Zumalacarregui's route: The General’s landscapes

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Mount Txindoki

The Carlist General Tomas de Zumalacarregui, born in Ormaiztegi and dead in Zegama, is one of the key figures in order to know the 19th century in Gipuzkoa.

From Tolosa, through the N-1 road, we will arrive at two neighbouring and adjacent villages, Ordizia and Beasain. Ordizia is well known due to its Wednesday market and the Barrena Palace, which now houses the culture house and is worth a visit. Under the huge columns of the Mayor Square, the main market in Gipuzkoa acts as a reference in the prices of the sector since 1512. In Beasain, the Igartza monumental site stands out.

Through the GI-632 road, we will take a turn off to Ormaiztegi. There, we can admire its impressive iron viaduct, a work by Alexander Lavalley who was Eiffel’s predecessor. Moreover, we can visit the Zumalakarregi Museum, located in the Iriarte Erdikoa House, which will move us to the 19th century upheavals through the history of two brothers: Tomas de Zumalacarregui, a Carlist General, and Miguel, a liberal politician. The Iriarte-Erdikoa House, where the Carlist General spent his childhood, is nowadays a documentation and dissemination centre about the changes suffered by the Basque society in the 19th century.

Through the GI-3572 road, we will get to Segura, with a Historic Quarter that preserves old mansions and wall remains. The Medieval Interpretation Centre is located in the Ardixarra House. In Ardixarra Etxea we can learn more about issues such as the foundations of the villages, the medieval urban planning or the social structure of the Ancien Regime.

Through the GI-2637 road, we will arrive at our last stage, Zegama. In the Parish of San Martín there is a mausoleum containing Tomas de Zumalacarregui’s remains. The Wood Interpretation Centre will also demand our attention. More than 170 different forest species can be observed in this young museum, which tries to disseminate the richness of Basque forests.