Oiartzun

Oiartzun
Oiartzun
Municipality
	Coat of arms
	Oiartzun Location of Oiartzun within the Basque Autonomous Community
	Coordinates: 43°17′55″N 1°51′40″W / 43.29861°N 1.86111°W
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Basque Country
Province	Gipuzkoa
Eskualdea	Oarsoaldea
Founded	1453
Government
• Mayor	Joana Mendiburu Garaiar (EH Bildu)
Area
• Total	59.71 km2 (23.05 sq mi)
Population (2018)
• Total	10,276
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Basque: oiartzuar; Spanish: oyarsonense
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	20180
Website	Official website

Oiartzun (Basque: Oiartzun, Spanish: Oyarzun) is a town and municipality located in the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria (Peñas de Aya in Spanish).

Etymology

The name traces back to Oiasso or Oiarso, a Roman town closely connected to the Arditurri mines in the massif of Aiako Harria, which contained large amounts of silver and copper. However, it has been pinpointed to the current border town of Irun, so the name may have referred to the whole area.

Geography

A river bearing the same name meanders through the meadows and neighbourhoods of this sparse municipality. That is one of its main features, it is scattered in different quarters across the valley. Elizalde lies on a prominence and it is the central nucleus of the town, with the main church San Esteban and town hall being located there. At the foot of Elizalde lies Altzibar by the Oiartzun River. Ugaldetxo developed into an urban built-up area surrounded by industrial estates near the AP-8 motorway, while the rest of the neighbourhoods have hung onto their rural and picturesque landscape to a large extent.

Alfonso VIII of Castile chartered it as town but it took some decades before its independence from Orereta was total.

Partial view of the church of San Esteban

Sports

The town's football club, Oiartzun KE, plays at Karla Lekuona. The women's side has competed in the highest division of Spanish football, making Oiartzun one of the smallest towns in the country home to a top-flight club.

Notable people born in Oiartzun

Sebastián Lartaún, Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Cuzco from 1570 to 1583
Xabier Lete (1944–2010), writer, poet, singer and politician
Izaskun Zubizarreta Guerendiain, (1970–2024), ski mountaineer
Juan María Lekuona (1927–2005), priest, poet and linguist
Rafael Picavea y Leguía (1867–1946), industrialist, politician and journalist
José Manuel Lasa (born 1940), cyclist
Txomin Perurena (born 1943), cyclist
Maixux Rekalde (1934–2022), pacifist, activist, journalist
Miguel María Lasa (born 1948), cyclist
Iker Leonet (born 1983), cyclist