Things to Do in Vera de Bidasoa-Bera

There is no clear record of the origin of the town’s name. Throughout the history of Vera de Bidasoa, the Castilian and Basque languages have been used intermittently, which have led to different theories for each language. It could be due to the fact that the town is on the banks of the Bidasoa River, but if “Bera” derives from the Basque word “behera,” meaning “the lower part,” the name could be in reference to the fact that the town is located in a lower-altitude area of Navarra. Regardless of the name’s origin, the town now bears a nickname “de Bidasoa,” which became popular in 1916 to avoid confusion in distinguishing this town from others in Spain.

Vera de Bidasoa is a border town. Throughout its history, it has served as a defense for the kingdom of Navarra against the French and the Guipuzcanos (segregated by their king and added into Castilla in 1200). In 1402, Carlos III the Noble recognized the towns sacrifices by granting it privileges. The fact that it is a frontier town has also encouraged Vera de Bidasoa to be favored throughout its existence by one of the most flourishing economic activities in history: smuggling.

The patron of the Iglesia de Vera was the lord of Alzate y Urtubie, who in 1606 named Lorenzo de Hualde as the pastor. This was one of the main collaborators of the inquisitors when generating the paranoia about witches that unleashed the Proceso de Logroño, in which many of the townspeople and their neighbors were accused of witchcraft.

In the summer of 1794, Vera de Bidasoa was occupied by the French troops of La Convención, who plundered everything. It also suffered destruction during the Guerra de la Independencia and the Carlist wars. In 1872, the Pretender Don Carlos de Borbón entered Spain through Vera de Bidasoa to start the last of the Carlist wars.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, Pío Baroja bought a farmhouse in the town, and from then on, the history of the town has been linked to the lineage of the writer. Other famous figures of the Baroja line have walked its streets, including Carmen Baroja, an anthropologist, writer, and mother to another anthropologist and historian Julio Caro Baroja. Another link to letters that the town has is to Ignacio Larramendi, a writer and academic in the Royal Academy of the Basque Language, Euskaltzaindia.

The urban center of Bera extends along the left side of the Bidasoa River until the Cantabrian Sea. It is a beautiful historic area that has many stately mansions which follow the traditional architectural guidelines of the area. It is common in the area to see facades with timber beams, balconies decorated with multitudes of pots, porticoed bottom floors, and large gabled roofs. Among all the houses, the most interesting is the Caserío Itzea, which was built in the 17^th century and bought in 1912 by the writer Pío Baroja. The house was occupied by him and his family for generations. Take special notice of its spectacular wooden eaves.

The Casa Lazarobaitia, built in the Renaissance style, once held the Pretender Don Carlos in 1872, just before the last Carlist war began. Another interesting building you can see in Vera de Bidasoa is the Casa Arostegia, erected in 1796. Joseph Bonaparte stayed there on his flight to France from Vitoria. Shortly after, Duke Wellington stayed there too. On the upper part of its façade, you can see the Legia family coat of arms.

The Casa Zelaia is a harmonious, traditional structure. It has a lattice of wooden beams in its upper floors and large wooden balconies. The Hornacina del Cristo de Contrabando rests on its grounds. It is a figure that, as its name implies, comes from the fruits smuggling. The foreign origin of the image is evident in the fact that it is bound by four nails, one in each extremity, instead of the three that is traditionally Spanish.

Of all these houses, the civil element of Vera de Bidasoa is most obvious in its Ayuntamiento, which was built in 1776. In 1983, in the midst of the restoration of its façade, remains of ancient murals representing the four cardinal virtues were discovered. The picturesque group was studied and completed by Julio Caro Baroja, and it was later restored by the local painter Juantxo Larramendi.

The Iglesia de San Esteban was constructed in the 16^th century in an old tower house that was converted for ecclesiastical use. Despite subsequent remodeling, you can still see its characteristics of fortress housing. It houses what is considered to be the best Romanesque organ in all of Navarra as well as an excellent wooden ashlar.