Comarca Urola Kosta Elevation 113 m (371 ft) Area 54.71 km² Local time Saturday 10:03 AM | Autonomous community Basque Country Founded 1331 (1331) Population 11,480 (2014) | |
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Weather 8°C, Wind SW at 19 km/h, 65% Humidity | ||
Azkoitia (Spanish: Azcoitia) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, in northern Spain. It is also the seat of the municipality of the same name.
Contents
- Map of 20720 Azkoitia GuipC3BAzcoa Spain
- Geographical setting
- Population
- Historical relevance
- References
Map of 20720 Azkoitia, Guip%C3%BAzcoa, Spain
Geographical setting
Azkoitia and the municipality of the same name, are located on and around the upper Urola river valley, centered on a small alluvial plain surrounded by the Basque mountains. Except for the valley itself, the terrain is rather rugged, with elevations ranging to little less than 950 meters.
Population
As of 2004[1], the municipality numbers 10,946 inhabitants, of which 5,324 (49.867%) are men and 5,262 (50.133%) are women. Age is distributed among the sexes rather evenly with children and adolescents (0 to 17 years of age) forming 16.235% of the population, adults(18 to 54 years of age) making up 53.744%, and senior citizens forming the remaining 30.021%.
Historical relevance
Azkoitia was the birthplace of the mother of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. Ignatius' maternal grandfather, Don Martin Garcia de Licona, had purchased Balda Tower in the mid-15th century. Recurring bloody encounters in the region persuaded the king, Henry IV of Castile, to reduce the tower from a fortress to a courthouse. On 13 July 1467 Don Martin's daughter, Dona Marina Saenz de Licona Balda married Don Beltran Ibanez de Onaz y Loyola from neighbouring Azpeitia in the Licona family home in Azkoitia. The original wedding contract still exists.
Loyola's birth house is still preserved as a museum a part of a large Jesuit compound. It is located a few kilometers east of Azkoitia's city center, at the small community of Azpeitia, and is a major tourist attraction.