Azkoitia

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Azkoitia is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the North of Spain. It is also the seat of the municipality of the same name.

Contents 1 Geographical setting 2 Population 3 Historical relevance 4 External links 5 Notes

[edit] Geographical setting

Azkoitia and the pertaining municipality are located on and around the upper Urola river valley, centered on a small alluvial plain surrounded by the mountains of the Atlantic Pyrenees. Except for the valley itself the remanining terrain is rather rugged, elevations raging to little less than 950 meters.

[edit] 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%, with senior citizens being the remaining 30.021%.

[edit] Historical relevance

Azkoitia was the birthplace of the mother of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. Ignatius' maternal granfather, Don Martin Garcia de Licona, had purchased Balda Tower in the mid 1400s. Recurring bloody encounters in the region persuaded the king, Henry IV of Castile, to reduce the tower from a fortress to a courthouse. On 13th 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.

[edit] External links

• Official Website Information available in Spanish and Basque.
• AZKOITIA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) Information available in Spanish

[edit] Notes

1. ↑ Demographics for all Basque municipalities