Cultural heritage

RURAL ARCHITECTURE/TOWER KEEPS

Like Zuia, Zigoitia was home to noble families who built mansion houses and tower keeps of great beauty and considerable artistic and historical interest. Manurga is probably the most interesting village in terms of the heraldic richness of its mansion houses. It once had four tower keeps, though little now remains of them. Part of the walls of the Elexalde keep still stand by the church, and the coat of arms of the Iturrizar family can be seen on a wall by the local wash-house.

The best preserved of the remaining buildings is the keep of the Hurtado de Mendoza family, dating from the 15th or 16th century, the ancestral home of many renowned personages with positions at the royal court.

Also impressive is the late 18th century mansion house of the Verastegi family, home of Prudencio María de Verástegi, who was General Deputy for Alava in the early 19th century.

The village contains several more mansions dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, decorated with the coats of arms of their founding families.

Elsewhere in the municipality of Zigoitia, the tower keep of Goikoetxea or Goikolea in Gopegi, bearing the arms of the Zárate and Eguiluz families, is also significant.The village contains several more mansions dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, decorated with the coats of arms of their founding families.

Elsewhere in the municipality of Zigoitia, the tower keep of Goikoetxea or Goikolea in Gopegi, bearing the arms of the Zárate and Eguiluz families, is also significant.

ROMANESQUE BUILDINGS

The whole area from Kuartango to Zigoitia is characterised by its own local variant of Romanesque architecture. Buildings in this style can be found all over the municipality, though the most significant are in Zestafe, Ondategi and Gopegi.

Two of the best examples of local Romanesque buildings are to be found in the village of Zestafe: the parish church of San Nicolas dates from the 13th century, and features typical local Romanesque decoration on the eaves and around the portico and lights. It also houses and 13th century carved figure of the Virgin Mary in a style known in Basque as "Andra Mari".

The chapel of San Pedro de Gorostiza, which has recently been restored, is the oldest church in the area. It conserves pre-Romanesque tombs and reliefs on its walls.

The parish church of San Lorenzo is an extraordinary building which is partly Romanesque (main body of the church and the doorway) and partly 17th century (transept and sanctuary end). It contains a magnificent Baroque main altarpiece and a second altarpiece on the altar of the Virgin Mary which features a 14th century carving of the type known as "Andra Mari" ("Our Lady" in Basque).

In the context of religious art, two later churches also stand out as particularly fine: the Neo-classical parish church of San Martín in Manurga (18th century) is a beautiful building with several fine altar-pieces and carvings.

The church of San Bartolomé in Olano was originally built in the Romanesque style, as some parts of it still evidence, but it stands out for its 16th century Gothic main altar-piece, made up of painted boards, reliefs and carvings of great value.

CUEVAS DE MAIRUELEGORRETA

El ascenso a Gorbeia desde el pueblo de Murua es sin duda, uno de los itinerarios más bellos y con más tradición del montañismo alavés. Dos pistas, bien señaladas, se dirigen hacia la cima: la primera en dirección a Pagazuri, atravesando un hermoso robledal y amplias áreas de brezo que nos llevan hasta Pagazuri y Arroriano, desde donde cobijados por un amplio hayedo se llega a la cima de Gorbeia.

La segunda, remonta el río Zubialde. En este trayecto se ubica el área de descanso y aparcamiento de las antiguas canteras de Murua, cerca de los embalses de Gorbeia. Desde este punto se accede directamente a la cima de Gorbeia pasando por Arroriano o podemos desviarnos hacia las Cuevas de Mairuelegorreta.

Estas cuevas con más de 12 kilómetros de desarrollo, son una antigua surgencia de agua fósil que guarda en su interior, en un bello laberinto de cavernas, una gran cantidad de tradiciones, leyendas, historia, etc.