The Walled Borough.
The urban center of the walled population consists of a main street starting from the Santa María arch leading to the fortified church, and a fairly regular network of transverse streets. The old parade ground was located at the highest point of the city. The main streets were Mayor, Pampinot, Chapitel or San Nicolás, Fuentes, and Tiendas. Its structure and buildings date from the modern age, although the site has barely changed since the Middle Ages. The steep Mayor Street is especially typical, setting for famous processions and the alarde. However, the most important street in the Middle Ages was not Mayor but San Nicolás or Chapitel, which Mayor replaced after the opening of the Santa María gate in 1516. Solid Renaissance houses lined the new street, built of stone instead of wood, with beautiful coats of arms on the façades. Tiendas, Platerías, and Carnicería streets reveal their guild and commercial origins. By decree of July 4, 1963, the old town and its area of influence were d a national historic-artistic monument.
The city in the mid-19th century.
D. Florentino Portu, secretary of the Town Hall for fifty years, described it as: “The city, enclosed by walls, measured about 2,000 paces, surrounded from north, west, and part of the south by a wide moat, and defended to the east and south by the Bidasoa estuary. Of all its fortifications, though it was always a garrison town, only one bastion fully mined, two poorly maintained towers, long stretches of wall, and the stronghouse or palace of Emperor Charles V existed. The number of houses in the main city was 129, mostly two-story and fairly regular; to the north, the Magdalena neighborhood had 73 houses and a basilica dedicated to the saint; inhabitants were mainly fishermen, most houses had two stories and wooden balconies…”
Expansions.
Built by reclaiming marshes and sands from the sea. Major works were carried out at the end of the century. Faro, Butrón, Matxin de Arsu, Vélez, Domingo Eguía, Almirante Alonso streets were laid over 16,625 m² gained through breakwaters. In 1907, a pier was constructed and seaside villas erected up to Higuer.
The beach.
One of Gipuzkoa’s deepest, equipped with a pier, now a scenic tree-lined promenade bordered by rocks populated by bathers and fishermen.
The walls.
Fortifications known in Hondarribia postdate the early medieval castle conquered by the Castilian king in 1200. Under Castile, it became a frontier bastion, first bordering England and, from the 15th century, France. Modern wall remodeling occurred under the Catholic Monarchs and Charles I, reaching 70 feet high and 32 wide, with bastions and towers. In the early 17th century: bastions of Magdalena, Leiva, Reina, Santa María, San Felipe, Santiago. Main entrances: Santa María gate and San Nicolás gate. Eastern section, with fortified church and castle, protected by Bidasoa estuary.
Castle (Charles V Castle).
Quadrangular, smooth façades, no towers, wooden roof except last vaulted floor. Could house an infantry battalion; walls up to 3 m thick; rear terrace with artillery overlooking Labourd bank.
San Telmo Castle.
Built in 1598 by Captain General Juan Velázquez against invaders and pirates.
Town Hall.
Erected 1735, architect Andrés de Zabala, three-arched portal, continuous balcony under eaves, jail and market hall, in a narrow street, lacking prominence.
Noble Houses.
-
Casa de Casadevante: Mayor Street, Casadevante and Gaycoegui coat of arms, pediments, wrought-iron balconies.
-
Zuloaga Palace: Mayor Street, ashlar façade with moldings, composite coat of arms.
-
Casa de Arsu: Montaña district, second floor with canecillos, central shield.
-
Casa de Echeveste: Bishop’s Square, three floors, fortress-like.
Churches.
-
Assumption Church: 15th–16th c., portico, buttresses, stone vaults, Latin cross, main chapel, Baroque tower, 1594 altarpiece by Joanes de Iriarte, Larrea, Ostiza.
-
Santiagotxo Hermitage: Arkoll district, rebuilt 1960s, 14th-century pilgrim statue.
-
Notre-Dame de Guadalupe Hermitage: 1585, destroyed 1638, Gothic statue.
-
Santa María Magdalena Church: Marina, painting by Gaspar Montes Iturrioz.
Squares.
-
Plaza de Armas: in front of medieval castle, site of celebrations, proclamations.
-
Others: Plaza del Vicario/Plaza de Gipuzkoa, Plaza del Obispo.