you to visit in any trip to the interior of the province of Gipuzkoa. We hope that the places we mention below are of your interest.

Portals of OrdiziaThe portals that allowed the entrance and exit of the old fortified town were of great importance for the commerce and defense of the urban nucleus. In this aspect, we must mention the Portal de Francia, the Portal de la Soledad or Portal del Retén, the Portal de Castilla and the Portal de Garagartza. Although the portals as such do not exist today, the streets where they were located continue to be some of the most important accesses to the historic center.

Nagusia SquareThe main square of Ordizia, the market square, becomes every Wednesday one of the liveliest places in the whole Goierri region. It is also one of the most important places to buy and sell local products. To this weekly market that has been held for more than 500 years we must add other events such as the Idiazabal cheese market.

Town HallThis building located in the heart of Ordizia, in the main square, was built between 1830 and 1832 on the ruins of the previous building. This structure stands out for its portico and its Greco-Roman style.

SujetoeneaSujetoenea: Next to the town hall, in the Plaza Mayor itself, we find a building that, although it does not have the title of palace or manor house, is another of Ordizia’s great treasures. The paintings that adorn its facade are one of its great attractions, although unfortunately they disappear with each passing year. This building was built in 1740 and owes its name to the fact that one of the people who worked in it was known as “Sujeto”.

Abaria PalaceAlso located in the Plaza Mayor, in front of Sujetoenea, we find the Abaria Palace. A three-storey structure with a large coat of arms and several balconies on its main façade. It is here that Don Carlos stayed in 1875 when he came to swear the Fueros of Gipuzkoa.

Barrena PalaceBarrena Palace: Undoubtedly one of the most striking buildings in Ordizia. This 17th century structure was used for years to hold the General Meetings of the province of Gipuzkoa. The beauty of its interior merges with the south façade, where we find the different fountains that were part of the palace gardens. Today, the building is the headquarters of Ordizia’s social services and the private gardens have been converted into a public park.

Ordizia’s wallAlthough nowadays the historic center of Ordizia is not walled, there are still several sections where the old wall can be seen. One of them can be found in the tourist office of the town, on the first floor.

Zabala PalaceLocated in the anteroom of the historical center, next to the sculpture of Andres de Urdaneta, this palace is one of the most striking of the whole urban nucleus. The double-arched balcony and the coat of arms on the main façade are largely to blame. Throughout history, this palace has hosted important personalities such as Philip III or Count Artois.

Goizane SculptureGoizane: Next to the stairs of the main square of Ordizia, in front of the town hall, we find the figure of a woman who pays homage to all those women baserritarras (from the farmhouses). And it is that women have had great importance in the history of the Ordizia market, the most important market of Euskadi. It is a sculpture made of chestnut wood by the sculptor Javier Arrieta. But this sculpture is not the only one that we find in Ordizia, the sculptures of Mariane and Peru join the one of Goizane to put in value the great work that women and men do in the rural environment. Our baserritarras. We encourage you to find them near the main square.

Herri AntzokiaAlthough this construction is much more humble than the rest of the buildings mentioned in this section, it deserves a mention. According to experts, the municipal cinema is a great example of the architecture of the region.

Church of Our Lady of the AssumptionThe present church (XVI century) was built over a temple of the XIII century that already existed next to one of the entrance doors to the old walled town. In its interior we can contemplate a baroque altarpiece of the XVII century and an Andra Mari of the XIV century.

Statue of Andres de UrdanetaIn front of the Zabala Palace, at the beginning of the Historical Center, we find the statue dedicated to the son of the town Fray Andres de Urdaneta y Cerain. This religious of the Augustinian order, military, sailor and cosmographer, son of Juan Ochoa de Urdaneta (mayor of Ordizia), was the person who found the way back from Asia to America. Nowadays his name is usually accompanied by that of other illustrious sailors such as Elkano or Magellan.

Tower house of MuxikaIt is in this tower house where the town council meetings were held until 1511 (we must remember that the first town council of Ordizia was built in 1516). A building located next to the church of Our Lady of the Assumption and one of the entrances to the old walled town of Ordizia, which still has the coat of arms on its main door. It currently houses the local post office.

Basque language muralIn the historical center, near the tourist office, at number 18 of Santa Maria Street, we find a large mural 15 meters high and 5 meters wide that claims the use of the Basque language while paying tribute to Joxe Miguel Iztueta, ‘Lazkao Txiki’, one of the most important bertsolaris of our history. Thus, in the mural we can contemplate a close-up of Lazkao Txiki accompanied by Mount Txindoki, Lazkaomendi, some birds and a clock.

DelikatuzThe food and gastronomy interpretation center of Ordizia, better known as Delikatuz, is located in the Barretxe house, next to the Barrena Palace, in the historical center. At present it shares location with the tourist office of the town, so that besides knowing a little more about the gastronomy and food we will also have the opportunity to know the most emblematic and important places of Ordizia.

Although these are some of the most important and beautiful places in Ordizia, they are not the only ones. If you want to know all the places that we recommend to see in Ordizia, we encourage you to discover places like the Oiangu Park or the Zabale Farmhouse.

What to see near Ordizia.

If you are planning a trip to Ordizia and you want to know each and every one of the places of interest that surround this incredible town, we encourage you to value the possibility of moving to one of the places mentioned below. We hope you like them. Remember that you can get more information by clicking on each of the names in the list.

Experiences in the Basque Country.

If during your trip to Euskadi you want to enjoy experiences and activities, we recommend you to take a look at our reservation center. We leave you a short list with some of the most demanded activities in Euskadi. We hope that some of the experiences we present below will suit your tastes and preferences.

Video of Ordizia.

As usual in all our publications, we have created a short video about Ordizia. An audiovisual, with which we intend to show you in a more real way what awaits you in your next destination. A perfect complement to the photos and texts that we have shown you so far. In case you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can discover all the experiences and places we recommend in Euskal Herria. We are waiting for you!

History.

Although many people believe that Ordizia was created in 1268 after the conquest of Gipuzkoa by Castile, this was only the creation of the walled town. There was already a small urban nucleus in the same place. The creation of this walled urban center and the granting of the Fuero de Vitoria, created a call effect that attracted many of the inhabitants of nearby towns. A circumstance that helped a lot to the social and economic evolution of Ordizia.

Ordizia, is one of those urban centers of the interior of the province of Gipuzkoa that visitors fall in love with. A town that we recommend you to visit on any trip to the interior of Euskadi. If you have any questions about what to see in Ordizia, we encourage you to use the comment system that you will find below these lines to let us know. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo pasa!