PLACE: Getaria

Getaria is probably one of the most enchanting villages on the Guipuzcoa coast. It was founded at the beginning of the 13th Century, with its predominant marine vocation from its very beginnings. The hunting of the whale was one of its main historical activities (in fact, the last whale to be captured in the Basque Country took place in its waters around 1878).

The village experienced several fires and destructions throughout its history, such as the one in 1597, where 150 houses were burnt down; or in 1628, where after a terrible battle between the Spanish and French ships, the town was totally destroyed, along with the Spanish squadron.

This is the birthplace of such famous persons as Juan Sebastián Elcano (the first seafarer to sail around the world) or the world famous designer Balenciaga. Today it is an active and welcoming fishing port, with a booming canning industry and carefully looked after historical monuments. Places worth mentioning are the Gothic Parish Church of San Salvador, with its superb triforium and its underground passageway which goes under the actual alter, the Aldamar Tower at the top of the village and the Casa Larrumbide, a Baroque building that overlooks the San Roque street.

The gastronomy, without a doubt, occupies a very special place in the village life. Famous for its restaurants and grillrooms, specializing in fresh fish, brought straight from the port. Likewise, Getaria gives its name to the Denomination of Origin “Getariako Txakolina”, which is a wine with its own personality, inherited from years of culture and tradition, and which meets the approval of the most demanding connoisseurs, accompanying a plate of seafood or some delicious grilled fish.