Vitoria[5][6][7] (officially Vitoria-Gasteiz,[5][8][9] in Basque: Gasteiz) is a Spanish city and municipality, capital of the province of Álava and official seat of the Parliament and Government of the autonomous community of the Basque Country.[10] In the absence of more explicit legal recognition, it is considered the de facto capital of the Basque Country as it is the seat of the institutions commons.[11] In 2012 it was European Green Capital.[12].
Located at a crossroads, it has been an important strategic point throughout history, both military and commercial and cultural. Since Roman times, when the road that linked Astorga and Bordeaux (Ab Asturica Burdigalam) passed through Álava, these lands have continued to be an axis of communications between the Central Plateau and France. It is a city with an intense history that is manifested in a valuable monumental heritage. He holds the title of "very noble and very loyal." Its population is (INE "National Institute of Statistics (Spain)") 2025).
Place names
The original name of the village is documented for the first time as Gastehiz[13] in the cartulary of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, in the document called Reja de Álava (year 1025). The place then paid the Rioja monastery three bars, so it is assumed that it had thirty neighbors.[14].
This primitive name of Gaste(h)iz began its decline due to the new tax on the founding of the town by the Navarrese king Sancho the Wise, in the year 1181. As is known, the monarch called the town Nova Victoria, with a propaganda name that does not reflect any military action, but in the midst of a long conflict with the crown of Castile. The old name is also cited in that founding document:
Also in the Basque language the use of Vitoria was extended, losing that of Gasteiz, even in minor toponymy; That is, there is Bitoriabidea, "road to Vitoria", for example, but not Gasteizbidea. Next to the form Bitoria, we must note Bituria, attested at least in Arratia. In Bituria we probably find an analogical form influenced by the numerous names in -uri (Basauri), etc. and an interpretation of the last vowel as a Basque article (as in -a, for example).
Neighborhood Revitalization Review
Introduction
Vitoria[5][6][7] (officially Vitoria-Gasteiz,[5][8][9] in Basque: Gasteiz) is a Spanish city and municipality, capital of the province of Álava and official seat of the Parliament and Government of the autonomous community of the Basque Country.[10] In the absence of more explicit legal recognition, it is considered the de facto capital of the Basque Country as it is the seat of the institutions commons.[11] In 2012 it was European Green Capital.[12].
Located at a crossroads, it has been an important strategic point throughout history, both military and commercial and cultural. Since Roman times, when the road that linked Astorga and Bordeaux (Ab Asturica Burdigalam) passed through Álava, these lands have continued to be an axis of communications between the Central Plateau and France. It is a city with an intense history that is manifested in a valuable monumental heritage. He holds the title of "very noble and very loyal." Its population is (INE "National Institute of Statistics (Spain)") 2025).
Place names
The original name of the village is documented for the first time as Gastehiz[13] in the cartulary of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, in the document called Reja de Álava (year 1025). The place then paid the Rioja monastery three bars, so it is assumed that it had thirty neighbors.[14].
This primitive name of Gaste(h)iz began its decline due to the new tax on the founding of the town by the Navarrese king Sancho the Wise, in the year 1181. As is known, the monarch called the town Nova Victoria, with a propaganda name that does not reflect any military action, but in the midst of a long conflict with the crown of Castile. The old name is also cited in that founding document:
Also in the Basque language the use of Vitoria was extended, losing that of Gasteiz, even in minor toponymy; That is, there is Bitoriabidea, "road to Vitoria", for example, but not Gasteizbidea. Next to the form , we must note , attested at least in Arratia. In we probably find an analogical form influenced by the numerous names in -uri (), etc. and an interpretation of the last vowel as a Basque article (as in -a, for example).
Busturi
Many authors have been identifying Vitoria with Victoriacum, the city supposedly founded by Leovigild. For this there is no more proof than the brief passage from Juan de Biclaro, bishop of Gerona (centuries -). On this matter, it is worth mentioning the article by Odón de Apraiz "The foundation of Vitoria: Leovigildo or Sancho of Navarra?" (1967), in which this identification is destroyed.
Granted the jurisdiction of a town in 1181, Vitoria obtained the title of city on November 20, 1431, delivered in Medina del Campo by King Juan II, according to Iñaki Bazán in the Municipal Gazette:.
The etymology of Gasteiz is not certain. Alfonso Irigoyen, in his 1981 article "On the toponym Gasteiz and its anthroponymic environment", Vitoria in the Middle Ages, 621-652, believes that Gasteiz comes from an ancient adjective gartze ("young"), attested later gazte. According to the Biscayan academic, from Gartze as a proper name would come Gartzeiz, within a regular paradigm that presents examples such as Otso(a) / Otsoiz, Sermeno / Semenoiz, etc. In summary, Gasteiz would be a personal name imposed on the village, at an indeterminate time, in any case before the century, which appears for the first time on the Reja de Álava (year 1025) with the form Gastehiz.
Julio Caro Baroja mentions (Materials for a history of the Basque language in its relationship with the Latin, 103) the form Gasteici, but without indicating Latin sources. It seems more logical to think that the Basque form Gazte-iz / Gaste-iz, like many others, followed the general model of the Latin genitive -ici, nominative -icus, but with that Basque root.
Recent historical research has provided new data that is added to the long list. Ernesto García, in his book Governing the city in the Middle Ages: Oligarchies and urban elites in the Basque Country, brings to light a quote from 1485, extracted from the Municipal Acts, in which reference is made to the existence of the "Gasteays hermitage" in the city of Vitoria:.
There is another avenue of research that has not been sufficiently studied, that of the identification of Gastehiz with Castellaz. Henrike Knörr, in his work «On the collection and study of Toponymy...» published in Onomasticon Vasconiae, 4, explores the aforementioned path:.
Gasteiz returned along the cultured route (Landázuri, Becerro de Bengoa, Los Apraiz, etc.), until he was granted official status after the democratic restoration. On July 31, 1979, a motion was approved in which it was agreed that the official name of this city and its municipal area would be Vitoria-Gasteiz. Next, the General Meetings of Álava, in an ordinary session on November 25, 1979, agreed that the Brotherhood and Cuadrilla of Vitoria would be renamed, from now on, Brotherhood and Cuadrilla of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Symbols
Contenido
Además de la sede del Ayuntamiento o casa consistorial,[15] existen una serie de símbolos que representan a la ciudad: la Bandera de Vitoria, el Escudo de Vitoria y la medalla de la ciudad.
La casa consistorial comenzó a construirse en 1783, terminándose el día 24 de diciembre de 1791, fecha en la que se celebra la primera sesión del Ayuntamiento en las nuevas instalaciones. Fue Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel quien llevó adelante la construcción del edificio y uno de sus promotores fue el marqués de la Alameda "Marquesado de la Alameda (1761)"), alcalde de la ciudad en esos años. Su fachada está perfectamente integrada en el conjunto de la plaza. En su parte central destaca el pórtico de columnas dórico-toscanas sobre el que descansa un balcón corrido de piedra. Se remata por un frontón triangular en el que resalta un disco donde se reflejaban en inscripciones alguna vicisitudes de la historia de España. El frontón se completa con el escudo de armas de la ciudad mantenido por dos guirnaldas que en el proyecto original fueron dos figuras humanas.
Flag
The flag of Vitoria is white, crossed by a red cross, and flies solemnly on the façade of the town hall on special occasions. It is currently placed in front of the new cathedral.[16].
The current flag was chosen in 1922 after a proposal by the writer José Colá y Goiti, who presented it in 1918 with a first design in which the blades of San Andrés were not both red, but one blue and one red as a representation of the bourgeois and working classes, although finally the classic red color was also chosen in other nearby cities.
The previous flag of Vitoria dates back to 1835: embroidered with the coat of arms of Vitoria under a white background, it was a gift from Isabel II to the Urban Battalion of Vitoria for not letting the city fall into the hands of the Carlists.[17].
Shield
In the center of the flag stands the shield of Vitoria. In it, the central castle represents the fortress of the city itself, based on two protective lions, and on its battlements, watchful crows.
It also presents the initials of Queen Isabel II, by virtue of the fact that, after the Carlist attack of 1834 "Siege of Vitoria (1834)"), the city was targeted by the queen governor María Cristina, who gave the Urban Militia of Vitoria a flag in the name that King Sancho the Wise gave to the city: .
Medal
In 1948 the City Council approved the creation of the current Vitoria Medal to award those people who distinguish themselves for their merits in favor of the city, in its three categories of gold, silver and bronze.
The design was based on the commemorative medal of the Battle of Vitoria, created in the 19th century.
It began to be made in gold and white metal, but in 1977 the City Council proposed that it be made in precious metals—gold and silver—to enhance the value that the medal aims to represent.
Others
When talking about the symbols[18] of Vitoria, we cannot fail to mention the oldest of all and whose use in urban furniture, public buildings and ceremonial events make it one of the symbols that best identifies the city. This is the signature of King Sancho the Wise that appears in the founding jurisdiction of Vitoria in 1181.
It is made up of four equilateral triangles linked by parallel lines that end at the angles and, when crossed, form a small square in the center. In each triangle and in the central square there is a lowercase "a." This motif has been used in urban furniture.
Geography
El municipio se encuentra en el centro de la provincia de Álava ubicada en el extremo septentrional de la península ibérica. Su extensión es de 276,81 km con una altitud media de Es el único municipio incluido en la comarca de Cuadrilla de Vitoria.
Orography
Vitoria is fundamentally made up of a central plain between 500 and 600 m in altitude. Surrounding the aforementioned central plain, the main orographic features are the Vitoria Mountains (located to the south, with maximum heights close to 1000 m, marking the provincial limit of Álava and the County of Treviño), the Badaya mountain range (located to the west, with maximum heights that reach 900 meters), the Gorbea mountain range (extends towards the northwest entering the municipality of Cigoitia with heights that exceed 700 m), the Elguea mountain range (extends in the northeast entering the municipality of Barrundia after the Ullíbarri-Gamboa reservoir, with heights that reach 650 m) and the Llanada Alavesa (extends in the east). The city stands 525 m above sea level on the south bank of the Zadorra River.
Hydrography
The entire hydrographic network is made up of a series of rivers and streams that, arising in the mountains that limit and close the central plain, flow towards it, to be drained by the Zadorra. This river fills the Ullíbarri-Gamboa reservoir and then enters Vitoria from the northeast, surrounding the city in the north and leaving it to the west towards a natural passage in the Conchas de Arganzón. Its main tributaries within the Vitoria area are the Santa Engracia, Mendiguren, Alegría, Avendaño and Zapardiel rivers, which constitute the main arteries of the surface drainage network.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, Vitoria has a Mediterranean oceanic climate (Csb). The characteristics of Vitoria's climate are influenced by its orographic configuration, so that the mountain ranges that limit it to the north defend it from oceanic influence, while to the south there is also a solution of continuity with the continentalized Mediterranean climate characteristic of the central regions of the peninsula. In summary, a microclimate of cold, humid winters and cool summers is established, similar to that of the moors of the marginal edge of the plateau.
Flora
Vitoria is one of the European cities with the largest area of green and landscaped spaces per person; about forty-two square meters per inhabitant if we include the current extension of the Green Belt. In the Basque capital there are more than ten million square meters of parks and green areas for walking, cycling and observing birds and deer.
The most numerous species of ornamental trees within the city are: deciduous, horse chestnut, ash, linden, maple, acacia, poplar, conifer, beech, oak and birch.[21].
Fauna
In the ponds and lagoons of the parks we can observe different specimens of birds. Within the Green Belt, Zabalgana is a magnificent ecological refuge for wild flora and fauna such as weasels, hares and foxes. It is also home to many species of birds such as coots and mallards. In the Armentia Forest "Armentia (Álava)") you can find wild boars, squirrels, birds of prey and up to thirty small birds, such as finches or robins. Salburua deserves a special mention for being one of the most important places in the Basque Country for the reproduction of waterfowl. Species unique to our environment breed here, such as some herons. In addition to inhabiting nearly two hundred species, among which the European mink and the common deer stand out (introduced to Salburua in the late 90s).[22][23][24].
Environment
The Vitoria City Council promotes actions in various areas to promote balanced growth and the responsible use of natural resources, as a strategy of commitment to the environment and sustainable development.
Given its commitment to the environment, in 1995 Vitoria signed the Aalborg Charter of Cities and Towns towards Sustainability and launched its Agenda 21.
Through Agenda 21, the city aspires to improve the quality of life and well-being of its citizens through maximum respect for the environment and its resources, including human beings.
The indicators currently being worked on are urban pollution, traffic and transportation, water, energy, industry, waste, urban planning and territory, nature and biodiversity, health and environmental risks, information, education and citizen participation and socioeconomic environment.
Every year citizens are informed of the situation and evolution in environmental, economic and social matters through the Agenda 21 Bulletin.
History
Si bien sobre la colina que ocupa el corazón del casco antiguo de la ciudad se han registrado hallazgos anteriores al período medieval, la mayor parte de la historiografía está de acuerdo en que sus orígenes no van más allá de la Edad Media. En general se piensa que, los restos prehistóricos y de época antigua por ahora recuperados, no son lo suficientemente relevantes como para afirmar que en lo alto de la colina de Gasteiz existía, ya en esos siglos, un hábitat estable.
Finds from prehistoric times (Bronze Age)
In the archaeological excavations carried out in 2006 in Campillo Sur, a pit deposit was located, with ceramic content that, according to Armando Llanos, points out: "the existence of a possible habitat space in this environment, generating the garbage that served to fill the pit." Apparently, although it is not easy to specify its chronology, the analysis of the ceramics located suggests "a temporal space framed in the Bronze Age, in its middle-late phases."[25].
Finds from ancient times (1st-5th centuries AD)
In the excavations of the Plaza de Santa María "Plaza de Santa María (Vitoria)") a set of ceramics from the Roman period was found (specifically from Terra Sigillata Hispánica) that allow "to affirm that there was a Roman occupation of the Gasteiz hill in the first centuries of our era, continuous but undoubtedly not very significant." According to J. M. Martínez, this Roman presence must have begun in the middle of the century AD. C. and would last, surely until the end of the century AD. C., and possibly until the century AD. C.[26].
For his part, Eliseo Gil, in another intervention carried out in the same square, located "evidence from the early Roman Empire that, although decontextualized, constitutes a clear indication of an occupation of this chronology at least in the upper part of the Vitoria-Gasteiz hill." This evidence was considered sufficient for the same author to speak of the following occupation horizons for the Gasteiz hill: a first settlement dateable between the second half of the century and the beginning of the century AD. C., and then a second that took place between the centuries and AD. C.[27].
Middle Ages
Although for decades a good part of historiography has held this to be true,[28] the latest research tends to rule out that Vitoria comes from that Visigoth-era settlement called 'Victoriacum', which King Leovigild apparently founded back in the year 581 according to the chronicler Juan de Biclaro*.*[29].
As an alternative to the current Vitoria, some hypotheses have maintained that said 'Victoriacum' could correspond to the town of Vitoriano, located in the Alava municipality of Zuya, while others, such as that of Abilio Barbero and Marcelo Vigil, suggest that it could be the oppidum of Iruña-Veleia, that is, the Veleia of Ptolemy, a Roman complex of great importance located in Alava lands, a Vitoria.[30] Mikel Pozo's hypothesis even doubts that said settlement was located in the Basque territorial environment, pointing out the possibility that it was a propaganda name used by Juan de Biclaro to actually refer to the city of Mérida "Mérida (Spain)").[31].
Certain archaeological works carried out around the city suggest the presence of Franks in the area, making it difficult to identify the Visigothic Victoriacum with Vitoria. For example, at the site of Aldaieta (Nanclares de Gamboa) tombs decorated following Frankish customs have been found.[32][33] It is believed that this settlement dates back to between the centuries and .[34] The typology of certain weapons found in the excavations of the cathedral of Santa María de Vitoria seemed to point in that same direction of Frankish culture. However, after examining the characteristics of these objects, nothing conclusive can be stated since, although they could date from the 19th century, they could also be from a later period given the survival in the use of that type of weaponry.[35].
According to the archaeological findings made in the cathedral of Santa María "Catedral de Santa María (Vitoria)"), the first settlement that had temporal continuity (finally giving rise to Vitoria) dates back to the first decades of the century. It is not certain that this primitive village was already called Gasteiz, but it seems clear that it was located at the top of the hill around which the current medieval town was taking shape.[36].
According to the fence of San Millán de la Cogolla, in the century the majority of place names in the Llanada Alavesa, where Vitoria is located, were of Basque origin, including some others of Romance origin.[37] The fence of San Millán is a document from the year 1025 that lists a series of towns that paid tithes to the monastery of San Millán. The first documented mention of a village called Gastehiz is found in said document, although the location of said village is not mentioned. This same document also mentions many of the towns that currently make up the municipality of Vitoria.
Between the centuries, the Alava plain was under the orbit of the kingdom of León, later under the County of Castile, first, since its emergence with Fernán González in 931 and, later, under the Crown of Castile when it was founded thanks to the distribution of the Navarrese kingdom made by Sancho III of Navarra upon his death in 1035.
The archaeological remains indicate that at the beginning of the century,[38] the primitive village was equipped with a first defensive enclosure. Due to their construction characteristics, it seems that these walls could have been erected by an initiative of the Navarrese-Aragonese monarch Alfonso I[39] In any case, a review of the written sources made in light of said archaeological findings seems to confirm a chronological horizon for these defenses prior to the granting of the jurisdiction of the year 1181.[40] The first written mentions that we find about the term of Vitoria prior to this jurisdiction are:
• - Document dated 1157 that includes a series of "confirms" among which is the "tenente de Sangüesa" who says his name is Martin de Vitoria"). Therefore, he would be a military man from Vitoria.[41].
• - Document dated 1178 that cites a certain Álvaro Muñoz as "tenente de Vitoria" (person to whom a monarch had assigned control of a territory).[42].
Archaeological-historical controversy: archaeological studies on a small area inside the cathedral have found an analysis of the C14 that places the construction of the wall at the end of the century (one hundred years before the founding of the town by the Navarrese king Sancho the Wise), however, many historians who are experts in medieval jurisdictions do not support this thesis. The charters granted by the kings, or legal establishment, allowed the construction of walls and garrison but an enclosure of 20 towers could not exist as they interpret its walled enclosure, without royal consent in legal form. Vitoria was created as a defensive possession together with Zaitegi (1188), in order to protect the new border that had been created after the treaty with Castile in 1179. The existence of some previous section of wall can only be defended from an archaeological point of view but lacks historical foundation.
In the year 1181, Sancho VI of Navarra granted a population charter to the pre-existing settlement, choosing for it the name nova Victoria (... novum nomen imposui scilicet Victoria quae antea vocabatur Gasteiz... / «... to which I imposed the new name of Vitoria that was previously called Gasteiz...»). One of the reasons that probably drove this initiative on the part of the Navarrese was to create a defensive line (which would also make up Antoñana "Antoñana (Álava)"), Bernedo, La Puebla de Arganzón and Laguardia) to confront the kingdom of Castile, a line that would protect the territories that it had recently occupied taking advantage of the Castilian civil war that originated in the minority of Alfonso VIII.[43] Recent Research[44] also suggests that Sancho VI, when he uses the term nova Victoria in the jurisdiction, is referring to a new expansion of the primitive walled enclosure (hence the need to specify nova). This expansion, which has traditionally been attributed to an initiative of the Castilian king Alfonso VIII, would have led to the emergence of the current streets Correría "Calle de la Correría (Vitoria)"), Zapatería "Calle de la Zapatería (Vitoria)") and Herrería "Calle de la Herrería (Vitoria)"). This hypothesis also provides arguments that suggest that this jurisdiction of 1181 was granted specifically to that new part of the population and not to the settlement as a whole.
The walled system was key in the eight-month siege after which King Alfonso VIII's troops were able to take control of the city, once it capitulated around January 1200[45]. From that moment Vitoria became dependent on Castilla.
Traditionally it has been maintained that it was Alfonso VIII himself who provided the town with its first expansion towards the west slope, a fact for which no verified documents are available.[46] There are, however, arguments to think that this expansion was carried out previously, in the time of Sancho VI of Navarra, perhaps around the year 1181.[44] There is little doubt, however, about the new expansion that, decades later, Alfonso X promoted. Wise. However, although the year 1256 has always been noted as the date on which the streets of the Cuchillería "Calle de la Cuchillería (Vitoria)"), the Pintorería and the Jewish Quarter (towards the east of the hill) began to be populated, a recent review of the documentation advocates not ruling out the year 1270 as the start date of the works of a wall, which, in any case, would not be completed until the eighties of that century. in which its pit was dug.[47].
Henry III, in 1399, granted the city two Frankish fairs.
The Brotherhood of Haro was one of the council brotherhoods that were formed in Castile after the Cortes of Valladolid in 1295. In 1296 Vitoria signed two brotherhoods, one with towns on the Cantabrian coast such as Castro-Urdiales, Santander "Santander (Spain)"), San Sebastián, Bermeo, Fuenterrabía or Laredo, forming the Brotherhood of the Villas of the Marina of Castilla with Vitoria and another with surrounding towns such as Miranda de Ebro, Logroño, Haro, Nájera, Salvatierra or Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Due to this Brotherhood, the town of Bilbao and its port were founded in 1300, since the goods that went to Castro-Urdiales and Bermeo, as there were two towns in the Nervión estuary that shortened the journey and brought the sea closer.
Between 1368 and 1371, Vitoria would return for a short period of time to Navarrese hands after Charles II of Navarre, the Bad, occupied the towns of Vitoria, Salvatierra, Alegría de Álava, Contrasta and Santa Cruz de Campezo, taking advantage of the civil conflict in Castile.[48][49] The treaties of 1371, including a papal arbitration, would return the towns to Henry II of Castile.[50].
During the centuries and , the flag fights in which the elder relatives and lineages of the Basque rural nobility aligned themselves into sides to maintain their prestige and increase their income, were reflected in Vitoria with the clashes between the Calleja "Calleja (side)") and the Ayala "Ayala (side)"). This conflict ended with the Capitulation of 1476#Capitulado_de_1476 "Calleja (side)"), a municipal reform that was in force until 1747, when Ferdinand VI established a new municipal order.
Its Jewish quarter was important, before the expulsion of the Hebrews ordered by the Catholic Monarchs: the old Jewish cemetery is still preserved in the form of a park (Judimendi) with a monument commemorating its past. In 1431, King Juan II of Castile granted it the title of city. In 1463 it was one of the five founding towns of the Brotherhood of Álava along with Sajazarra, Miranda de Ebro, Pancorbo and Salvatierra "Salvatierra (Álava)") in Rivabellosa. In 1466 Henry IV of Castile granted the city the title of loyal and in 1470 Ferdinand the Catholic named it very loyal.
On September 22, 1483, Isabel I swore the privileges and privileges of the city at the Arriaga portal.
Modern Age
On January 22, 1522, news reached Vitoria that Hadrian of Utrecht, who was at that time in the city staying at the Casa del Cordón "Casa del Cordón (Vitoria)"), had been elected the new Pope thirteen days earlier. The future Hadrian VI would remain in the capital of Álava for just over a month, serving as regent of Spain and preparing Navarre for defense against the French invasion.
In 1615, on the occasion of the royal wedding, Anne of Austria, queen of France, and Isabel de Borbón "Isabel de Borbón (queen of Spain)"), wife of the future Philip IV, stayed in the city.
During the Roussillon War, Vitoria, as well as a large part of the Basque Country, was occupied for a short period by French troops, which advanced to Miranda de Ebro. This occupation concluded with the Peace of Basel "Treaty of Basel (July 22, 1795)") which put an end to the conflict.
19th century
On April 3, 1808, Ferdinand VII stayed in the town hall while he headed to Bayonne "Bayonne (France)"), where the famous abdications would take place. At dawn on April 19, an immense crowd filled the current Mateo Benigno de Moraza street to prevent said trip, going so far as to cut the carriage's stays, so it had to leave Vitoria preceded by the French cavalry.
Between November 5 and 9, Napoleon spent the night at the Etxezarra house in the capital of Alava on his way to Madrid to place his brother, Joseph, on the throne of Spain. José had made the Montehermoso palace "Palacio de Montehermoso (Vitoria)") his particular royal palace during the previous retreat (after the defeat at Bailén).
Among the most notable historical events is that it was the scene of the Battle of Vitoria on June 21, 1813, in which the French troops, moving in retreat, were defeated by the Duke of Wellington together with General Álava from Alava. As a result of the conflict, José Bonaparte flees, losing almost all of the loot stolen from the Spanish. With this battle the Spanish War of Independence practically ended.
When the news reached Vienna at the end of July of the same year, Johann Nepomuk Mälzel commissioned Ludwig van Beethoven to compose a symphony to mark this event. This is the op. 91 Wellingtons Sieg or Die Schlacht bei Vitoria or Siegessymphonie.
Within the framework of the first Carlist war, the city remained faithful to the Elizabethan side and on March 16, 1834, "Sitio de Vitoria (1834)") was besieged by the Carlist army of Tomás de Zumalacárregui. The attack is rejected by the Urban Militia and the Celadores de Álava), present in Gamarra Mayor, and the Carlist troops are forced to withdraw due to information about the arrival of liberal reinforcements from Miranda de Ebro. Heredia. The regent María Cristina rewarded Vitoria by including the initials of Isabel II in the city's coat of arms.
In 1843, authorization came to build the Institute of Secondary Education, the current headquarters of the Basque Parliament and previously the convent of Santa Clara. In the academic year of 1853-1854, classes began, thus culminating an old dream of the city. The old High School was witness to a good part of the cultural life of this city. We must remember, among other things, the Free University, created as a result of the revolution of 1868. This University operated from 1869, being cut short before the beginning of the 1873-1874 academic year, largely due to the Second Carlist War. It is enough to remember the names of Ricardo Becerro de Bengoa, Julián Apraiz, Federico Baraibar, etc. The latter, a great Hellenist (1851-1918), was also one of the first to teach Basque classes there in Vitoria, in the section that today we would call extracurricular activities.
The cultural and educational wealth during the second half of the century earned Vitoria the nickname .[52].
20th century
At the beginning of the century and until the 1950s, Vitoria was a small city, with hardly any industry and very conservative. After the uprising in 1936 of a sector of the army, supported by the parties of the political spectrum on the right and part of the center, the Civil War began and the Basque and Navarrese territories were divided between the two sides; Álava and Navarra remain attached to the insurgents and Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya remain faithful to republican legality, although many of their inhabitants, ideologically attached to Carlist traditionalism and the monarchy, join the side of the rebels, so there were Basques and Navarrese on both sides, although the majority of the population remained loyal to the Republic.
The end of the Civil War in the Basque Country, as everywhere, left a deeply divided society. After an initial stage in which intense political repression served as a framework for the resumption of activity in the factories, the years of Francoism began, in which significant economic growth and clandestine activities of resistance to the dictatorship were combined, both by unions and political parties born before the war and, since the late 1950s, by terrorist organizations such as ETA and others born in its surroundings.
Starting in the 1950s, a strong industrialization began in the city that would produce a transformation of the city in all aspects, especially demographic and social, going from a small city of services and administration to an industrial city that broke records of relative demographic growth throughout Spain, in the sixties, with a percentage greater than 40%. Thus, from the sixties to the seventies its population almost doubled, due to the large number of immigrant workers received.
On March 3, 1976, Vitoria suffered the greatest aggression[53] experienced in its history against the working class. The events occurred a few months after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, in the middle of the Spanish Transition. In the church of San Francisco de Asís in the Zaramaga neighborhood, a populous working-class neighborhood located in the north of the city, an assembly of 4,000 striking workers who wanted to improve their working conditions was being held. The Armed Police tried to evict the church and to do so they launched tear gas inside (a closed area crowded with people) and as the workers came out half asphyxiated and with handkerchiefs covering their mouths, they shot them with real fire and rubber balls. As a result of such aggressiveness, five people were murdered and more than one hundred and fifty were injured by gunshots. The police resolved the situation they had created with a clean shot, leaving Pedro María Martínez Ocio, a twenty-seven-year-old worker at Forjas Alavesas, dead; Francisco Aznar Clemente, bakery operator and student, seventeen years old; Romualdo Barroso Chaparro, from Agrator, nineteen years old; José Castillo, from Basa, a company of the Arregui Group, thirty-two years old. Two months later, Bienvenido Pereda, a worker with Differential groups, would die at the age of thirty. It was one of the largest massacres[54] that occurred during the Transition. The events were neither investigated nor prosecuted.[55] The change at the head of the Spanish government that King Juan Carlos I carried out in July of that year, changing Carlos Arias Navarro for Adolfo Suárez, could have been a consequence of this episode.
Demography
Vitoria cuenta con una población de (INE "Instituto Nacional de Estadística (España)") 2025). El 51,6% de la población son mujeres, mientras que los hombres representan en 48,4%. Por rango de edades, el 19% de la población tiene menos de 20 años, el 58,1% entre 20 y 64 años, y el 22,9% son mayores de 65 años.[56] Cuenta con densidad de población de 911 habitantes por kilómetros cuadrados. El 55% de sus habitantes son nacidos en la provincia de Álava, un 7% nació en otra provincia vasca, un 21% en otras provincias españolas fuera del País Vasco, mientras que el 17% de la población ha nacido en el extranjero[56] De las 49.975 personas nacidas en el extranjero, 14.700 han adquirido la nacionalidad española, siendo las otras nacionalidades más representadas los colombianos, marroquíes, argelinos, venezolanos y paquistaníes.[57].
Según las Directrices de Ordenación del Territorio del Gobierno Vasco,[60] Vitoria es la ciudad central de un área funcional llamada Álava Central que viene creada para la coordinación ciertas determinaciones como la ordenación urbanística, definición de espacios o desarrollo de programas comunes. Según las citadas directrices, el área funcional se compone de 29 municipios alaveses y 2 vizcaínos (Ochandiano y Ubidea).[61] La creación de la Comisión Metropolitana de Álava Central,[62] tiene el fin de establecer estrategias comunes y trabajo conjunto con los municipios integrados en el área funcional de Álava Central de cara a lograr los siguientes objetivos:.
• - Planificar el crecimiento del suelo residencial, especializando sus tipologías de viviendas.
• - Proponer criterios de planificación del desarrollo y crecimiento de los suelos logístico e industrial, para especializar cada espacio o corredor y adaptarlo a esa especialización.
• - Diseñar un sistema integral para la gestión de las infraestructuras de comunicación.
• - Diseñar una estrategia común de conservación del medio natural y protección de la biodiversidad.
Teniendo en cuenta los flujos económicos y de población, la influencia de Vitoria traspasa además las fronteras del País Vasco hasta los municipios burgaleses de Miranda de Ebro, La Puebla de Arganzón y el Condado de Treviño, esto es, a la Comarca del Valle del Ebro, que ya en 1822 formó parte de la provincia de Álava y cuyas villas también fueron fundadoras de la Hermandad de Álava en 1463.
Town planning
From an urban planning point of view, Vitoria is a medium-sized city, whose layout adapts to the traditions of each historical moment. The medieval town "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") develops in an almond shape around the founding hill, which due to its privileged location as the only elevation in the Alava plain, became a defensive bastion coveted by the kingdoms of Navarra and Castile during the centuries and . The walled enclosure predates this war between Navarrese and Castilians, and is due to the work undertaken by the Count of Álava, bastard son of King Ramiro I of Aragon, in the 19th century, to defend the village. The defensive walls of old Vitoria were built between the year 1050 and 1100. Due to this first defensive function, its narrow and shadowy streets surround the original oval, in compact rows of houses parallel to each other and to the medieval walls (of which only some sections and gates are preserved). Between the years 1854 and 1856 an event occurred that changed the appearance of the city. A cholera epidemic was the pretext to demolish the portals, which were strong houses, which gave access to the streets Correría (strong house of the Nanclares), Zapatería (strong house of the Soto) and Herrería (strong house of the Abendaño) and which served to protect each neighborhood guild. At the entrance to the current Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, there was the portal of Santa Clara, which was linked by the wall to the convent of San Antonio "Convento de San Antonio (Vitoria)"). In the 19th century, and given the evidence that the city was becoming too small, an expansion was planned in a neoclassical style, and little by little the planning of the city gave Vitoria its current form.
The medieval almond, as it is usually called, has a multitude of architectural gems such as the Bendaña Palace, home of the Fournier Card Museum (erected in 1525 by Juan López de Arrieta, on the site previously occupied by the defensive tower erected by the Maeztu). The Escoriaza-Esquivel Palace, from the 19th century, built by Claudio de Arziniega. That of Villa Suso, where Martín de Salinas, ambassador of Charles V (19th century), lived. And the greatest medieval treasure of Vitoria: the cathedral of Santa María (old cathedral).
The history of the old cathedral (as it is popularly known) is in itself a synthesis of the history of Vitoria. Built on the cemetery of the primitive Basque village of Gasteiz (which today can be visited thanks to excavations), the church of Santa María collapsed with the fire of 1202, and Alfonso VIII of Castile (who had conquered the square just two years before), ordered the city to be rebuilt and a new one to be built on the site of the previous church that was to serve two very different purposes: to save souls and to store weapons. Thus, the cathedral of Santa María (old cathedral), still a church, was born as a temple-fortress that served as the entrance to the city. The project changed over the centuries, in such a way that each modification was made without taking into account the previous ones, this was true in the century (when the church became a collegiate church), and finally in the sixties, when it was decided to reverse the works to strengthen the exterior walls and expand the windows for purely aesthetic reasons. Which ended up forcing the temple to close for fear that it would collapse during masses. Today the cathedral is open again, and offers visitors a unique experience: a walk through time in layers. From the vestiges of the original village, the root of today's Vitoria, to the Gothic redesign of the mid-century, passing through foundations more than a millennium old, and Romanesque and Gothic plans, all perfectly discernible by the color of the materials used in each stage. A unique opportunity in the world to travel through the shortcuts of history, in a temple that, due to its peculiar characteristics, and multiple functions throughout its life, has become the main attraction of Vitoria. Ken Follett, author of The Pillars of the Earth, said after his stay in the city that St. Mary's was one of the three most interesting cathedrals in the world.
From the Middle Ages until , the population of Vitoria and the layout of its streets remained almost unchanged. And it was not until the end of the century, when growth made it necessary to expand the city outside the walls. To solve the problem of the difference in height between the original nucleus on the hill, and the Llanada below, the Arquillos and the Plaza de España "Plaza de España (Vitoria)") were erected, designed by Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel, which soften the transition towards the much-needed romantic expansion "Ensanche (Vitoria)"). (Vitoria)"), the Florida Park, and the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, with its facades dotted with viewpoints.
Subsequently and until today, the new neighborhoods of Vitoria are built following various urban plans that privilege parks, recreation areas and quality of life. Combining the maintenance of the city's identity with the need to accommodate the growing population. Taking as a reference the neighborhood of San Martín "San Martín (Vitoria)"), the first new neighborhood planned in this way, the city has increased its extension at a dizzying speed, growth concentrated in recent years in the neighborhoods of Lakua, Salburua and Zabalgana. The city of Vitoria has received several international awards for its urban development. Special mention deserves the so-called Green Ring, a network of parks and green spaces that surrounds the city, destined to be the lung of the future Vitoria, and link the city with the rural space.
Vitoria was successively Gothic and Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Romantic. Planning has been a constant in its historical development, from its first medieval expansion at the beginning of the century to its modern neighborhoods and peripheral parks. Its old town maintains its Gothic layout and its narrow, elliptical streets, with steep corners and old, recovered palaces. The names of its streets preserve those of the guild activities of that time: Cutlery, Shoe Shop, Blacksmith's, Painter's... The French author Victor Hugo himself would define Vitoria in one of his works as a "complete and homogeneous Gothic town", and even compared it with Nuremberg.
The Renaissance also left its mark on the hill, in the form of elegant palaces built by noble families.
Outside the medieval town there are other emblematic spaces such as the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, the Plaza de España "Plaza de España (Vitoria)") and Los Arquillos, from Neoclassicism: both were designed by the local architect Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel to bridge the strong gap that separated the old city from the expansion of the century, that is, the expansion "Ensanche (Vitoria)").
Vitoria is today a road communications hub. The city has a privileged strategic position within the so-called Atlantic axis. Due to its status as the capital of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, it houses the headquarters of different institutional bodies of the autonomous community: presidency of the Government of the autonomous community in Ajuria Enea, Basque Government in Lakua and the Basque Parliament on Becerro de Bengoa street. Being the capital has given the city notable dynamism. Today it has the largest shopping center in the entire Basque Country, called "El Boulevard "El Boulevard (shopping center)").
According to the City Council, this is an energy rehabilitation plan for homes in the Coronación neighborhood.[63] It wants to achieve a reduction in the energy demand of homes and, with it, CO emissions. This plan is within the European SmartEnCity project in which Vitoria participates.
It is a plan[64] based on three principles based on the 3Rs, which consist of the regeneration of public spaces, reuse and rehabilitation of buildings, and commercial and hospitality reactivation.
Administration and politics
Municipal government
Maider Etxebarria was elected mayor in the plenary session of the city council's constitution on June 17, 2023 with the votes of PSE-PSOE, PNV and PP, achieving a total of 18 supports and, therefore, four votes above the absolute majority.[65].
Basque government
The seat of the Basque government is located in the Lakua district.
Basque Parliament
The Basque Parliament (in Basque, Eusko Legebiltzarra) is the chamber that exercises legislative power, elects the president of the Basque Government, approves the budgets of the autonomous community of the Basque Country and promotes and controls the action of the Basque Government. He also represents the Basque citizens. Its headquarters are located in Vitoria.
Provincial Council of Álava
The Provincial Council of Álava (in Basque: Arabako Foru Aldundia) is the governing body of the historical territory and province of Álava (Basque Country, Spain).
General Meetings of Álava
The General Meetings of Álava (in Basque and co-officially Arabako Batzar Nagusiak) are the parliament and legislative body of the province and historical territory of Álava.
Its headquarters are located in the Leuven neighborhood "Lovaina (Vitoria)") of the city of Vitoria on Vicente Goicoechea Street, 2. It is a building that dates back to 1868. However, the plenary sessions are held in the plenary hall of the Álava Provincial Council building, located in the same neighborhood and a very short distance away. This building dates back to 1833.
Capital of the Basque Country
According to Law 1/1980, of May 23, on the "Headquarters of the Institutions of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country" included in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country,[67] Vitoria is the headquarters of the Basque Parliament and the Basque Government. For this reason, it is considered the capital of the autonomous community pending more explicit legal recognition.
Territorial organization
Within the municipality of Vitoria, first of all, we must distinguish what the city of Vitoria itself is "Vitoria (locality)") and the numerous rural centers that were added to the town or the municipality at different historical moments and that continue to retain a certain administrative autonomy under the name of councils "Council (Álava)"). The councils have their boundaries within the municipality of Vitoria.
For administrative and statistical purposes, the rural councils of Vitoria are grouped into three zones: Eastern Rural Zone, Northwest Rural Zone and Southwest Rural Zone. The councils grouped in these areas, almost 60 in total, are still perfectly distinguishable from the urban center of Vitoria.
Some of the councils have been completely absorbed into the urban fabric of the city due to its growth and are not currently included in those three statistical zones. They are now considered neighborhoods of the city, although they continue to retain their legal status as councils. This is the case of Abetxuko, Ali, Armentia "Armentia (Álava)") or Arriaga, which are already part of urban neighborhoods of Vitoria.
Other councils, still considered part of the rural area of Vitoria, are in the process of being absorbed by the city, swallowed up by the industrial estates on the outskirts of Vitoria or by the most recently built neighborhoods, still in the process of consolidation. These are the cases of Betoño, almost completely surrounded by an industrial estate that connects it with the rest of the city, of Arechavaleta "Arechavaleta (Álava)") in the southern area and, in the eastern area, of Arcaute and Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"), which have been linked to the city with the recent urban development of the Salburua district.
There are two towns that are not councils and whose administration falls directly on the Vitoria City Council:
The unpopulated areas of: are part of the municipality.
In Vitoria there are several districts, which in turn are divided into neighborhoods, while the rest of the neighborhoods are not included in any specific district. They have been classified based on the relative position they occupy with respect to their position with the historic center "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") of the city[70] of Vitoria:.
• - The northern area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Abechuco "Abechuco (neighborhood)"), Zaramaga, El Pilar "El Pilar (Vitoria)"), as well as the district of Lakua, divided into the neighborhoods of Lakua (Central), Arriaga-Lakua, Lakuabizkarra and Ibaiondo.
• - The downtown area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Casco Viejo "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)"), Ensanche "Ensanche (Vitoria)"), Louvaina "Lovaina (Vitoria)") and Coronación "Coronación (Vitoria)").
• - The central-western area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Txagorritxu, San Martín "San Martín (Vitoria)") and Gazalbide.
Projects for the future
• - Undergrounding of the railway, definitively discarded, as well as the intermodal station. In addition, the city has a new bus station with twenty-five bus bays, which initially garnered rejection from the neighborhood with more than 10,000 signatures collected in this regard. Finally, the station was located in the hole left by the failed BAIC Center project in the Plaza de Euskaltzaindia. The AVE delays its arrival beyond 2020.
• - Inner Green Ring: it would consist of transforming two main arteries of the city, Gasteiz Avenue and Herrán Street), into two new green boulevards and uniting them through a large "Inner Green Ring", a strategic project of transformation and sustainable urban regeneration, which is linked to the hallmark of the city: the Environment. It begins by carrying out an urban regeneration process on Gasteiz Avenue and Herrán Street, so that these two axes strategic areas of the city become two new spaces of opportunity. The third phase of this interior Green Ring, which would sew together both axes, already transformed, also in the North and South, would arrive, later, with the transformation of the space freed by the underground, in the South zone, as well as with the section of Honduras, Juan de Garay and Latin America, in the North zone. The first phase of the interior green ring on Gasteiz Avenue could be ready in. 2013.[71].
• - Betoño urban business park:[72] would mean the direct creation of 1,000 new jobs, promoting a new area of economic activity, betting on a new employment project that would transform Betoño into a new area of innovation and opportunity. The bet would consist of recovering a purely industrial space to give it new uses. On the one hand, create new productive spaces for companies. On the other hand, new types of housing, and, finally, green areas and other uses. The main core of the new Betoño urban business park would be two Cooperative Research Centers (CIC), a CIC for Environmental Science and a CIC for Medical Research. There would also be a Business Center dedicated to Research and Development, a Business Incubation Center, Free Software Development Centers and a space to support the self-employment of young entrepreneurs from the world of Vocational Training.
• - Tram in Salburua and Zabalgana: we want to accelerate the expansion phases of the light metro to Salburua and Zabalgana and be able to briefly begin studies in these two neighborhoods. Thus, two new routes have been proposed that do not have to wait for the railway to be buried and that would serve a total of 60,000 people, 30,000 potential users in each of the two neighborhoods.
• - ArabaTran: There is a commuter rail project for the metropolitan area of the Basque capital starting in Miranda de Ebro and ending in Alsasua that is known as ArabaTran.[73][74][75].
Economy
Industry
Vitoria's economy underwent a profound transformation with the industrialization that it underwent in the 1950s. A small city with administrative and service functions, it became, in less than ten years, a prosperous industrial center, going from having just over 52,000 inhabitants in 1950 to more than 190,000 inhabitants in 1980. All this growth was mainly due to immigration. Today, Vitoria has multinational companies on its territory such as Mercedes Benz (which produces the Mercedes-Benz Vito van, Vitoria being the city from which it owes its name, and the Mercedes-Benz V-Class, a luxury minivan based on the second generation of the previous model.), Michelin, Aernnova, as well as local companies that provide supplies to them.
The areas with the greatest industrial activity in the city have traditionally been the industrial estates born during industrialization in the then periphery of the city: Betoño, Uritiasolo or Ali-Gobeo, but currently, the aforementioned areas have been fully integrated into the urban area of Vitoria, limiting their possibilities for expansion. For this reason, in recent years new industrial spaces have been built further away from the urban area (Júndiz and Álava technology park) and directly connected to the main communication routes such as the A-1 and A-622 highways, the AP-1 highway, the Madrid-Irún railway line or the Vitoria airport. These are the spaces in which some of the most technological and innovative companies are based.
On the other hand, the appointment of Vitoria as capital of the Basque Country in 1980 led to the increase of the tertiary sector until it became the majority sector in the city today, focused on commerce and administrative activities. All of this has contributed to Álava being the province of the state with the highest GDP per capita, in 2005 being the average for the autonomous community of and for the state as a whole in the same year.
Logistics and industrial centers
Álava is located in a geographical area whose terrain characteristics make it especially conducive to the creation and development of logistics centers. Many companies already operate in these centers and some more will soon do so. A strategic plan has been presented[76] whose main objective is to invest in the improvement and industrial development in these areas.
The Provincial Council wants to intensify the positioning of Álava as a logistics node and an "attractive" territory for investment and includes actions with the aim of "reinforcing its positioning globally as a key logistics node" and making the area an "attractive" Territory for investments by companies.
The main logistics centers are: Júndiz, Gamarra, Gojain and Arasur.
The Júndiz industrial park is located near the urban center of Vitoria and is located in a strategic communications point, both with the neighboring provinces and with the rest of the State and Europe, with direct access to the A-1, Madrid-Irún.
It has inside the Vitoria Intermodal Transport and Logistics Center (CTVi),[77] a logistics area of a railway freight station,[78] ITV and a link only by highway to the Vitoria international airport.
There are many companies in Júndiz that develop different types of economic activity[79] (transport, automotive, packaging...).
It is one of the assets owned by BSH Spain located in the best area of P. I. Betoño-Gamarra,[80] industrial estate located north of the city of Vitoria with more than 100,000 constructed area. The marketed asset is located in Plaza Gamarra, 1, and with a total area of , consisting of 3 industrial and office pavilions.
The Gamarra industrial estate also houses the production center of the Sidenor steel company.[81].
The Gojain industrial estate[82] is located near Vitoria, flanked by the Urrúnaga and Ullíbarri reservoirs, an ideal place for bathing and practicing water sports. It has an excellent road network, the N-240 Vitoria-Bilbao, whose route extends adjacent to the industrial estate. The Gojain industrial estate is characterized by meta-mechanical activity and the settlement of more than one hundred companies, including important national and foreign firms. It has a complete set of services and infrastructure.
The Arasur industrial[83] and logistics park is characterized by its wide range of industrial spaces and state-of-the-art logistics warehouses, integrated into a well-kept environment, with a wide range of services aimed at different groups. Arasur is a company owned by Kutxabank, Provincial Council of Álava, Basque Government, Ribera Baja City Council and Merlin Parques Logísticos.
Located in Álava, next to Miranda de Ebro, Arasur enjoys a strategic location in the heart of one of the main industrial areas of the Iberian Peninsula with a population of more than 4.5 million inhabitants within a radius of 100 kilometers.
Due to its location, Arasur is consolidated as the best reference industrial and logistics park in northern Spain for the distribution of cargo in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, as well as in an important support area for the logistics activities of the international airport of Vitoria and the ports of Bilbao, Pasajes and Santander "Santander (Spain)").
The Arasur Multimodal Logistics Platform is configured as a Terminal of the Sea Port of Bilbao, connected by rail and road shuttles, located within the axis formed by the Atlantic Freight Rail Corridor.
Arasur is located in the central axis of one of the major land connection nodes for traffic between Portugal, the Mediterranean, the northwest and center of Spain with Europe.
The accesses[84] to the AP-1, AP-68 and A-1, which connect it with the main Spanish and European capitals through the E-70 and E-80, position Arasur as one of the most competitive logistics parks both nationally and internationally.
Furthermore, its railway connections with the Madrid-Irún-Paris, Lisbon-Irún-Paris, Bilbao-Barcelona and Madrid-Bilbao lines allow Arasur to offer the ports of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast an ideal space for the consolidation of cargo and its subsequent distribution in the national, European and Maghreb markets.
Main commercial areas
The medieval town offers a wide range of traditional commerce with numerous establishments dedicated to crafts, decoration, small clothing stores, traditional hospitality... while Ensanche tends to host important multinational fashion and accessories brands, headquarters of the main banks, elegant cafes, famous sweet shops, restaurants, exclusive jewelry stores, department stores... especially in the streets of Eduardo Dato "Calle de Eduardo Dato (Vitoria)"), General Álava, San Prudencio, from Postas "Calle de Postas (Vitoria)") and from Independencia "Calle de la Independencia (Vitoria)").
To a lesser extent, areas such as Leuven "Lovaina (Vitoria)") or Desamparados "Desamparados (Vitoria)") also have an important commercial offer without forgetting the shopping centers and large stores that have been popping up for a few years on the outskirts of the city: the Gorbeia commercial park in the municipality of Cigoitia just 5 km from the capital or the El Boulevard Shopping Center "El Boulevard (shopping center)") in the Zaramaga neighborhood.
Tourism
Vitoria received more than 302,000 of the 427,000[85] people who visited Álava in 2017. Thus, there was an increase of 6.2% compared to the previous year in Vitoria, while it increased by 6.3% in the entire historic territory.
The Palace of Europe[86] is a building that houses several spaces that host all types of congresses, meetings and conferences. The rooms available are: two auditoriums, eleven conference rooms, seven multipurpose spaces and two support rooms.
The building is characterized by being spacious, modern and versatile that, thanks to the renovation carried out, has become an architectural reference. In this way, energy consumption has been reduced by 60% and the impact on the environment has been minimized, generating less waste and reducing CO emissions.
The renovation and expansion project of the building is based on the Passivhaus criteria, which is based on the following: achieving great thermal insulation, reducing energy consumption and using solar energy to achieve optimal air conditioning.
The façade of the Palace is covered by a wide variety of plants typical of Álava and the Basque Country. In addition, the large windows of the building are covered with vines that protect it from the heat and allow light to enter. Thanks to this plant coating, both thermal and acoustic insulation have been improved. It also helps to improve air quality and reduce pollution.
Services
Education
The Álava Campus is one of the main campuses of the University of the Basque Country (UPV). This campus is located in the south-central area of Vitoria, and there is a residence, a library, classrooms and sports pavilion. It has its own tram stop and is crossed by urban bus lines 2, 3, 8 and 9. In addition, it is located a few meters from the Renfe station, a stop for numerous regional, national and international lines.
Here they are:[87].
In Vitoria there is a public center attached to the University of the Basque Country:.
• - University School of Nursing (off campus, next to the Txagorritxu Hospital).
The University of Deusto has its headquarters in Egibide-Arriaga, where Dual Degree studies in Digital Industry are offered.
Vitoria has a center associated with the U.N.E.D located on Pedro de Asúa Street") in the San Martín neighborhood.[88].
It is a center for higher ecclesiastical studies, a Spanish university institution with dual headquarters in the archdiocese of Burgos and its suffragan diocese of Vitoria. It was created by the Holy See, through the Congregation of Seminaries and University Studies, on February 6, 1967. In the city of Burgos, the specialties of Spiritual Dogmatics are taught, while in the city of Vitoria Systematic, Pastoral and Theology of religious life.[89].
Private university promoted by Baskonia-Alavés Group with the collaboration of ENTI (Escola de Noves Tecnologies Interactives) and EUSES (Escola Universitària de la Salut i l'Esport),[90] its campus is located in the former headquarters of Caja Vital in Salburua. It began its academic activity in September 2022,[91] after being recognized by law by the Basque Parliament in 2021.[92] It offers degrees in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Physiotherapy, Multimedia, and Music and Sound Production for the Entertainment Industry.
Health
Osakidetza is the Basque public health service whose central organization is located at number 45 Calle de Álava") in Vitoria.
There are three public hospitals in the city (two recently united general hospitals and one psychiatric hospital):[93].
• - Álava University Hospital:[94] Born after the union of two of the most important hospitals in the city, the Txagorritxu Hospital and the Santiago Apóstol Hospital. It has more than 800 beds.[95].
• - Álava Psychiatric Hospital: Located on Álava Street, it has approximately 225 beds.
The city also has the following public health centers:[96].
Vitoria has several hospitals and private clinics:
• - Vithas San José Hospital: Hospital located on Beato Tomás de Zumárraga Street, it has more than 120 beds.
• - Quirón Hospital: Clinic located on Esperanza Street. Previously known as Clínica La Esperanza; It has 20 beds.
• - San Onofre Clinic (Old Álava Clinic): Clinic located on Álava street.
• - Other small private consultations.
Civic centers
Civic centers[97] are municipal facilities located in the different neighborhoods of the city where various services, programs and activities of a cultural, sports, training, and community-based nature are provided in the broadest sense of the term. In these spaces, information and social care are also provided to citizens from the parameters of integration and participation.
Its mission is to provide citizens with open places for meeting, information, training, guidance and leisure where they contribute to the creation of healthy leisure habits and improve the quality of life. To fulfill this task, the different services, programs and activities are offered in a multidisciplinary way, being aimed at the active participation of associations, groups or independent users.
The main objectives[97] of the network are four:
Integrate into a single organizational unit all the services, programs and activities of an informative, training, cultural, social, sports and leisure nature developed by the departments involved in the Social Policy of the City Council to promote them and adapt them to the demands and needs of citizens.
Decentralize the various municipal services, making them closer to the citizen, and thus achieve better knowledge and a greater appreciation of the needs, aspirations and possibilities[98] of the community, thus making it possible to carry out faster actions to address them.
Achieve an optimal level of quality in the provision of services, programs and activities, in accordance with the expectations of users, seeking their satisfaction, through the rationalization and coordination of all existing resources.
Promote participatory processes between associations, groups and users that make it possible to collect demands and welcome their initiatives, thus promoting the integration of people and groups in the social, cultural and sports processes of the city.
In the first legislature of democracy 1979-83, municipal neighborhood offices were created, which can be considered one of the bases for the creation of the civic center project, although its foundation was above all welfare and administrative, being directed by a social worker.
In the following legislature 1983-87, with the joint work of several departments (Youth, Culture and Social Welfare) and the support of the entire Corporation, the project for what we know today as civic centers was drafted. They were born with a much broader concept and with the objective of becoming the axis of social dynamization of their area, placing a sociocultural animator at their head. Its construction is carried out taking advantage of empty buildings and premises integrated into the neighborhoods themselves, without sports resources, since the existing ones were used.
Transportation and communications
The expansion of the city with macro-districts both in the north (Lakua), in the east (Salburua and Santo Tomás) and in the west (Zabalgana and Mariturri "Mariturri (Vitoria)") have made Vitoria a city that is beginning to face very important challenges in terms of the management of its internal mobility. One of the cornerstones of this management is being carried out by TUVISA (Transportes Urbanos de Vitoria Sociedad Anónima) which in the last three and a half years expanded the network of urban bus lines from thirteen to eighteen, as well as their frequencies, until finally a total change has been made on all lines, modifying layout and frequency. Today it has nine daytime lines, three special lines and six night lines.[104] Added to this transportation is the tram through Euskotren Tranbia with two more lines.
In September 2020, work began on the expansion of the city's tram network; the Abetxuko line will be extended from the Florida stop to the Salburua neighborhood in the capital of Alava (inaugurated in April 2023). In addition, an extension to the Zabalgana neighborhood that will start from Angoulême has been approved, an extension that will have two branches, one ending in Mariturri and the other on United Nations Street, a project that will begin to be carried out after the undergrounding of the railway, the remodeling of the Vitoria station and the start-up of the Y Vasca have been carried out.
In Vitoria there are ten daytime lines, two special and four extensions.[104].
The lines of the urban night bus service (gautxori) are the following:
• - Line G1 "Line G1 (TUVISA)") – Lakua Abetxuko.
• - Line G2 "Line G2 (TUVISA)") – Adurtza Errekaleor.
• - Line G3 "Line G3 (TUVISA)") – Armentia Zabalgana.
• - Line G4 "Line G4 (TUVISA)") – Sansomendi Lakua.
• - Line G6 "Line G6 (TUVISA)") – Salburua Aranbizkarra.
These lines operate all night on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of holidays.
There are also special lines:
• - El Salvador Cemetery Line.
• - Buesa Arena Line. The outbound bus departures are made from the stops on Calle de la Paz, Avenida de Gasteiz and Portal de Legutiano, 38. The return itinerary stops are Portal de Villarreal (Iparralde), Paz (Dendaraba), Cadena y Eleta (cathedral) and Avenida Gasteiz (in front of Europa).
• - Special service to Alavés matches. The days of the Alavés match at the Medizorrotza Stadium. The departure is from the boulevard and corresponds to the stops of the peripheral line 2A "Line 2A (TUVISA)") and 2B "Line 2B (TUVISA)").
Other lines:
• - Airport. Urban transportation between Foronda and the city is offered by the La Unión Burundesa bus company. The stops are Monseñor Cadena and Eleta Street (new cathedral), and Euskal Herria Boulevard Street next to the entrance to the bus station.
Monuments and places of interest
religious buildings
Gothic building of the century with a tower of the . Under the portico there are three doorways decorated with statues and reliefs. Inside, the chapels contain Gothic, Flemish and Italian Renaissance images. In the chapels on the left you can see paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck. The cathedral is undergoing restoration and has been studied by experts from all over the world for its architectural curiosities, including the deformations it has suffered due to previous reforms and restorations. The restoration works that are currently being carried out under the name "Open for works" can be visited and are having great success.[114].
In addition, numerous congresses, seminars and conferences have been held with literary personalities such as Paulo Coelho, Ken Follett,[115] Arturo Pérez-Reverte or José Saramago. For the work carried out, the Cathedral of Santa María received the Basque Tourism Award 2000, awarded by the Basque Government, as well as the Europa Nostra Award 2002, the highest distinction that the European Union grants to heritage restoration and conservation work. Since 2015, the cathedral has been recognized as a World Heritage Site within the denomination Caminos de Santiago: French Way and paths of Northern Spain.[116].
Cathedral temple built and consecrated in the 19th century, in a neo-Gothic style. Its main value lies in the sculptural richness, in many cases corresponding to the modernist style, which ornaments the panels of the naves and the apse on the outside, as well as the chapels of the ambulatory, the backchoir and the crypt on the inside.
The building, of imposing proportions, consists of five longitudinal naves, the main one and four lateral ones, a three-nave transept, a two-nave ambulatory with seven apsidal chapels, a portico, crypt and sacristy. With its 118 m from apse to portico, its 48 m wide between the two transepts of the transept and its 35 m high in the transept, it is one of the largest cathedrals in Spain. Since 1999, the cathedral ambulatory has served as a space for the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Álava, which collects a rich sample of the religious artistic heritage of the province, divided into sections of stone carving, wood carving, painting on panel, painting on canvas, metalwork and liturgical furniture.
Gothic temple of the century. The Old Portico stands out, with a set of reliefs with scenes from the lives of Saint Peter and the Virgin Mary, under which images of the Virgin and the apostles run. Inside, at the head, there are several valuable tombs. Attached to the western wall, most of the factory dates back to the 19th century. The tower is baroque, with a cube from the century and a spire from the , the work of Valerio de Ascorbe, very similar to that of the tower of the nearby church of San Miguel Arcángel. Between 1892 and 1896 it underwent a restoration from which the neo-Gothic portico on the south side is preserved, the work of the Vitorian architect Fausto Íñiguez de Betolaza.
The stained glass windows, manufactured in Bordeaux, by the Dagrant house, were placed between 1861 and 1901. The temple is located next to the Cantón de la Soledad, a steep street that has modern mechanical ramps that facilitate access to the highest part of the Medieval Town "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)").
Gothic-Renaissance temple from the 1st centuries whose porch houses the image of the White Virgin, patron saint of the city. Main altarpiece by Gregorio Fernández. It was built at the end of the century on the southern slope of the hill of primitive Vitoria, outside its walls and the San Bartolomé gate. It surely occupies the same place as the sworn church also dedicated to San Miguel, which cites and places at the gates of the town the document of the founding jurisdiction granted by the Navarrese king Sancho VI the Wise in 1181. The church overlooks Mateo Benigno de Moraza street and dominates the Plazas de la Virgen Blanca and General Loma, vital centers of the city, and its mostly Gothic construction contrasts with the set of neoclassical buildings that run along its sides. feet. Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), it has been a national historical-artistic monument since 1995.
Late Gothic temple of the centuries and . The temple was built on one of the fortresses of Vitoria from the time of King Sancho VI of Navarra, given for this purpose to the City Council by the Catholic Monarchs in the year 1484. Since the century there would have been a small temple on the site that was demolished to make way for the new church. Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), it has been a national historical-artistic monument since 1984.
Neoclassical temple built between 1897 and 1900 as part of the Convent of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers.
From the Florida Park, a long succession of walks lead to Armentia, where you can see one of the jewels of the Basque Romanesque: the Basilica of San Prudencio (patron saint of Álava). The temple was built in the last decades of the 19th century, surely coinciding with the founding of the city of Vitoria in 1181, although it is believed that the remains of an older religious building from the 19th century were preserved on that same site. So, a century had passed since the old Bishopric of Armentia, which arose at the end of the 19th century, a few decades after the founding of the nearby Bishopric of Valpuesta, in the western lands of Álava and Burgos, had become extinct. In early medieval times, the town of Armentia was an important population center as it was the crossroads of the Camino de Santiago and the ancient Roman road Astorga-Bordeaux, which had a landmark here called Suisaco, mentioned in Antonino's itinerary, between Veleia (Iruña) and Tulonio. All of this, together with the recognition of Armentia as the birthplace of Prudencio, a saint from the Visigothic era (around the 1st century) who was highly venerated, in addition to Álava, in the lands of Rioja, Soria and Zaragoza, where he spent his life as a hermit, evangelizer, conciliator and bishop, turned Armentia into the most important spiritual center of Álava.
Located northwest of the city, in the old town of Abetxuko belonging to the neighborhood of the same name, just four kilometers from the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. Romanesque temple from the 17th century, successively restored in the and . Belfry in the west and side chapels with arches and vaults from the and centuries. On the south façade, made of masonry, its beautiful Romanesque doorway opens, which is composed of three semicircular archivolts on columns, decorated with plant motifs and balls. Inside the church, the medieval structure is maintained, with a single nave with two sections and a straight head, which houses an image of Christ Crucified, of great artistic value, from the 19th century. It also preserves the medieval foot of the baptismal font, which today supports the altar; column with base of claws and masks.
Dating back to before the 19th century, it has a rectangular nave with Romanesque walls, prior to the arches, vaults and exterior buttresses, which respond to later reforms. The headline image is from the end of the century. The most notable thing about San Martín de Abendaño are the mural paintings of the old head, today at the foot of the temple. They deployed a great iconographic plan for educational purposes, which today is difficult to reconstitute; Those identifiable by their best state of conservation represent scenes of the Crucifixion and Annunciation. The exterior walls also preserve remains of paintings that attest to the practice of exterior decoration of medieval temples.
Located in the municipality of Argandoña, 8 km from Vitoria, it dates back to the 19th century and is a true jewel of Romanesque art. Our Lady of Estíbaliz is the patron saint of Álava. In the church there is a Virgin seated with the Child that has been preserved since the century and is venerated as the patron saint of the province of Álava. Of particular interest is the south doorway, called Porta Speciosa. Already in 1074 the monastery was mentioned in writing. Since 1138 it was under the Benedictine monastery of Santa María la Real de Nájera. The current church was in the century. In 1542, Don Atanasio de Ayala, his descendant and heir, donated the Estíbaliz monastery to the Santiago hospital in the city of Vitoria, which transferred it to the province of Álava under the condition of proceeding with the restoration of such a precious basilica. After the dissolution of the monastery in the century it was used as a parish church. From the middle of the century the plant was owned by the Hospital de Santiago, Vitoria until the beginning of the century, the province of Álava took over. Then the church began to be restored and in 1923 it was transferred back to the Benedictines.
Convent of Poor Clare nuns of the century. The building, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, was founded in 1608 at the initiative of Doña Mariana Vélez Ladrón de Guevara, countess of Tripiana and widow of Don Carlos de Álava, who four years earlier left the money, 1,150 ducats, for the works in his will. For this purpose, the Trasmeran stonemasons Juan Vélez de la Huerta and his son, Pedro, were hired, who completed the building in 1622. Located outside the city walls, the Convent was initially inhabited by Franciscan Recollect monks. In 1855 the City Council gave it to the Poor Clare sisters. Of the original factory, only the church remains; The convent building itself is a modern building.[117].
Convent of Dominican nuns of the century. Starting in 1530, the Convent of Santa Cruz was built on Pintorería Street with the sponsorship of Hortuño (or Fortunio) Ibáñez de Aguirre, member of the Royal Council and the Inquisition, and his wife María de Esquível y Arratia. The Aguirre lords converted part of the building into their private residence. In 1547 the works were completed under the tutelage of Mateo de Aguirre, nephew and heir of the lawyer. It is a construction made up of two nuclei: the church and the convent, itself. The convent, inhabited by the community of Dominican nuns, has a square floor plan and a large central cloister inside. On the outside it presents the appearance of a very closed solid wall that gives it a sober and austere appearance, but it has an element of great interest: the doorway, where we find a simple access, in a semicircular arch, with the coat of arms of the Dominican community on it.
civil architecture
Its last remains were discovered in 2001 in archaeological excavations carried out in the basement of the Cathedral of Santa María on the occasion of the works for its rehabilitation and completed the sections that were previously known. It is a work carried out in the century and that completely surrounded old Vitoria with its 900 m perimeter. The Vitoria City Council, in collaboration with the Basque Government and the Department of Architectural Archeology of the UPV, revealed in a first phase 236 m of fortress and two towers located at the back of Correría street "Calle de la Correría (Vitoria)") to which new sections have been added. The medieval wall of Vitoria won the Europa Nostra prize in 2010,[118] considered the Nobel Prize in heritage, thus, the award granted in this edition is added to the medal obtained by the capital of Álava in 1982 for the urban treatment of the Medieval Town and the Special Prize awarded to the restoration of the Cathedral of Santa María in 2002.
It is a Renaissance style building from the 19th century. The main façade is located on Calle de la Zapatería "Calle de la Zapatería (Vitoria)") with a double doorway of semicircular arches with a beautiful noble coat of arms. The rear façade is made of masonry with neo-Gothic elements, best known, it is located on Calle de la Herrería "Calle de la Herrería (Vitoria)"). The building is property of the King of Morocco.[119].
It is a very altered Renaissance palace, built by Juan Ruiz de Vergara and María Díez de Álava on the plots of ten houses that he received as a dowry from his parents with the aim of placing their shields.[120].
The House of the Landázuri and Romarete has been considered the customs house. Until 1841, it was where the control of the passage of goods from the interior of the peninsula to the rest of Europe was carried out. The historian Joaquín José de Landázuri y Romarate was born and lived there. The houses at the beginning of Correría Street were built in the first months of 1757 by Manuel Baltasar de Uriarte y Castillo, who placed his coat of arms between the first two portals of the street and on the first floor. The houses of Alforja are an example of the constructions of merchants in the 19th century. The lower floor was used for business and the upper floor as a home.[120].
This building belongs to the first expansion of the city and was part of the walled area that surrounded it.[120][121].
Free-standing building built between the and centuries, whose main and rear façades face the Santo Domingo square and a fenced garden, respectively. The Álava-Velasco palace is in the Baroque style, it was built by Francisco Carlos de Álava y Arista y Amézaga and his wife María Josefa de Ibarra y Echazarreta. The name is due to its last owners, the Velascos, heirs of the founder.[122][123].
The Corcuera house is one of the oldest in the city. Corner party house whose rear façade is attached to the tower of the church of San Miguel "Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel (Vitoria)"), while the main one faces Correría street "Calle de la Correría (Vitoria)"). It has a rectangular floor plan and consists of a ground floor and three floors. The first two bodies were built in stone and the upper ones in brick. Three shields stand out on its south façade with the arms of the Corcuera, united with the Mendoza and Urbina. Of them, a round shield is especially interesting, due to its style and simplicity, it could correspond to the last third of the century.[120][124].
Main parks and green spaces
Located in the expansion "Ensanche (Vitoria)"), it is considered a true botanical garden. With 35,000 m², it was designed in the century according to the romantic style prevailing at the time, with streams and groves. In it you can find strange and exotic botanical varieties from all parts of the planet with ninety-five species of trees and seventy-nine of shrubs. It houses the bandstand from the 1890s and statues of four Gothic kings.
It could be said that they are a continuation of the Florida park. They border the ambulatory part of the new cathedral and house a curious sculpture of a huge rhinoceros, the work of Vitorian sculptor Koko Rico.
It is popularly known as “Shell Park” due to the shape of the buildings that surround it or “Duck Park” due to the large number of ducks that live in its pond. It is one of the most beautiful urban parks built in the city and has 85,000 m² where eleven different species of conifers, sixty-six species of hardwoods and more than ten thousand rose bushes live. It is located in the neighborhood of the same name and has numerous areas for children's leisure, a skate park and a large pond with a colorful geyser.
Also known as "Molinuevo park", it is located north of the medieval town. In addition to a wide variety of hardwood and coniferous species, its blue spruce and lofty palms stand out.
Judimendi (which translated into Spanish would be "hill of the Jews") is located in the city's old Jewish cemetery that was handed over to the authorities in the century when the Catholic Monarchs ordered its expulsion. Inside the park you can see the monolith that remembers its history. This beautiful space stands out for its white poplars.
It is located in the Lakua-Arriaga district and is configured around a sworn hermitage. It stands out, above all, for its 190,000 m² populated with acacias, poplars, rose gardens and numerous aromatic plants. It also has a lake frequented by various species of birds.
It is a park widely used by Vitorians, especially by jogging lovers. The history of this park goes back more than a century when it was an ancient pasture for grazing domestic animals. It is home to twenty-one species of trees, all of them deciduous. The most notable specimens that can be seen are horse chestnuts, ash trees, lime trees and maples.
It is located in the northeast of the city and has a large number of birch, beech and oak trees.
It has connected Florida Park with the Romanesque Basilica of San Prudencio de Armentia for more than a century. More than two kilometers long, the pleasant walk it offers under its chestnut trees leads to other green spots of great interest such as the gardens of the Zulueta palace, El Prado or Las Campas de Armentia. Along the path, there are other points of interest such as the Ajuria-Enea palace, the Armory Museum or the Augusti palace-Museum of Fine Arts.
green ring
The Green Belt is a set of peri-urban parks of high ecological and landscape value strategically linked. It is the result of a project that began in the nineties to restore and recover the periphery of Vitoria, both from an environmental and social point of view.
It is made up of six parks: Armentia "Armentia (Álava)"), Olarizu, Salburua, Zabalgana, Zadorra and Errekaleor. All of them connected through urban paths in order to facilitate movement between the city and the nature that surrounds it.[137].
Bridges
Abetxuko Bridge: This is a bridge built over the Zadorra River in the northern part of the city. It was one of the initiatives of the Vitoria city council to improve the mobility of the citizens of Abetxuko who for years have been connected to the city center through a narrow bridge, six meters wide, which generated risky situations for pedestrians. The structure is made up of two longitudinal lattices. The design of the lattices goes beyond traditional shapes and introduces complex, organic-looking shapes whose dimensions adjust to resistant needs. The designers of the bridge have used Corten steel as a tribute to the Basque sculptors Eduardo Chillida and Jorge de Oteiza. The spaces of the traditional lattices become alveoli of varied shapes whose appearance and color vary with the light and invite very different perspectives, turning it into a living bridge.
Old Bridge of Castilla: It has been in disuse as a bridge since 1994, the year in which it was installed in the gardens of the Foronda portal) as a monument since it is a jewel of industrial archeology, built with structures that are no longer manufactured in the Eiffel style. It is the bridge of the Madrid-Irún railway line that crossed the Castilla portal of Vitoria since the end of the last century. The origins of this peculiar monument are born from the urban growth of the city that caused that in the mid-nineties, that point, a link between the city center and the Prado park and further afield with the Ariznavarra neighborhood, became a bottleneck for cars and an uncomfortable passage for pedestrians. It was replaced by the new Puente de Castilla.
New Bridge of Castilla: Also called Blue Bridge by the people of Vitoria, this bridge replaces the old nine-meter span bridge that prevented the normal development of the city. The new bridge has a span of sixty-four meters and crosses the lower road at a great angle of forty-nine degrees.
Theaters
It is the largest theater[138] in the city, which in 2018 celebrates 100 years of existence. It has almost a thousand seats and a very varied annual program in which both plays and concerts are presented, reaching up to one hundred and fifty shows. These are structured into four seasons that are winter-spring, summer, the International Theater Festival and Christmas.
It is the oldest theater located in civic centers and the one with the greatest demand for use. Thanks to its children's theater program, it has been contributing to the creation of new audiences for the performing arts for years.
The Jesús Ibáñez Theater in Matauco[139] is one of the spaces where different artistic initiatives are carried out and developed. Located in the Hegoalde civic center associated with the municipal network of theaters. Among the theater's programming, the Flamenco Siglo cycle and the JIM Aktual dedicated to contemporary creation stand out.
This is the theater that has the most modern stage infrastructure in the city as it has the latest generation equipment. It was named in honor of one of the most important stage programmers in Vitoria, Félix Petite, who was also the founder of the International Theater Festival.
Theater in which various groups, associations, music and dance schools in the city develop their programs and artistic creations. Many boys and girls attend the music education programs carried out there.
urban sculptures
• - Main urban sculptures of Vitoria.
• - La Mirada, 1992, by Agustín Ibarrola, Plaza General Loma (next to Plaza de la Virgen Blanca).
• - Equilibrio, 2000, by Benito Valladares, UPV University Campus.
• - Crocodile, 2005, by Koko Riko, gardens of Bishop Fernández de Piérola.
• - Rhinoceros, 2005, by Koko Riko, gardens of Bishop Fernández de Piérola.
• - Prometeo-Libertad, 1982, by Casto Solano, Abechuco.
• - Monument to Manuel Iradier, 1956, by Lorenzo Ascasibar, La Florida Park.
• - San Prudencio, 1940, by José Marín Bosque and José López Goicolea, San Prudencio Avenue.
• - El Caminante, 1985, by Juan José Eguizábal, Plaza del Arca.
• - El Minotauro (El Torero), 1992, by Casto Solano, Eduardo Dato street&action=edit&redlink=1 "Edudardo Dato street (Vitoria) (not yet written)").
• - Monument to Ken Follett, 2008, by Casto Solano, adjacent to the Cathedral of Santa María.
• - Tribute to Los Fueros, 1981, by Eduardo Chillida, plaza de los Fueros.
• - Monument to Ignacio Aldecoa, 1999, by Aurelio Rivas, La Florida park.
• - Statue of Celedón, 2005, by Ángel Benito Gaztañaga, balcony of the church of San Miguel.
• - Monument to Eduardo Dato, 1925, by Mariano Benlliure, La Florida Park.
• - Monument to the Battle of Vitoria, 1917, by Gabriel Borrás Abella, Plaza de la Virgen Blanca.
• - La Mirada, 2001, by Miquel Navarro, Calle de Francia in front of the ARTIUM.
• - The viewpoint looking, 1958, by Jorge Oteiza, in front of the ARTIUM.
• - Fray Francisco de Vitoria, 1945, by Moisés Huerta, Fray Francisco walk.
• - Wynton Marsalis, 2006, by Koko Riko, La Florida Park.
• - Gothic kings, century, La Florida park.
• - To the Victims of Terrorism, by Agustín Ibarrola, Portal de Foronda Avenue.
• - Bust of Lauaxeta, 2006, Septimiu Jungretan, Plaza del Convent del Carmen.
• - Innocence The Unexpected, 2002, by Imanol Marrodán, Portal de Foronda Avenue.
• - Monolith to the victims of March 3, in front of the San Francisco church.
• - Arrazoiaren Indarra (The Force of Reason), 2013, by Iñigo Arregui, in front of the church of San Francisco.
Culture
La ciudad ha recibido la influencia de diferentes culturas, que se han ido añadiendo al sustrato nativo vasco. En la segunda mitad del siglo arribaron a ella gran número de emigrantes procedentes del resto de España, a los que se han sumado en los últimos años personas inmigrantes de diferentes orígenes. Como consecuencia de ello, Vitoria es hoy día una ciudad bulliciosa y multicultural. Se encuentra entre las ciudades europeas más sostenibles y con mayor calidad de vida.[140][141] Es además la ciudad española con más zonas verdes, 42 m² por persona contando el Anillo Verde de la ciudad,[142] y la segunda si solo se cuentan las áreas verdes dentro de la ciudad con 23,4 m² por persona.[143].
La vieja catedral de Vitoria y las visitas guiadas al templo y los trabajos de restauración han supuesto un antes y un después para el casco histórico de la ciudad. Junto con el descubrimiento de varios tramos de LA muralla medieval han seguido el modelo de «abierto por obras» y han atraído gran número de visitantes. Esto ha reforzado los esfuerzos que la ciudad está realizando para promover la revitalización, restauración y conservación de su barrio medieval, llegando a mostrar interés por parte del ayuntamiento para iniciar los trámites para declararla Patrimonio de la Humanidad y consiguiéndolo en el año 2015 bajo la denominación Camino de Santiago: Camino Francés y Caminos del Norte de España.[144].
Anualmente se celebran varios festivales musicales de Jazz y de Rock. El Festival de Jazz de Vitoria —acaece entre el 15 y el 21 de julio—, en el que han tomado parte casi todas las grandes leyendas del género, desde Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, o Miles Davis, hasta Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin o Wynton Marsalis, quien ha compuesto un álbum de homenaje al festival. El Azkena Rock Festival (festival de indie rock) cumplió en el año 2011 su décima edición, convirtiéndose así en uno de los festivales más importantes del país gracias a su interés por traer reconocidas bandas de rock como Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Wilco, Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Blondie o Fun Lovin Criminals.
Otro evento cultural anual de la ciudad, enfocado en la difusión de ideas innovadoras, es el TEDxVitoriaGasteiz"),[145] que desde 2015[146] se viene celebrando por primavera; en el que han participado personajes como Erion Veliaj"), José Mota, Tania Lamarca, Hossein Derakhshan, Edurne Portela, Karmele Jaio o Virginia Pérez Alonso, entre otros.
La manifestación festiva más importante de la ciudad, sin embargo, son las Fiestas de La Blanca, que tienen lugar entre el 4 y el 9 de agosto; sin olvidar el Día del Blusa (celebrado cada 25 de julio desde 1926), con su tradicional mercado de ajos, la Romería de Olarizu (el primer lunes después de la Virgen de septiembre) ni la festividad de San Prudencio cada 28 de abril, cuando se celebra la Romería en las campas de Armentia en honor del Patrón de la provincia de Álava. No hay que olvidar el FesTVal de Vitoria, primer festival que se dedica exclusivamente a la televisión y a la radio en todos sus formatos: programas, concursos, magazines, series… que se celebra en la ciudad cada septiembre desde 2009 todo ello, con la participación de todas las cadenas generalistas (EITB, TVE, Antena 3, Cuatro "Cuatro (canal de televisión)"), Telecinco, La Sexta y Canal +) y con los diferentes artistas de interés.
Museums
The capital of Álava is dotted with first-rate museums.
ARTIUM offers a collection of contemporary art from the beginning of the century to the present. It is considered the second most important collection in Spain, after the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.[147] In the house-hotel of the Count of Dávila (from 1912), on the Paseo de Fray Francisco (famous for its sumptuous and sometimes eccentric palaces from the beginning of the century), is the Museum of Fine Arts of Vitoria: this center offers a brilliant selection of Basque customs, Romanesque and Gothic carvings, triptychs flamencos and paintings of the centuries and . Together with the Museum of Archeology, it is part of a museum network that is completed by the Armería (also on Paseo de Fray Francisco, next to Ajuria Enea), the Museum of Natural Sciences (in the imposing Doña Otxanda Tower, century ) and the Fournier Museum of Playing Cards (with the largest collection of playing cards in the world thanks to the contribution of the local company Naipes de Heraclio Fournier S.A., founded in 1868). On the other hand, numerous art galleries are distributed throughout the city, hosting exhibitions of all kinds.
Its permanent collection is considered one of the best and most important in contemporary art in the entire State.[148] It was inaugurated on April 26, 2002 and is an open and dynamic museum.[149] The Permanent Collection has works by the artists (in alphabetical order): Ana Laura Aláez, Txomin Badiola, Miquel Barceló, Joseph Beuys, Joan Brossa, Rafael Canogar, Juan Francisco Casas, Jacobo Castellano, Costus, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Eduardo Chillida, Salvador Dalí (Portrait of Mrs. Fagen), Óscar Domínguez, Equipo Crónica, Alberto García-Alix, Luis Gordillo, Eva Lootz, Manolo Millares, Joan Miró, Juan Muñoz, Jorge Oteiza, Pablo Palazuelo, Guillermo Pérez Villalta (The Bath), Pablo Picasso (Musketeer with a Pipe), Antonio Saura, Pablo Serrano, José María Sicilia, Antoni Tàpies, Darío Urzay, Juan Uslé and Darío Villalba, among many others. In total, the collection consists of around 3,000 pieces of painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, video and installations. The monumental La Mirada, a 45 m high iron sculpture by artist Miquel Navarro (2001), stands in front of the building in the square overlooking Calle de Francia.
Located in the ambulatory of the new cathedral, it offers samples of the religious artistic heritage of the province, divided into sections of stone carving, wood carving, painting on panel, painting on canvas, metalwork and liturgical furniture.
The museum is installed in the Torre de Doña Otxanda, an example of medieval architecture. It is also a center for research and dissemination of Natural Sciences.
The Archeology Museum is located in a modern building attached to the Fournier Card Museum. The set of two museums is called Bibat and creates one of the most interesting points of the medieval town, combining antiquity and modernity. While the archeology one is recently built, the playing cards one is based in the Renaissance palace of Bendaña. The manufacture of playing cards has been one of the most characteristic activities of Vitoria, promoted by Heraclio Fournier. The museum has more than 20,000 decks, some of them very old.[150].
Basque
Since 1981 the percentage of bilinguals has been increasing progressively. In 2011, 22.5% of the city's inhabitants (52,298 people) were bilingual, and another 26.1% (60,851 people) were passive bilingual. 51.4% had no knowledge of Basque.[151] The percentage of Basque speakers is higher in the younger age groups. Thus, the 10 to 14 age group is the most bilingual: only 6% have no knowledge of Basque.
Gastronomy
The proximity of the province of Álava to the Cantabrian Sea provides excellent fish and seafood to Vitorian tables, but the raw materials from the land are the most common ingredients in the area's dishes. From alavesa snails, which are consumed with a strong sauce, to seasonal mushrooms (especially the highly prized perrechicos, mushrooms that have come to be called the "elvers of the mountain"). The stews are an important part of the Vitorian recipes, the nearby orchards provide magnificent legumes and vegetables, especially red, pinto and white beans without forgetting the Vitorian-style broad beans and vegetable stews. In addition, meats also take center stage in the city's dishes: from steaks and barbecues to game dishes (stewed quail is one of the most traditional), including sausages such as blood sausage that is made in different towns in the province.
As throughout the Basque Country, pintxo is also typical in Vitoria, from the classic potato omelette skewer made with Alavesa potatoes, to new culinary designs that combine different ingredients from the garden, the land and the sea. Desserts have a deep roots in Vitoria, and the city is dotted with sweet shops and pastry shops (some of them centuries old) that make the area's typical sweets: chocolate truffles, goxua (Vitorian sweet made with sponge cake, cream and cream) creation of pastry chef Luis López de Sosoaga,[152] Basque cake, eclairs, vasquitos and nesquitas and rice pudding. As for wines, we must highlight the presence in the province of Álava of one of the most famous regions in terms of oenology, such as Rioja Alavesa, one of the three subregions into which the qualified designation of origin (DOCa) of Rioja "Rioja (wine)") is divided, and the production of Txakoli de Álava in the northern Cuadrilla de Ayala, also with Designation of Origin.
In 2014 Vitoria won the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy award, taking over from Burgos. The award was awarded by the Spanish Hospitality Federation and the Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers.[153].
The gastronomic highlight is the pintxo-pote, which makes rounds of the bars consuming a tapa with each drink for the price of one euro. There are currently more than twenty routes throughout the city.
The wine offered is usually from Rioja Alavesa and there are pintxos of all kinds: stained tortillas, grilled mushrooms, mini Roquefort burgers...
It is worth highlighting the quality pintxopote, where part of what the hoteliers collect is destined to the promotion of local musical groups. There is also the Barrel Route and the Beer Route.
European Green Capital 2012
The European Commission recognizes the commitment and efforts of European cities to address and tackle ecological problems and improve the quality of life of their citizens, reducing the impact and pressure they exert on the environment through The European Green Capital Award or European Green Capital Award.[12].
Cities that qualify for this title are examined on a complete list of environmental criteria. Any European city of more than two hundred thousand inhabitants that is a benchmark in this sense can apply for the award. On October 21, 2010, Vitoria was designated by the European Commission as European Green Capital 2012. This distinction aims to recognize those cities that: Have consistently demonstrated compliance with environmental standards, are committed to setting new ambitious objectives for environmental improvement and sustainable development, can act as a model, inspiring other cities and promoting best practices to all other European cities.
In this way, Vitoria has become a model of green action and now it is up to it to share its practices with other cities to contribute to the defense of the environment throughout Europe. This award represents the highest recognition for more than thirty years of environmentally friendly proposals and initiatives. It is the result of a high degree of leadership and consensus among political parties on sustainable development, the environmental movement and citizen support through the Green outside, green inside awareness campaign that awakened a strong feeling of civic pride and belonging, promoting green awareness.[154].
Vitoria began its fight against climate change in 2006 with the Vitoria Strategy for the Prevention of Climate Change 2006-2012 (not current), with the main objective of reducing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tons per year by 2012 and, in the long term, making Vitoria a city with a neutral carbon footprint. After signing the Covenant of Mayors of Europe in 2009, Vitoria committed to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 20% compared to those produced in the municipality in 2006 and to develop a Plan to Fight Climate Change. On July 23, 2010, the City Council approved at the Government Meeting the Plan to Fight Climate Change 2010-2020, which merges and updates the objectives and actions of the previous Vitoria Strategy for the Prevention of Climate Change 2006-2012 and the Local Energy Plan 2007-2012, adapting to the commitment of the Covenant of the Mayors of Europe, and establishing for Vitoria the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.[155].
The Sustainable Mobility and Public Space Plan of Vitoria aims to modify the mobility habits of citizens to promote more sustainable means of transport, increase the quality of urban space and improve the accessibility of all people to basic services. The Plan has been approached from a multidisciplinary point of view, with the participation of the majority of municipal departments. A relevant role has been given to citizens, who have participated in the definition of a new model of mobility and public space through a citizen forum created for this purpose. The results of this Plan are now beginning to be visible and, since it was launched, this Plan has silently changed the way in which citizens move around the city. The promotion of a new bus network, together with the tram lines and the new regulation of parking in the OTA area, have led to a 44% increase in monthly trips on public transport. To these actions we must add those carried out to increase the use of bicycles in the city.
Sport
Vitoria is known for Deportivo Alavés, which returned to the LFP first division in the 2023/2024 season after achieving promotion in the play off against Levante. In 2017, Deportivo Alavés reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time in its history, losing 3-1 against Barcelona. A final that hosted the last official match at the Vicente Calderón stadium and to which 25,000 Alaves fans traveled. It should be remembered that the team was runner-up in the UEFA Cup in 2001, after losing the final against Liverpool 5-4, which has been considered one of the best European finals of all time.
As for basketball, Vitoria stands out on the international stage thanks to Baskonia, a Euroleague finalist on several occasions (2001 and 2005), winner of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996. It is considered one of the best teams in Europe despite its small budget and resources compared to other teams. In total there are 4 leagues, 6 King's Cups, 4 Spanish Super Cups, 2 Euskal Kopa, and 1 Association Trophy. This team is characterized by its character, called Baskonia Character or Nortasuna Baskonia, in Spanish and Basque, respectively. In addition, Araski AES has been playing since the 2016/2017 season in the first division of the Spanish Women's Basketball League, after achieving promotion in the previous season. The Araberri basketball club, after losing its category in the LEB Oro league for the 2018-19 season after being bottom, ended its participation in categories of the Spanish Basketball Federation as it did not want to register in any national category. Regarding inline speed skating, the Desliza Vitoria Skating Club (former Marianistas Vitoria)[157] with Patxi Peula and Aura Cristina Quintana Herrera") stands out as the most notable members and the Elurra K.E. Skating Club.[158] Both clubs participating in the World Cup Marathons (World Inline Cup). In figure skating, the Illusion Inline Skating Club stands out with Idoia Ramírez de la Piscina") at the head.[159] The successes of other individual athletes such as Martín Fiz (marathon), Iker Romero (handball) or Almudena Cid, Lorena Guréndez, Tania Lamarca and Estíbaliz Martínez (rhythmic gymnastics), Patxi Peula (inline skating), who come from this city also stand out. Within the world of mountains, this city has also contributed great names such as Juanito Oiarzabal, fourth man to do the 14 eight-thousanders without oxygen, or the Pou brothers, one of the world's greatest exponents of rock climbing.
The largest in the city is occupied by Deportivo Alavés, which plays in the Mendizorroza municipal stadium, which has capacity for 19,840 spectators. Likewise, Vitoria has the Fernando Buesa Arena Pavilion, a multipurpose venue that has recently been expanded from having a capacity for 10,400 people before the start of construction, to having a capacity for 15,504 people.[160] at its reopening on February 5, 2012. The pavilion is used as the headquarters of the Saski Baskonia. This facility has hosted several events such as concerts, trials shows, four Basketball King's Cups (2000, 2002, 2008 and 2013), a Eurocup final (2010) and a Euroleague Final Four (2019). The number of subscribers to the city's sports network is around 80,000.
Media
Before there was Vitoria TV (VTV).
Twin cities
Vitoria is twinned with the following cities:[169][170].
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Vitoria.
• - Vitoria City Council.
References
[1] ↑ Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (ed.). «Vitoria». Datos de altitud para Vitoria en la página de previsión meteorológica de AEMET provenientes del Nomenclátor geográfico de municipios y entidades de población del Instituto Geográfico Nacional: [1].: http://www.aemet.es/es/eltiempo/prediccion/municipios/vitoria-gasteiz-id01059
[5] ↑ a b Celdrán Gomáriz, Pancracio (2004). «Vitoria o Vitoria-Gazteiz». Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 885. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. Wikidata Q19360096.
[6] ↑ Nieto Ballester, Emilio (1997). «Vitoria». Breve diccionario de topónimos españoles. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. p. 370. ISBN 978-84-206-9487-0. Wikidata Q124610703.
[10] ↑ «Ley 1/1980, de 23 de mayo, de Sede de las Instituciones de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco». Boletín Oficial del Estado (110): 34570. 8 de mayo de 2012.: http://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2012-6155
[11] ↑ «20 millones para Vitoria por ser "sede de las instituciones comunes"». El Correo. Vasco Press. 4 de junio de 2013. Consultado el 1 de diciembre de 2016. «El Gobierno vasco mantiene su alergia a considerar a Vitoria capital de Euskadi, aunque aprueba el canon demandado por la ciudad».: http://www.elcorreo.com/alava/20130604/local/millones-para-vitoria-sede-201306041304.html
[15] ↑ Porres Marijuán, María Rosario (1995). «4». En Ayuntamiento de Vitoria, ed. Documentación ayuntamiento. Vitoria: Ayuntamiento de Vitoria. p. 127-130.
[25] ↑ Llanos, Armando (2013). «Cerámica pre-protohistórica. El conjunto cerámico del Campillo Sur (Vitoria-Gasteiz)». En Agustín Azkarate y Jose Luis Solaun, ed. Arqueología e historia de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz I. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. pp. 183-187.
[26] ↑ Martínez Torrecilla, José Manuel (2013). «El corpus cerámico de la Catedral de Santa María». En Agustín Azkarate y José Luis Solaun, ed. Arqueología e historia de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz I. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. pp. 191-194.
[27] ↑ Gil Zubillaga, Eliseo (2000). «Plaza de Santa María, 1 (Vitoria-Gasteiz)». Arkeoikuska 99: 175-182.
[28] ↑ Besga Marroquín, A. (2001) Domuit vascones: el País Vasco durante la época de los reinos germánicos: la era de la independencia (siglos V–VIII). Librería Anticuaría Astarloa, 2001.
[29] ↑ Juan de Bíclaro, obispo de Gerona, su vida y su obra (1960). Edición crítica de Julio Campos. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid.
[30] ↑ Azkarate, Agustín; Solaun, José Luis (2009). «Nacimiento y transformación de un asentamiento altomedieval en un futuro centro de poder: Gasteiz desde fines del siglo VI d. C. a inicios del segundo milenio». En Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo, ed. The archaeology of early medieval villages in Europe. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. pp. 406-407.
[38] ↑ Agustín Azkarate y Jose Luis Solaun (2013): Arqueología e historia de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz (II), Bilbao, p. 435.
[39] ↑ .García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Conclusiones». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV: 486-487.
[40] ↑ García-Gómez, Ismael (2013). «Vitoria-Gasteiz antes de Vitoria-Gasteiz. Una aproximación a la construcción historiográfica de los orígenes de nuestra ciudad». En Azkarate, Agustín, ed. Arqueología de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz (Bilbao) II: 35-57.
[43] ↑ Ayuntamiento de Vitoria, Vitoria-Gasteiz 2000. Mirando al futuro, 1999.
[44] ↑ a b García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Conclusiones». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV: 462-465.
[45] ↑ Fernández de Larrea y Rojas, 2000, p. 433.
[46] ↑ García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Secuencia de ensamblaje del sistema urbano de Vitoria-Gasteiz». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV. Bilbao. p. 467.
[47] ↑ García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Secuencia de ensamblaje del sistema urbano de Vitoria». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV. Bilbao. p. 471.
[48] ↑ [2] Archivado el 1 de diciembre de 2020 en Wayback Machine. ARCHIVO GENERAL DE NAVARRA. (1349-1387).V. DOCUMENTACION REAL DE CARLOS II(1368-1369). Mª Teresa Ruiz San Pedro - Donostia : Eusko Ikaskuntza,D.L. 2003.: http://hedatuz.euskomedia.org/6677/1/docs121.pdf
[99] ↑ "Los centros cívicos como utopía integradora de la ciudad. El caso de Vitoria - Nuria Sampedro, Ainhoa Altuna, Sancho el sabio: Revista de cultura e investigación vasca, N.º 11, 1999.: http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=157621
[120] ↑ a b c d e f g h i Ayuntamiento de Vitoria, ed. (2011). Testigos de la Historia. Un recorrido por las casas señoriales, viviendas, torres y palacios del Casco Histórico. Vitoria: Ayuntamiento de Vitoria.
Many authors have been identifying Vitoria with Victoriacum, the city supposedly founded by Leovigild. For this there is no more proof than the brief passage from Juan de Biclaro, bishop of Gerona (centuries -). On this matter, it is worth mentioning the article by Odón de Apraiz "The foundation of Vitoria: Leovigildo or Sancho of Navarra?" (1967), in which this identification is destroyed.
Granted the jurisdiction of a town in 1181, Vitoria obtained the title of city on November 20, 1431, delivered in Medina del Campo by King Juan II, according to Iñaki Bazán in the Municipal Gazette:.
The etymology of Gasteiz is not certain. Alfonso Irigoyen, in his 1981 article "On the toponym Gasteiz and its anthroponymic environment", Vitoria in the Middle Ages, 621-652, believes that Gasteiz comes from an ancient adjective gartze ("young"), attested later gazte. According to the Biscayan academic, from Gartze as a proper name would come Gartzeiz, within a regular paradigm that presents examples such as Otso(a) / Otsoiz, Sermeno / Semenoiz, etc. In summary, Gasteiz would be a personal name imposed on the village, at an indeterminate time, in any case before the century, which appears for the first time on the Reja de Álava (year 1025) with the form Gastehiz.
Julio Caro Baroja mentions (Materials for a history of the Basque language in its relationship with the Latin, 103) the form Gasteici, but without indicating Latin sources. It seems more logical to think that the Basque form Gazte-iz / Gaste-iz, like many others, followed the general model of the Latin genitive -ici, nominative -icus, but with that Basque root.
Recent historical research has provided new data that is added to the long list. Ernesto García, in his book Governing the city in the Middle Ages: Oligarchies and urban elites in the Basque Country, brings to light a quote from 1485, extracted from the Municipal Acts, in which reference is made to the existence of the "Gasteays hermitage" in the city of Vitoria:.
There is another avenue of research that has not been sufficiently studied, that of the identification of Gastehiz with Castellaz. Henrike Knörr, in his work «On the collection and study of Toponymy...» published in Onomasticon Vasconiae, 4, explores the aforementioned path:.
Gasteiz returned along the cultured route (Landázuri, Becerro de Bengoa, Los Apraiz, etc.), until he was granted official status after the democratic restoration. On July 31, 1979, a motion was approved in which it was agreed that the official name of this city and its municipal area would be Vitoria-Gasteiz. Next, the General Meetings of Álava, in an ordinary session on November 25, 1979, agreed that the Brotherhood and Cuadrilla of Vitoria would be renamed, from now on, Brotherhood and Cuadrilla of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Symbols
Contenido
Además de la sede del Ayuntamiento o casa consistorial,[15] existen una serie de símbolos que representan a la ciudad: la Bandera de Vitoria, el Escudo de Vitoria y la medalla de la ciudad.
La casa consistorial comenzó a construirse en 1783, terminándose el día 24 de diciembre de 1791, fecha en la que se celebra la primera sesión del Ayuntamiento en las nuevas instalaciones. Fue Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel quien llevó adelante la construcción del edificio y uno de sus promotores fue el marqués de la Alameda "Marquesado de la Alameda (1761)"), alcalde de la ciudad en esos años. Su fachada está perfectamente integrada en el conjunto de la plaza. En su parte central destaca el pórtico de columnas dórico-toscanas sobre el que descansa un balcón corrido de piedra. Se remata por un frontón triangular en el que resalta un disco donde se reflejaban en inscripciones alguna vicisitudes de la historia de España. El frontón se completa con el escudo de armas de la ciudad mantenido por dos guirnaldas que en el proyecto original fueron dos figuras humanas.
Flag
The flag of Vitoria is white, crossed by a red cross, and flies solemnly on the façade of the town hall on special occasions. It is currently placed in front of the new cathedral.[16].
The current flag was chosen in 1922 after a proposal by the writer José Colá y Goiti, who presented it in 1918 with a first design in which the blades of San Andrés were not both red, but one blue and one red as a representation of the bourgeois and working classes, although finally the classic red color was also chosen in other nearby cities.
The previous flag of Vitoria dates back to 1835: embroidered with the coat of arms of Vitoria under a white background, it was a gift from Isabel II to the Urban Battalion of Vitoria for not letting the city fall into the hands of the Carlists.[17].
Shield
In the center of the flag stands the shield of Vitoria. In it, the central castle represents the fortress of the city itself, based on two protective lions, and on its battlements, watchful crows.
It also presents the initials of Queen Isabel II, by virtue of the fact that, after the Carlist attack of 1834 "Siege of Vitoria (1834)"), the city was targeted by the queen governor María Cristina, who gave the Urban Militia of Vitoria a flag in the name that King Sancho the Wise gave to the city: .
Medal
In 1948 the City Council approved the creation of the current Vitoria Medal to award those people who distinguish themselves for their merits in favor of the city, in its three categories of gold, silver and bronze.
The design was based on the commemorative medal of the Battle of Vitoria, created in the 19th century.
It began to be made in gold and white metal, but in 1977 the City Council proposed that it be made in precious metals—gold and silver—to enhance the value that the medal aims to represent.
Others
When talking about the symbols[18] of Vitoria, we cannot fail to mention the oldest of all and whose use in urban furniture, public buildings and ceremonial events make it one of the symbols that best identifies the city. This is the signature of King Sancho the Wise that appears in the founding jurisdiction of Vitoria in 1181.
It is made up of four equilateral triangles linked by parallel lines that end at the angles and, when crossed, form a small square in the center. In each triangle and in the central square there is a lowercase "a." This motif has been used in urban furniture.
Geography
El municipio se encuentra en el centro de la provincia de Álava ubicada en el extremo septentrional de la península ibérica. Su extensión es de 276,81 km con una altitud media de Es el único municipio incluido en la comarca de Cuadrilla de Vitoria.
Orography
Vitoria is fundamentally made up of a central plain between 500 and 600 m in altitude. Surrounding the aforementioned central plain, the main orographic features are the Vitoria Mountains (located to the south, with maximum heights close to 1000 m, marking the provincial limit of Álava and the County of Treviño), the Badaya mountain range (located to the west, with maximum heights that reach 900 meters), the Gorbea mountain range (extends towards the northwest entering the municipality of Cigoitia with heights that exceed 700 m), the Elguea mountain range (extends in the northeast entering the municipality of Barrundia after the Ullíbarri-Gamboa reservoir, with heights that reach 650 m) and the Llanada Alavesa (extends in the east). The city stands 525 m above sea level on the south bank of the Zadorra River.
Hydrography
The entire hydrographic network is made up of a series of rivers and streams that, arising in the mountains that limit and close the central plain, flow towards it, to be drained by the Zadorra. This river fills the Ullíbarri-Gamboa reservoir and then enters Vitoria from the northeast, surrounding the city in the north and leaving it to the west towards a natural passage in the Conchas de Arganzón. Its main tributaries within the Vitoria area are the Santa Engracia, Mendiguren, Alegría, Avendaño and Zapardiel rivers, which constitute the main arteries of the surface drainage network.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, Vitoria has a Mediterranean oceanic climate (Csb). The characteristics of Vitoria's climate are influenced by its orographic configuration, so that the mountain ranges that limit it to the north defend it from oceanic influence, while to the south there is also a solution of continuity with the continentalized Mediterranean climate characteristic of the central regions of the peninsula. In summary, a microclimate of cold, humid winters and cool summers is established, similar to that of the moors of the marginal edge of the plateau.
Flora
Vitoria is one of the European cities with the largest area of green and landscaped spaces per person; about forty-two square meters per inhabitant if we include the current extension of the Green Belt. In the Basque capital there are more than ten million square meters of parks and green areas for walking, cycling and observing birds and deer.
The most numerous species of ornamental trees within the city are: deciduous, horse chestnut, ash, linden, maple, acacia, poplar, conifer, beech, oak and birch.[21].
Fauna
In the ponds and lagoons of the parks we can observe different specimens of birds. Within the Green Belt, Zabalgana is a magnificent ecological refuge for wild flora and fauna such as weasels, hares and foxes. It is also home to many species of birds such as coots and mallards. In the Armentia Forest "Armentia (Álava)") you can find wild boars, squirrels, birds of prey and up to thirty small birds, such as finches or robins. Salburua deserves a special mention for being one of the most important places in the Basque Country for the reproduction of waterfowl. Species unique to our environment breed here, such as some herons. In addition to inhabiting nearly two hundred species, among which the European mink and the common deer stand out (introduced to Salburua in the late 90s).[22][23][24].
Environment
The Vitoria City Council promotes actions in various areas to promote balanced growth and the responsible use of natural resources, as a strategy of commitment to the environment and sustainable development.
Given its commitment to the environment, in 1995 Vitoria signed the Aalborg Charter of Cities and Towns towards Sustainability and launched its Agenda 21.
Through Agenda 21, the city aspires to improve the quality of life and well-being of its citizens through maximum respect for the environment and its resources, including human beings.
The indicators currently being worked on are urban pollution, traffic and transportation, water, energy, industry, waste, urban planning and territory, nature and biodiversity, health and environmental risks, information, education and citizen participation and socioeconomic environment.
Every year citizens are informed of the situation and evolution in environmental, economic and social matters through the Agenda 21 Bulletin.
History
Si bien sobre la colina que ocupa el corazón del casco antiguo de la ciudad se han registrado hallazgos anteriores al período medieval, la mayor parte de la historiografía está de acuerdo en que sus orígenes no van más allá de la Edad Media. En general se piensa que, los restos prehistóricos y de época antigua por ahora recuperados, no son lo suficientemente relevantes como para afirmar que en lo alto de la colina de Gasteiz existía, ya en esos siglos, un hábitat estable.
Finds from prehistoric times (Bronze Age)
In the archaeological excavations carried out in 2006 in Campillo Sur, a pit deposit was located, with ceramic content that, according to Armando Llanos, points out: "the existence of a possible habitat space in this environment, generating the garbage that served to fill the pit." Apparently, although it is not easy to specify its chronology, the analysis of the ceramics located suggests "a temporal space framed in the Bronze Age, in its middle-late phases."[25].
Finds from ancient times (1st-5th centuries AD)
In the excavations of the Plaza de Santa María "Plaza de Santa María (Vitoria)") a set of ceramics from the Roman period was found (specifically from Terra Sigillata Hispánica) that allow "to affirm that there was a Roman occupation of the Gasteiz hill in the first centuries of our era, continuous but undoubtedly not very significant." According to J. M. Martínez, this Roman presence must have begun in the middle of the century AD. C. and would last, surely until the end of the century AD. C., and possibly until the century AD. C.[26].
For his part, Eliseo Gil, in another intervention carried out in the same square, located "evidence from the early Roman Empire that, although decontextualized, constitutes a clear indication of an occupation of this chronology at least in the upper part of the Vitoria-Gasteiz hill." This evidence was considered sufficient for the same author to speak of the following occupation horizons for the Gasteiz hill: a first settlement dateable between the second half of the century and the beginning of the century AD. C., and then a second that took place between the centuries and AD. C.[27].
Middle Ages
Although for decades a good part of historiography has held this to be true,[28] the latest research tends to rule out that Vitoria comes from that Visigoth-era settlement called 'Victoriacum', which King Leovigild apparently founded back in the year 581 according to the chronicler Juan de Biclaro*.*[29].
As an alternative to the current Vitoria, some hypotheses have maintained that said 'Victoriacum' could correspond to the town of Vitoriano, located in the Alava municipality of Zuya, while others, such as that of Abilio Barbero and Marcelo Vigil, suggest that it could be the oppidum of Iruña-Veleia, that is, the Veleia of Ptolemy, a Roman complex of great importance located in Alava lands, a Vitoria.[30] Mikel Pozo's hypothesis even doubts that said settlement was located in the Basque territorial environment, pointing out the possibility that it was a propaganda name used by Juan de Biclaro to actually refer to the city of Mérida "Mérida (Spain)").[31].
Certain archaeological works carried out around the city suggest the presence of Franks in the area, making it difficult to identify the Visigothic Victoriacum with Vitoria. For example, at the site of Aldaieta (Nanclares de Gamboa) tombs decorated following Frankish customs have been found.[32][33] It is believed that this settlement dates back to between the centuries and .[34] The typology of certain weapons found in the excavations of the cathedral of Santa María de Vitoria seemed to point in that same direction of Frankish culture. However, after examining the characteristics of these objects, nothing conclusive can be stated since, although they could date from the 19th century, they could also be from a later period given the survival in the use of that type of weaponry.[35].
According to the archaeological findings made in the cathedral of Santa María "Catedral de Santa María (Vitoria)"), the first settlement that had temporal continuity (finally giving rise to Vitoria) dates back to the first decades of the century. It is not certain that this primitive village was already called Gasteiz, but it seems clear that it was located at the top of the hill around which the current medieval town was taking shape.[36].
According to the fence of San Millán de la Cogolla, in the century the majority of place names in the Llanada Alavesa, where Vitoria is located, were of Basque origin, including some others of Romance origin.[37] The fence of San Millán is a document from the year 1025 that lists a series of towns that paid tithes to the monastery of San Millán. The first documented mention of a village called Gastehiz is found in said document, although the location of said village is not mentioned. This same document also mentions many of the towns that currently make up the municipality of Vitoria.
Between the centuries, the Alava plain was under the orbit of the kingdom of León, later under the County of Castile, first, since its emergence with Fernán González in 931 and, later, under the Crown of Castile when it was founded thanks to the distribution of the Navarrese kingdom made by Sancho III of Navarra upon his death in 1035.
The archaeological remains indicate that at the beginning of the century,[38] the primitive village was equipped with a first defensive enclosure. Due to their construction characteristics, it seems that these walls could have been erected by an initiative of the Navarrese-Aragonese monarch Alfonso I[39] In any case, a review of the written sources made in light of said archaeological findings seems to confirm a chronological horizon for these defenses prior to the granting of the jurisdiction of the year 1181.[40] The first written mentions that we find about the term of Vitoria prior to this jurisdiction are:
• - Document dated 1157 that includes a series of "confirms" among which is the "tenente de Sangüesa" who says his name is Martin de Vitoria"). Therefore, he would be a military man from Vitoria.[41].
• - Document dated 1178 that cites a certain Álvaro Muñoz as "tenente de Vitoria" (person to whom a monarch had assigned control of a territory).[42].
Archaeological-historical controversy: archaeological studies on a small area inside the cathedral have found an analysis of the C14 that places the construction of the wall at the end of the century (one hundred years before the founding of the town by the Navarrese king Sancho the Wise), however, many historians who are experts in medieval jurisdictions do not support this thesis. The charters granted by the kings, or legal establishment, allowed the construction of walls and garrison but an enclosure of 20 towers could not exist as they interpret its walled enclosure, without royal consent in legal form. Vitoria was created as a defensive possession together with Zaitegi (1188), in order to protect the new border that had been created after the treaty with Castile in 1179. The existence of some previous section of wall can only be defended from an archaeological point of view but lacks historical foundation.
In the year 1181, Sancho VI of Navarra granted a population charter to the pre-existing settlement, choosing for it the name nova Victoria (... novum nomen imposui scilicet Victoria quae antea vocabatur Gasteiz... / «... to which I imposed the new name of Vitoria that was previously called Gasteiz...»). One of the reasons that probably drove this initiative on the part of the Navarrese was to create a defensive line (which would also make up Antoñana "Antoñana (Álava)"), Bernedo, La Puebla de Arganzón and Laguardia) to confront the kingdom of Castile, a line that would protect the territories that it had recently occupied taking advantage of the Castilian civil war that originated in the minority of Alfonso VIII.[43] Recent Research[44] also suggests that Sancho VI, when he uses the term nova Victoria in the jurisdiction, is referring to a new expansion of the primitive walled enclosure (hence the need to specify nova). This expansion, which has traditionally been attributed to an initiative of the Castilian king Alfonso VIII, would have led to the emergence of the current streets Correría "Calle de la Correría (Vitoria)"), Zapatería "Calle de la Zapatería (Vitoria)") and Herrería "Calle de la Herrería (Vitoria)"). This hypothesis also provides arguments that suggest that this jurisdiction of 1181 was granted specifically to that new part of the population and not to the settlement as a whole.
The walled system was key in the eight-month siege after which King Alfonso VIII's troops were able to take control of the city, once it capitulated around January 1200[45]. From that moment Vitoria became dependent on Castilla.
Traditionally it has been maintained that it was Alfonso VIII himself who provided the town with its first expansion towards the west slope, a fact for which no verified documents are available.[46] There are, however, arguments to think that this expansion was carried out previously, in the time of Sancho VI of Navarra, perhaps around the year 1181.[44] There is little doubt, however, about the new expansion that, decades later, Alfonso X promoted. Wise. However, although the year 1256 has always been noted as the date on which the streets of the Cuchillería "Calle de la Cuchillería (Vitoria)"), the Pintorería and the Jewish Quarter (towards the east of the hill) began to be populated, a recent review of the documentation advocates not ruling out the year 1270 as the start date of the works of a wall, which, in any case, would not be completed until the eighties of that century. in which its pit was dug.[47].
Henry III, in 1399, granted the city two Frankish fairs.
The Brotherhood of Haro was one of the council brotherhoods that were formed in Castile after the Cortes of Valladolid in 1295. In 1296 Vitoria signed two brotherhoods, one with towns on the Cantabrian coast such as Castro-Urdiales, Santander "Santander (Spain)"), San Sebastián, Bermeo, Fuenterrabía or Laredo, forming the Brotherhood of the Villas of the Marina of Castilla with Vitoria and another with surrounding towns such as Miranda de Ebro, Logroño, Haro, Nájera, Salvatierra or Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Due to this Brotherhood, the town of Bilbao and its port were founded in 1300, since the goods that went to Castro-Urdiales and Bermeo, as there were two towns in the Nervión estuary that shortened the journey and brought the sea closer.
Between 1368 and 1371, Vitoria would return for a short period of time to Navarrese hands after Charles II of Navarre, the Bad, occupied the towns of Vitoria, Salvatierra, Alegría de Álava, Contrasta and Santa Cruz de Campezo, taking advantage of the civil conflict in Castile.[48][49] The treaties of 1371, including a papal arbitration, would return the towns to Henry II of Castile.[50].
During the centuries and , the flag fights in which the elder relatives and lineages of the Basque rural nobility aligned themselves into sides to maintain their prestige and increase their income, were reflected in Vitoria with the clashes between the Calleja "Calleja (side)") and the Ayala "Ayala (side)"). This conflict ended with the Capitulation of 1476#Capitulado_de_1476 "Calleja (side)"), a municipal reform that was in force until 1747, when Ferdinand VI established a new municipal order.
Its Jewish quarter was important, before the expulsion of the Hebrews ordered by the Catholic Monarchs: the old Jewish cemetery is still preserved in the form of a park (Judimendi) with a monument commemorating its past. In 1431, King Juan II of Castile granted it the title of city. In 1463 it was one of the five founding towns of the Brotherhood of Álava along with Sajazarra, Miranda de Ebro, Pancorbo and Salvatierra "Salvatierra (Álava)") in Rivabellosa. In 1466 Henry IV of Castile granted the city the title of loyal and in 1470 Ferdinand the Catholic named it very loyal.
On September 22, 1483, Isabel I swore the privileges and privileges of the city at the Arriaga portal.
Modern Age
On January 22, 1522, news reached Vitoria that Hadrian of Utrecht, who was at that time in the city staying at the Casa del Cordón "Casa del Cordón (Vitoria)"), had been elected the new Pope thirteen days earlier. The future Hadrian VI would remain in the capital of Álava for just over a month, serving as regent of Spain and preparing Navarre for defense against the French invasion.
In 1615, on the occasion of the royal wedding, Anne of Austria, queen of France, and Isabel de Borbón "Isabel de Borbón (queen of Spain)"), wife of the future Philip IV, stayed in the city.
During the Roussillon War, Vitoria, as well as a large part of the Basque Country, was occupied for a short period by French troops, which advanced to Miranda de Ebro. This occupation concluded with the Peace of Basel "Treaty of Basel (July 22, 1795)") which put an end to the conflict.
19th century
On April 3, 1808, Ferdinand VII stayed in the town hall while he headed to Bayonne "Bayonne (France)"), where the famous abdications would take place. At dawn on April 19, an immense crowd filled the current Mateo Benigno de Moraza street to prevent said trip, going so far as to cut the carriage's stays, so it had to leave Vitoria preceded by the French cavalry.
Between November 5 and 9, Napoleon spent the night at the Etxezarra house in the capital of Alava on his way to Madrid to place his brother, Joseph, on the throne of Spain. José had made the Montehermoso palace "Palacio de Montehermoso (Vitoria)") his particular royal palace during the previous retreat (after the defeat at Bailén).
Among the most notable historical events is that it was the scene of the Battle of Vitoria on June 21, 1813, in which the French troops, moving in retreat, were defeated by the Duke of Wellington together with General Álava from Alava. As a result of the conflict, José Bonaparte flees, losing almost all of the loot stolen from the Spanish. With this battle the Spanish War of Independence practically ended.
When the news reached Vienna at the end of July of the same year, Johann Nepomuk Mälzel commissioned Ludwig van Beethoven to compose a symphony to mark this event. This is the op. 91 Wellingtons Sieg or Die Schlacht bei Vitoria or Siegessymphonie.
Within the framework of the first Carlist war, the city remained faithful to the Elizabethan side and on March 16, 1834, "Sitio de Vitoria (1834)") was besieged by the Carlist army of Tomás de Zumalacárregui. The attack is rejected by the Urban Militia and the Celadores de Álava), present in Gamarra Mayor, and the Carlist troops are forced to withdraw due to information about the arrival of liberal reinforcements from Miranda de Ebro. Heredia. The regent María Cristina rewarded Vitoria by including the initials of Isabel II in the city's coat of arms.
In 1843, authorization came to build the Institute of Secondary Education, the current headquarters of the Basque Parliament and previously the convent of Santa Clara. In the academic year of 1853-1854, classes began, thus culminating an old dream of the city. The old High School was witness to a good part of the cultural life of this city. We must remember, among other things, the Free University, created as a result of the revolution of 1868. This University operated from 1869, being cut short before the beginning of the 1873-1874 academic year, largely due to the Second Carlist War. It is enough to remember the names of Ricardo Becerro de Bengoa, Julián Apraiz, Federico Baraibar, etc. The latter, a great Hellenist (1851-1918), was also one of the first to teach Basque classes there in Vitoria, in the section that today we would call extracurricular activities.
The cultural and educational wealth during the second half of the century earned Vitoria the nickname .[52].
20th century
At the beginning of the century and until the 1950s, Vitoria was a small city, with hardly any industry and very conservative. After the uprising in 1936 of a sector of the army, supported by the parties of the political spectrum on the right and part of the center, the Civil War began and the Basque and Navarrese territories were divided between the two sides; Álava and Navarra remain attached to the insurgents and Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya remain faithful to republican legality, although many of their inhabitants, ideologically attached to Carlist traditionalism and the monarchy, join the side of the rebels, so there were Basques and Navarrese on both sides, although the majority of the population remained loyal to the Republic.
The end of the Civil War in the Basque Country, as everywhere, left a deeply divided society. After an initial stage in which intense political repression served as a framework for the resumption of activity in the factories, the years of Francoism began, in which significant economic growth and clandestine activities of resistance to the dictatorship were combined, both by unions and political parties born before the war and, since the late 1950s, by terrorist organizations such as ETA and others born in its surroundings.
Starting in the 1950s, a strong industrialization began in the city that would produce a transformation of the city in all aspects, especially demographic and social, going from a small city of services and administration to an industrial city that broke records of relative demographic growth throughout Spain, in the sixties, with a percentage greater than 40%. Thus, from the sixties to the seventies its population almost doubled, due to the large number of immigrant workers received.
On March 3, 1976, Vitoria suffered the greatest aggression[53] experienced in its history against the working class. The events occurred a few months after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, in the middle of the Spanish Transition. In the church of San Francisco de Asís in the Zaramaga neighborhood, a populous working-class neighborhood located in the north of the city, an assembly of 4,000 striking workers who wanted to improve their working conditions was being held. The Armed Police tried to evict the church and to do so they launched tear gas inside (a closed area crowded with people) and as the workers came out half asphyxiated and with handkerchiefs covering their mouths, they shot them with real fire and rubber balls. As a result of such aggressiveness, five people were murdered and more than one hundred and fifty were injured by gunshots. The police resolved the situation they had created with a clean shot, leaving Pedro María Martínez Ocio, a twenty-seven-year-old worker at Forjas Alavesas, dead; Francisco Aznar Clemente, bakery operator and student, seventeen years old; Romualdo Barroso Chaparro, from Agrator, nineteen years old; José Castillo, from Basa, a company of the Arregui Group, thirty-two years old. Two months later, Bienvenido Pereda, a worker with Differential groups, would die at the age of thirty. It was one of the largest massacres[54] that occurred during the Transition. The events were neither investigated nor prosecuted.[55] The change at the head of the Spanish government that King Juan Carlos I carried out in July of that year, changing Carlos Arias Navarro for Adolfo Suárez, could have been a consequence of this episode.
Demography
Vitoria cuenta con una población de (INE "Instituto Nacional de Estadística (España)") 2025). El 51,6% de la población son mujeres, mientras que los hombres representan en 48,4%. Por rango de edades, el 19% de la población tiene menos de 20 años, el 58,1% entre 20 y 64 años, y el 22,9% son mayores de 65 años.[56] Cuenta con densidad de población de 911 habitantes por kilómetros cuadrados. El 55% de sus habitantes son nacidos en la provincia de Álava, un 7% nació en otra provincia vasca, un 21% en otras provincias españolas fuera del País Vasco, mientras que el 17% de la población ha nacido en el extranjero[56] De las 49.975 personas nacidas en el extranjero, 14.700 han adquirido la nacionalidad española, siendo las otras nacionalidades más representadas los colombianos, marroquíes, argelinos, venezolanos y paquistaníes.[57].
Según las Directrices de Ordenación del Territorio del Gobierno Vasco,[60] Vitoria es la ciudad central de un área funcional llamada Álava Central que viene creada para la coordinación ciertas determinaciones como la ordenación urbanística, definición de espacios o desarrollo de programas comunes. Según las citadas directrices, el área funcional se compone de 29 municipios alaveses y 2 vizcaínos (Ochandiano y Ubidea).[61] La creación de la Comisión Metropolitana de Álava Central,[62] tiene el fin de establecer estrategias comunes y trabajo conjunto con los municipios integrados en el área funcional de Álava Central de cara a lograr los siguientes objetivos:.
• - Planificar el crecimiento del suelo residencial, especializando sus tipologías de viviendas.
• - Proponer criterios de planificación del desarrollo y crecimiento de los suelos logístico e industrial, para especializar cada espacio o corredor y adaptarlo a esa especialización.
• - Diseñar un sistema integral para la gestión de las infraestructuras de comunicación.
• - Diseñar una estrategia común de conservación del medio natural y protección de la biodiversidad.
Teniendo en cuenta los flujos económicos y de población, la influencia de Vitoria traspasa además las fronteras del País Vasco hasta los municipios burgaleses de Miranda de Ebro, La Puebla de Arganzón y el Condado de Treviño, esto es, a la Comarca del Valle del Ebro, que ya en 1822 formó parte de la provincia de Álava y cuyas villas también fueron fundadoras de la Hermandad de Álava en 1463.
Town planning
From an urban planning point of view, Vitoria is a medium-sized city, whose layout adapts to the traditions of each historical moment. The medieval town "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") develops in an almond shape around the founding hill, which due to its privileged location as the only elevation in the Alava plain, became a defensive bastion coveted by the kingdoms of Navarra and Castile during the centuries and . The walled enclosure predates this war between Navarrese and Castilians, and is due to the work undertaken by the Count of Álava, bastard son of King Ramiro I of Aragon, in the 19th century, to defend the village. The defensive walls of old Vitoria were built between the year 1050 and 1100. Due to this first defensive function, its narrow and shadowy streets surround the original oval, in compact rows of houses parallel to each other and to the medieval walls (of which only some sections and gates are preserved). Between the years 1854 and 1856 an event occurred that changed the appearance of the city. A cholera epidemic was the pretext to demolish the portals, which were strong houses, which gave access to the streets Correría (strong house of the Nanclares), Zapatería (strong house of the Soto) and Herrería (strong house of the Abendaño) and which served to protect each neighborhood guild. At the entrance to the current Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, there was the portal of Santa Clara, which was linked by the wall to the convent of San Antonio "Convento de San Antonio (Vitoria)"). In the 19th century, and given the evidence that the city was becoming too small, an expansion was planned in a neoclassical style, and little by little the planning of the city gave Vitoria its current form.
The medieval almond, as it is usually called, has a multitude of architectural gems such as the Bendaña Palace, home of the Fournier Card Museum (erected in 1525 by Juan López de Arrieta, on the site previously occupied by the defensive tower erected by the Maeztu). The Escoriaza-Esquivel Palace, from the 19th century, built by Claudio de Arziniega. That of Villa Suso, where Martín de Salinas, ambassador of Charles V (19th century), lived. And the greatest medieval treasure of Vitoria: the cathedral of Santa María (old cathedral).
The history of the old cathedral (as it is popularly known) is in itself a synthesis of the history of Vitoria. Built on the cemetery of the primitive Basque village of Gasteiz (which today can be visited thanks to excavations), the church of Santa María collapsed with the fire of 1202, and Alfonso VIII of Castile (who had conquered the square just two years before), ordered the city to be rebuilt and a new one to be built on the site of the previous church that was to serve two very different purposes: to save souls and to store weapons. Thus, the cathedral of Santa María (old cathedral), still a church, was born as a temple-fortress that served as the entrance to the city. The project changed over the centuries, in such a way that each modification was made without taking into account the previous ones, this was true in the century (when the church became a collegiate church), and finally in the sixties, when it was decided to reverse the works to strengthen the exterior walls and expand the windows for purely aesthetic reasons. Which ended up forcing the temple to close for fear that it would collapse during masses. Today the cathedral is open again, and offers visitors a unique experience: a walk through time in layers. From the vestiges of the original village, the root of today's Vitoria, to the Gothic redesign of the mid-century, passing through foundations more than a millennium old, and Romanesque and Gothic plans, all perfectly discernible by the color of the materials used in each stage. A unique opportunity in the world to travel through the shortcuts of history, in a temple that, due to its peculiar characteristics, and multiple functions throughout its life, has become the main attraction of Vitoria. Ken Follett, author of The Pillars of the Earth, said after his stay in the city that St. Mary's was one of the three most interesting cathedrals in the world.
From the Middle Ages until , the population of Vitoria and the layout of its streets remained almost unchanged. And it was not until the end of the century, when growth made it necessary to expand the city outside the walls. To solve the problem of the difference in height between the original nucleus on the hill, and the Llanada below, the Arquillos and the Plaza de España "Plaza de España (Vitoria)") were erected, designed by Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel, which soften the transition towards the much-needed romantic expansion "Ensanche (Vitoria)"). (Vitoria)"), the Florida Park, and the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, with its facades dotted with viewpoints.
Subsequently and until today, the new neighborhoods of Vitoria are built following various urban plans that privilege parks, recreation areas and quality of life. Combining the maintenance of the city's identity with the need to accommodate the growing population. Taking as a reference the neighborhood of San Martín "San Martín (Vitoria)"), the first new neighborhood planned in this way, the city has increased its extension at a dizzying speed, growth concentrated in recent years in the neighborhoods of Lakua, Salburua and Zabalgana. The city of Vitoria has received several international awards for its urban development. Special mention deserves the so-called Green Ring, a network of parks and green spaces that surrounds the city, destined to be the lung of the future Vitoria, and link the city with the rural space.
Vitoria was successively Gothic and Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Romantic. Planning has been a constant in its historical development, from its first medieval expansion at the beginning of the century to its modern neighborhoods and peripheral parks. Its old town maintains its Gothic layout and its narrow, elliptical streets, with steep corners and old, recovered palaces. The names of its streets preserve those of the guild activities of that time: Cutlery, Shoe Shop, Blacksmith's, Painter's... The French author Victor Hugo himself would define Vitoria in one of his works as a "complete and homogeneous Gothic town", and even compared it with Nuremberg.
The Renaissance also left its mark on the hill, in the form of elegant palaces built by noble families.
Outside the medieval town there are other emblematic spaces such as the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, the Plaza de España "Plaza de España (Vitoria)") and Los Arquillos, from Neoclassicism: both were designed by the local architect Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel to bridge the strong gap that separated the old city from the expansion of the century, that is, the expansion "Ensanche (Vitoria)").
Vitoria is today a road communications hub. The city has a privileged strategic position within the so-called Atlantic axis. Due to its status as the capital of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, it houses the headquarters of different institutional bodies of the autonomous community: presidency of the Government of the autonomous community in Ajuria Enea, Basque Government in Lakua and the Basque Parliament on Becerro de Bengoa street. Being the capital has given the city notable dynamism. Today it has the largest shopping center in the entire Basque Country, called "El Boulevard "El Boulevard (shopping center)").
According to the City Council, this is an energy rehabilitation plan for homes in the Coronación neighborhood.[63] It wants to achieve a reduction in the energy demand of homes and, with it, CO emissions. This plan is within the European SmartEnCity project in which Vitoria participates.
It is a plan[64] based on three principles based on the 3Rs, which consist of the regeneration of public spaces, reuse and rehabilitation of buildings, and commercial and hospitality reactivation.
Administration and politics
Municipal government
Maider Etxebarria was elected mayor in the plenary session of the city council's constitution on June 17, 2023 with the votes of PSE-PSOE, PNV and PP, achieving a total of 18 supports and, therefore, four votes above the absolute majority.[65].
Basque government
The seat of the Basque government is located in the Lakua district.
Basque Parliament
The Basque Parliament (in Basque, Eusko Legebiltzarra) is the chamber that exercises legislative power, elects the president of the Basque Government, approves the budgets of the autonomous community of the Basque Country and promotes and controls the action of the Basque Government. He also represents the Basque citizens. Its headquarters are located in Vitoria.
Provincial Council of Álava
The Provincial Council of Álava (in Basque: Arabako Foru Aldundia) is the governing body of the historical territory and province of Álava (Basque Country, Spain).
General Meetings of Álava
The General Meetings of Álava (in Basque and co-officially Arabako Batzar Nagusiak) are the parliament and legislative body of the province and historical territory of Álava.
Its headquarters are located in the Leuven neighborhood "Lovaina (Vitoria)") of the city of Vitoria on Vicente Goicoechea Street, 2. It is a building that dates back to 1868. However, the plenary sessions are held in the plenary hall of the Álava Provincial Council building, located in the same neighborhood and a very short distance away. This building dates back to 1833.
Capital of the Basque Country
According to Law 1/1980, of May 23, on the "Headquarters of the Institutions of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country" included in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country,[67] Vitoria is the headquarters of the Basque Parliament and the Basque Government. For this reason, it is considered the capital of the autonomous community pending more explicit legal recognition.
Territorial organization
Within the municipality of Vitoria, first of all, we must distinguish what the city of Vitoria itself is "Vitoria (locality)") and the numerous rural centers that were added to the town or the municipality at different historical moments and that continue to retain a certain administrative autonomy under the name of councils "Council (Álava)"). The councils have their boundaries within the municipality of Vitoria.
For administrative and statistical purposes, the rural councils of Vitoria are grouped into three zones: Eastern Rural Zone, Northwest Rural Zone and Southwest Rural Zone. The councils grouped in these areas, almost 60 in total, are still perfectly distinguishable from the urban center of Vitoria.
Some of the councils have been completely absorbed into the urban fabric of the city due to its growth and are not currently included in those three statistical zones. They are now considered neighborhoods of the city, although they continue to retain their legal status as councils. This is the case of Abetxuko, Ali, Armentia "Armentia (Álava)") or Arriaga, which are already part of urban neighborhoods of Vitoria.
Other councils, still considered part of the rural area of Vitoria, are in the process of being absorbed by the city, swallowed up by the industrial estates on the outskirts of Vitoria or by the most recently built neighborhoods, still in the process of consolidation. These are the cases of Betoño, almost completely surrounded by an industrial estate that connects it with the rest of the city, of Arechavaleta "Arechavaleta (Álava)") in the southern area and, in the eastern area, of Arcaute and Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"), which have been linked to the city with the recent urban development of the Salburua district.
There are two towns that are not councils and whose administration falls directly on the Vitoria City Council:
The unpopulated areas of: are part of the municipality.
In Vitoria there are several districts, which in turn are divided into neighborhoods, while the rest of the neighborhoods are not included in any specific district. They have been classified based on the relative position they occupy with respect to their position with the historic center "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") of the city[70] of Vitoria:.
• - The northern area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Abechuco "Abechuco (neighborhood)"), Zaramaga, El Pilar "El Pilar (Vitoria)"), as well as the district of Lakua, divided into the neighborhoods of Lakua (Central), Arriaga-Lakua, Lakuabizkarra and Ibaiondo.
• - The downtown area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Casco Viejo "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)"), Ensanche "Ensanche (Vitoria)"), Louvaina "Lovaina (Vitoria)") and Coronación "Coronación (Vitoria)").
• - The central-western area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Txagorritxu, San Martín "San Martín (Vitoria)") and Gazalbide.
Projects for the future
• - Undergrounding of the railway, definitively discarded, as well as the intermodal station. In addition, the city has a new bus station with twenty-five bus bays, which initially garnered rejection from the neighborhood with more than 10,000 signatures collected in this regard. Finally, the station was located in the hole left by the failed BAIC Center project in the Plaza de Euskaltzaindia. The AVE delays its arrival beyond 2020.
• - Inner Green Ring: it would consist of transforming two main arteries of the city, Gasteiz Avenue and Herrán Street), into two new green boulevards and uniting them through a large "Inner Green Ring", a strategic project of transformation and sustainable urban regeneration, which is linked to the hallmark of the city: the Environment. It begins by carrying out an urban regeneration process on Gasteiz Avenue and Herrán Street, so that these two axes strategic areas of the city become two new spaces of opportunity. The third phase of this interior Green Ring, which would sew together both axes, already transformed, also in the North and South, would arrive, later, with the transformation of the space freed by the underground, in the South zone, as well as with the section of Honduras, Juan de Garay and Latin America, in the North zone. The first phase of the interior green ring on Gasteiz Avenue could be ready in. 2013.[71].
• - Betoño urban business park:[72] would mean the direct creation of 1,000 new jobs, promoting a new area of economic activity, betting on a new employment project that would transform Betoño into a new area of innovation and opportunity. The bet would consist of recovering a purely industrial space to give it new uses. On the one hand, create new productive spaces for companies. On the other hand, new types of housing, and, finally, green areas and other uses. The main core of the new Betoño urban business park would be two Cooperative Research Centers (CIC), a CIC for Environmental Science and a CIC for Medical Research. There would also be a Business Center dedicated to Research and Development, a Business Incubation Center, Free Software Development Centers and a space to support the self-employment of young entrepreneurs from the world of Vocational Training.
• - Tram in Salburua and Zabalgana: we want to accelerate the expansion phases of the light metro to Salburua and Zabalgana and be able to briefly begin studies in these two neighborhoods. Thus, two new routes have been proposed that do not have to wait for the railway to be buried and that would serve a total of 60,000 people, 30,000 potential users in each of the two neighborhoods.
• - ArabaTran: There is a commuter rail project for the metropolitan area of the Basque capital starting in Miranda de Ebro and ending in Alsasua that is known as ArabaTran.[73][74][75].
Economy
Industry
Vitoria's economy underwent a profound transformation with the industrialization that it underwent in the 1950s. A small city with administrative and service functions, it became, in less than ten years, a prosperous industrial center, going from having just over 52,000 inhabitants in 1950 to more than 190,000 inhabitants in 1980. All this growth was mainly due to immigration. Today, Vitoria has multinational companies on its territory such as Mercedes Benz (which produces the Mercedes-Benz Vito van, Vitoria being the city from which it owes its name, and the Mercedes-Benz V-Class, a luxury minivan based on the second generation of the previous model.), Michelin, Aernnova, as well as local companies that provide supplies to them.
The areas with the greatest industrial activity in the city have traditionally been the industrial estates born during industrialization in the then periphery of the city: Betoño, Uritiasolo or Ali-Gobeo, but currently, the aforementioned areas have been fully integrated into the urban area of Vitoria, limiting their possibilities for expansion. For this reason, in recent years new industrial spaces have been built further away from the urban area (Júndiz and Álava technology park) and directly connected to the main communication routes such as the A-1 and A-622 highways, the AP-1 highway, the Madrid-Irún railway line or the Vitoria airport. These are the spaces in which some of the most technological and innovative companies are based.
On the other hand, the appointment of Vitoria as capital of the Basque Country in 1980 led to the increase of the tertiary sector until it became the majority sector in the city today, focused on commerce and administrative activities. All of this has contributed to Álava being the province of the state with the highest GDP per capita, in 2005 being the average for the autonomous community of and for the state as a whole in the same year.
Logistics and industrial centers
Álava is located in a geographical area whose terrain characteristics make it especially conducive to the creation and development of logistics centers. Many companies already operate in these centers and some more will soon do so. A strategic plan has been presented[76] whose main objective is to invest in the improvement and industrial development in these areas.
The Provincial Council wants to intensify the positioning of Álava as a logistics node and an "attractive" territory for investment and includes actions with the aim of "reinforcing its positioning globally as a key logistics node" and making the area an "attractive" Territory for investments by companies.
The main logistics centers are: Júndiz, Gamarra, Gojain and Arasur.
The Júndiz industrial park is located near the urban center of Vitoria and is located in a strategic communications point, both with the neighboring provinces and with the rest of the State and Europe, with direct access to the A-1, Madrid-Irún.
It has inside the Vitoria Intermodal Transport and Logistics Center (CTVi),[77] a logistics area of a railway freight station,[78] ITV and a link only by highway to the Vitoria international airport.
There are many companies in Júndiz that develop different types of economic activity[79] (transport, automotive, packaging...).
It is one of the assets owned by BSH Spain located in the best area of P. I. Betoño-Gamarra,[80] industrial estate located north of the city of Vitoria with more than 100,000 constructed area. The marketed asset is located in Plaza Gamarra, 1, and with a total area of , consisting of 3 industrial and office pavilions.
The Gamarra industrial estate also houses the production center of the Sidenor steel company.[81].
The Gojain industrial estate[82] is located near Vitoria, flanked by the Urrúnaga and Ullíbarri reservoirs, an ideal place for bathing and practicing water sports. It has an excellent road network, the N-240 Vitoria-Bilbao, whose route extends adjacent to the industrial estate. The Gojain industrial estate is characterized by meta-mechanical activity and the settlement of more than one hundred companies, including important national and foreign firms. It has a complete set of services and infrastructure.
The Arasur industrial[83] and logistics park is characterized by its wide range of industrial spaces and state-of-the-art logistics warehouses, integrated into a well-kept environment, with a wide range of services aimed at different groups. Arasur is a company owned by Kutxabank, Provincial Council of Álava, Basque Government, Ribera Baja City Council and Merlin Parques Logísticos.
Located in Álava, next to Miranda de Ebro, Arasur enjoys a strategic location in the heart of one of the main industrial areas of the Iberian Peninsula with a population of more than 4.5 million inhabitants within a radius of 100 kilometers.
Due to its location, Arasur is consolidated as the best reference industrial and logistics park in northern Spain for the distribution of cargo in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, as well as in an important support area for the logistics activities of the international airport of Vitoria and the ports of Bilbao, Pasajes and Santander "Santander (Spain)").
The Arasur Multimodal Logistics Platform is configured as a Terminal of the Sea Port of Bilbao, connected by rail and road shuttles, located within the axis formed by the Atlantic Freight Rail Corridor.
Arasur is located in the central axis of one of the major land connection nodes for traffic between Portugal, the Mediterranean, the northwest and center of Spain with Europe.
The accesses[84] to the AP-1, AP-68 and A-1, which connect it with the main Spanish and European capitals through the E-70 and E-80, position Arasur as one of the most competitive logistics parks both nationally and internationally.
Furthermore, its railway connections with the Madrid-Irún-Paris, Lisbon-Irún-Paris, Bilbao-Barcelona and Madrid-Bilbao lines allow Arasur to offer the ports of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast an ideal space for the consolidation of cargo and its subsequent distribution in the national, European and Maghreb markets.
Main commercial areas
The medieval town offers a wide range of traditional commerce with numerous establishments dedicated to crafts, decoration, small clothing stores, traditional hospitality... while Ensanche tends to host important multinational fashion and accessories brands, headquarters of the main banks, elegant cafes, famous sweet shops, restaurants, exclusive jewelry stores, department stores... especially in the streets of Eduardo Dato "Calle de Eduardo Dato (Vitoria)"), General Álava, San Prudencio, from Postas "Calle de Postas (Vitoria)") and from Independencia "Calle de la Independencia (Vitoria)").
To a lesser extent, areas such as Leuven "Lovaina (Vitoria)") or Desamparados "Desamparados (Vitoria)") also have an important commercial offer without forgetting the shopping centers and large stores that have been popping up for a few years on the outskirts of the city: the Gorbeia commercial park in the municipality of Cigoitia just 5 km from the capital or the El Boulevard Shopping Center "El Boulevard (shopping center)") in the Zaramaga neighborhood.
Tourism
Vitoria received more than 302,000 of the 427,000[85] people who visited Álava in 2017. Thus, there was an increase of 6.2% compared to the previous year in Vitoria, while it increased by 6.3% in the entire historic territory.
The Palace of Europe[86] is a building that houses several spaces that host all types of congresses, meetings and conferences. The rooms available are: two auditoriums, eleven conference rooms, seven multipurpose spaces and two support rooms.
The building is characterized by being spacious, modern and versatile that, thanks to the renovation carried out, has become an architectural reference. In this way, energy consumption has been reduced by 60% and the impact on the environment has been minimized, generating less waste and reducing CO emissions.
The renovation and expansion project of the building is based on the Passivhaus criteria, which is based on the following: achieving great thermal insulation, reducing energy consumption and using solar energy to achieve optimal air conditioning.
The façade of the Palace is covered by a wide variety of plants typical of Álava and the Basque Country. In addition, the large windows of the building are covered with vines that protect it from the heat and allow light to enter. Thanks to this plant coating, both thermal and acoustic insulation have been improved. It also helps to improve air quality and reduce pollution.
Services
Education
The Álava Campus is one of the main campuses of the University of the Basque Country (UPV). This campus is located in the south-central area of Vitoria, and there is a residence, a library, classrooms and sports pavilion. It has its own tram stop and is crossed by urban bus lines 2, 3, 8 and 9. In addition, it is located a few meters from the Renfe station, a stop for numerous regional, national and international lines.
Here they are:[87].
In Vitoria there is a public center attached to the University of the Basque Country:.
• - University School of Nursing (off campus, next to the Txagorritxu Hospital).
The University of Deusto has its headquarters in Egibide-Arriaga, where Dual Degree studies in Digital Industry are offered.
Vitoria has a center associated with the U.N.E.D located on Pedro de Asúa Street") in the San Martín neighborhood.[88].
It is a center for higher ecclesiastical studies, a Spanish university institution with dual headquarters in the archdiocese of Burgos and its suffragan diocese of Vitoria. It was created by the Holy See, through the Congregation of Seminaries and University Studies, on February 6, 1967. In the city of Burgos, the specialties of Spiritual Dogmatics are taught, while in the city of Vitoria Systematic, Pastoral and Theology of religious life.[89].
Private university promoted by Baskonia-Alavés Group with the collaboration of ENTI (Escola de Noves Tecnologies Interactives) and EUSES (Escola Universitària de la Salut i l'Esport),[90] its campus is located in the former headquarters of Caja Vital in Salburua. It began its academic activity in September 2022,[91] after being recognized by law by the Basque Parliament in 2021.[92] It offers degrees in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, Physiotherapy, Multimedia, and Music and Sound Production for the Entertainment Industry.
Health
Osakidetza is the Basque public health service whose central organization is located at number 45 Calle de Álava") in Vitoria.
There are three public hospitals in the city (two recently united general hospitals and one psychiatric hospital):[93].
• - Álava University Hospital:[94] Born after the union of two of the most important hospitals in the city, the Txagorritxu Hospital and the Santiago Apóstol Hospital. It has more than 800 beds.[95].
• - Álava Psychiatric Hospital: Located on Álava Street, it has approximately 225 beds.
The city also has the following public health centers:[96].
Vitoria has several hospitals and private clinics:
• - Vithas San José Hospital: Hospital located on Beato Tomás de Zumárraga Street, it has more than 120 beds.
• - Quirón Hospital: Clinic located on Esperanza Street. Previously known as Clínica La Esperanza; It has 20 beds.
• - San Onofre Clinic (Old Álava Clinic): Clinic located on Álava street.
• - Other small private consultations.
Civic centers
Civic centers[97] are municipal facilities located in the different neighborhoods of the city where various services, programs and activities of a cultural, sports, training, and community-based nature are provided in the broadest sense of the term. In these spaces, information and social care are also provided to citizens from the parameters of integration and participation.
Its mission is to provide citizens with open places for meeting, information, training, guidance and leisure where they contribute to the creation of healthy leisure habits and improve the quality of life. To fulfill this task, the different services, programs and activities are offered in a multidisciplinary way, being aimed at the active participation of associations, groups or independent users.
The main objectives[97] of the network are four:
Integrate into a single organizational unit all the services, programs and activities of an informative, training, cultural, social, sports and leisure nature developed by the departments involved in the Social Policy of the City Council to promote them and adapt them to the demands and needs of citizens.
Decentralize the various municipal services, making them closer to the citizen, and thus achieve better knowledge and a greater appreciation of the needs, aspirations and possibilities[98] of the community, thus making it possible to carry out faster actions to address them.
Achieve an optimal level of quality in the provision of services, programs and activities, in accordance with the expectations of users, seeking their satisfaction, through the rationalization and coordination of all existing resources.
Promote participatory processes between associations, groups and users that make it possible to collect demands and welcome their initiatives, thus promoting the integration of people and groups in the social, cultural and sports processes of the city.
In the first legislature of democracy 1979-83, municipal neighborhood offices were created, which can be considered one of the bases for the creation of the civic center project, although its foundation was above all welfare and administrative, being directed by a social worker.
In the following legislature 1983-87, with the joint work of several departments (Youth, Culture and Social Welfare) and the support of the entire Corporation, the project for what we know today as civic centers was drafted. They were born with a much broader concept and with the objective of becoming the axis of social dynamization of their area, placing a sociocultural animator at their head. Its construction is carried out taking advantage of empty buildings and premises integrated into the neighborhoods themselves, without sports resources, since the existing ones were used.
Transportation and communications
The expansion of the city with macro-districts both in the north (Lakua), in the east (Salburua and Santo Tomás) and in the west (Zabalgana and Mariturri "Mariturri (Vitoria)") have made Vitoria a city that is beginning to face very important challenges in terms of the management of its internal mobility. One of the cornerstones of this management is being carried out by TUVISA (Transportes Urbanos de Vitoria Sociedad Anónima) which in the last three and a half years expanded the network of urban bus lines from thirteen to eighteen, as well as their frequencies, until finally a total change has been made on all lines, modifying layout and frequency. Today it has nine daytime lines, three special lines and six night lines.[104] Added to this transportation is the tram through Euskotren Tranbia with two more lines.
In September 2020, work began on the expansion of the city's tram network; the Abetxuko line will be extended from the Florida stop to the Salburua neighborhood in the capital of Alava (inaugurated in April 2023). In addition, an extension to the Zabalgana neighborhood that will start from Angoulême has been approved, an extension that will have two branches, one ending in Mariturri and the other on United Nations Street, a project that will begin to be carried out after the undergrounding of the railway, the remodeling of the Vitoria station and the start-up of the Y Vasca have been carried out.
In Vitoria there are ten daytime lines, two special and four extensions.[104].
The lines of the urban night bus service (gautxori) are the following:
• - Line G1 "Line G1 (TUVISA)") – Lakua Abetxuko.
• - Line G2 "Line G2 (TUVISA)") – Adurtza Errekaleor.
• - Line G3 "Line G3 (TUVISA)") – Armentia Zabalgana.
• - Line G4 "Line G4 (TUVISA)") – Sansomendi Lakua.
• - Line G6 "Line G6 (TUVISA)") – Salburua Aranbizkarra.
These lines operate all night on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of holidays.
There are also special lines:
• - El Salvador Cemetery Line.
• - Buesa Arena Line. The outbound bus departures are made from the stops on Calle de la Paz, Avenida de Gasteiz and Portal de Legutiano, 38. The return itinerary stops are Portal de Villarreal (Iparralde), Paz (Dendaraba), Cadena y Eleta (cathedral) and Avenida Gasteiz (in front of Europa).
• - Special service to Alavés matches. The days of the Alavés match at the Medizorrotza Stadium. The departure is from the boulevard and corresponds to the stops of the peripheral line 2A "Line 2A (TUVISA)") and 2B "Line 2B (TUVISA)").
Other lines:
• - Airport. Urban transportation between Foronda and the city is offered by the La Unión Burundesa bus company. The stops are Monseñor Cadena and Eleta Street (new cathedral), and Euskal Herria Boulevard Street next to the entrance to the bus station.
Monuments and places of interest
religious buildings
Gothic building of the century with a tower of the . Under the portico there are three doorways decorated with statues and reliefs. Inside, the chapels contain Gothic, Flemish and Italian Renaissance images. In the chapels on the left you can see paintings by Rubens and Van Dyck. The cathedral is undergoing restoration and has been studied by experts from all over the world for its architectural curiosities, including the deformations it has suffered due to previous reforms and restorations. The restoration works that are currently being carried out under the name "Open for works" can be visited and are having great success.[114].
In addition, numerous congresses, seminars and conferences have been held with literary personalities such as Paulo Coelho, Ken Follett,[115] Arturo Pérez-Reverte or José Saramago. For the work carried out, the Cathedral of Santa María received the Basque Tourism Award 2000, awarded by the Basque Government, as well as the Europa Nostra Award 2002, the highest distinction that the European Union grants to heritage restoration and conservation work. Since 2015, the cathedral has been recognized as a World Heritage Site within the denomination Caminos de Santiago: French Way and paths of Northern Spain.[116].
Cathedral temple built and consecrated in the 19th century, in a neo-Gothic style. Its main value lies in the sculptural richness, in many cases corresponding to the modernist style, which ornaments the panels of the naves and the apse on the outside, as well as the chapels of the ambulatory, the backchoir and the crypt on the inside.
The building, of imposing proportions, consists of five longitudinal naves, the main one and four lateral ones, a three-nave transept, a two-nave ambulatory with seven apsidal chapels, a portico, crypt and sacristy. With its 118 m from apse to portico, its 48 m wide between the two transepts of the transept and its 35 m high in the transept, it is one of the largest cathedrals in Spain. Since 1999, the cathedral ambulatory has served as a space for the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Álava, which collects a rich sample of the religious artistic heritage of the province, divided into sections of stone carving, wood carving, painting on panel, painting on canvas, metalwork and liturgical furniture.
Gothic temple of the century. The Old Portico stands out, with a set of reliefs with scenes from the lives of Saint Peter and the Virgin Mary, under which images of the Virgin and the apostles run. Inside, at the head, there are several valuable tombs. Attached to the western wall, most of the factory dates back to the 19th century. The tower is baroque, with a cube from the century and a spire from the , the work of Valerio de Ascorbe, very similar to that of the tower of the nearby church of San Miguel Arcángel. Between 1892 and 1896 it underwent a restoration from which the neo-Gothic portico on the south side is preserved, the work of the Vitorian architect Fausto Íñiguez de Betolaza.
The stained glass windows, manufactured in Bordeaux, by the Dagrant house, were placed between 1861 and 1901. The temple is located next to the Cantón de la Soledad, a steep street that has modern mechanical ramps that facilitate access to the highest part of the Medieval Town "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)").
Gothic-Renaissance temple from the 1st centuries whose porch houses the image of the White Virgin, patron saint of the city. Main altarpiece by Gregorio Fernández. It was built at the end of the century on the southern slope of the hill of primitive Vitoria, outside its walls and the San Bartolomé gate. It surely occupies the same place as the sworn church also dedicated to San Miguel, which cites and places at the gates of the town the document of the founding jurisdiction granted by the Navarrese king Sancho VI the Wise in 1181. The church overlooks Mateo Benigno de Moraza street and dominates the Plazas de la Virgen Blanca and General Loma, vital centers of the city, and its mostly Gothic construction contrasts with the set of neoclassical buildings that run along its sides. feet. Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), it has been a national historical-artistic monument since 1995.
Late Gothic temple of the centuries and . The temple was built on one of the fortresses of Vitoria from the time of King Sancho VI of Navarra, given for this purpose to the City Council by the Catholic Monarchs in the year 1484. Since the century there would have been a small temple on the site that was demolished to make way for the new church. Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), it has been a national historical-artistic monument since 1984.
Neoclassical temple built between 1897 and 1900 as part of the Convent of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers.
From the Florida Park, a long succession of walks lead to Armentia, where you can see one of the jewels of the Basque Romanesque: the Basilica of San Prudencio (patron saint of Álava). The temple was built in the last decades of the 19th century, surely coinciding with the founding of the city of Vitoria in 1181, although it is believed that the remains of an older religious building from the 19th century were preserved on that same site. So, a century had passed since the old Bishopric of Armentia, which arose at the end of the 19th century, a few decades after the founding of the nearby Bishopric of Valpuesta, in the western lands of Álava and Burgos, had become extinct. In early medieval times, the town of Armentia was an important population center as it was the crossroads of the Camino de Santiago and the ancient Roman road Astorga-Bordeaux, which had a landmark here called Suisaco, mentioned in Antonino's itinerary, between Veleia (Iruña) and Tulonio. All of this, together with the recognition of Armentia as the birthplace of Prudencio, a saint from the Visigothic era (around the 1st century) who was highly venerated, in addition to Álava, in the lands of Rioja, Soria and Zaragoza, where he spent his life as a hermit, evangelizer, conciliator and bishop, turned Armentia into the most important spiritual center of Álava.
Located northwest of the city, in the old town of Abetxuko belonging to the neighborhood of the same name, just four kilometers from the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. Romanesque temple from the 17th century, successively restored in the and . Belfry in the west and side chapels with arches and vaults from the and centuries. On the south façade, made of masonry, its beautiful Romanesque doorway opens, which is composed of three semicircular archivolts on columns, decorated with plant motifs and balls. Inside the church, the medieval structure is maintained, with a single nave with two sections and a straight head, which houses an image of Christ Crucified, of great artistic value, from the 19th century. It also preserves the medieval foot of the baptismal font, which today supports the altar; column with base of claws and masks.
Dating back to before the 19th century, it has a rectangular nave with Romanesque walls, prior to the arches, vaults and exterior buttresses, which respond to later reforms. The headline image is from the end of the century. The most notable thing about San Martín de Abendaño are the mural paintings of the old head, today at the foot of the temple. They deployed a great iconographic plan for educational purposes, which today is difficult to reconstitute; Those identifiable by their best state of conservation represent scenes of the Crucifixion and Annunciation. The exterior walls also preserve remains of paintings that attest to the practice of exterior decoration of medieval temples.
Located in the municipality of Argandoña, 8 km from Vitoria, it dates back to the 19th century and is a true jewel of Romanesque art. Our Lady of Estíbaliz is the patron saint of Álava. In the church there is a Virgin seated with the Child that has been preserved since the century and is venerated as the patron saint of the province of Álava. Of particular interest is the south doorway, called Porta Speciosa. Already in 1074 the monastery was mentioned in writing. Since 1138 it was under the Benedictine monastery of Santa María la Real de Nájera. The current church was in the century. In 1542, Don Atanasio de Ayala, his descendant and heir, donated the Estíbaliz monastery to the Santiago hospital in the city of Vitoria, which transferred it to the province of Álava under the condition of proceeding with the restoration of such a precious basilica. After the dissolution of the monastery in the century it was used as a parish church. From the middle of the century the plant was owned by the Hospital de Santiago, Vitoria until the beginning of the century, the province of Álava took over. Then the church began to be restored and in 1923 it was transferred back to the Benedictines.
Convent of Poor Clare nuns of the century. The building, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, was founded in 1608 at the initiative of Doña Mariana Vélez Ladrón de Guevara, countess of Tripiana and widow of Don Carlos de Álava, who four years earlier left the money, 1,150 ducats, for the works in his will. For this purpose, the Trasmeran stonemasons Juan Vélez de la Huerta and his son, Pedro, were hired, who completed the building in 1622. Located outside the city walls, the Convent was initially inhabited by Franciscan Recollect monks. In 1855 the City Council gave it to the Poor Clare sisters. Of the original factory, only the church remains; The convent building itself is a modern building.[117].
Convent of Dominican nuns of the century. Starting in 1530, the Convent of Santa Cruz was built on Pintorería Street with the sponsorship of Hortuño (or Fortunio) Ibáñez de Aguirre, member of the Royal Council and the Inquisition, and his wife María de Esquível y Arratia. The Aguirre lords converted part of the building into their private residence. In 1547 the works were completed under the tutelage of Mateo de Aguirre, nephew and heir of the lawyer. It is a construction made up of two nuclei: the church and the convent, itself. The convent, inhabited by the community of Dominican nuns, has a square floor plan and a large central cloister inside. On the outside it presents the appearance of a very closed solid wall that gives it a sober and austere appearance, but it has an element of great interest: the doorway, where we find a simple access, in a semicircular arch, with the coat of arms of the Dominican community on it.
civil architecture
Its last remains were discovered in 2001 in archaeological excavations carried out in the basement of the Cathedral of Santa María on the occasion of the works for its rehabilitation and completed the sections that were previously known. It is a work carried out in the century and that completely surrounded old Vitoria with its 900 m perimeter. The Vitoria City Council, in collaboration with the Basque Government and the Department of Architectural Archeology of the UPV, revealed in a first phase 236 m of fortress and two towers located at the back of Correría street "Calle de la Correría (Vitoria)") to which new sections have been added. The medieval wall of Vitoria won the Europa Nostra prize in 2010,[118] considered the Nobel Prize in heritage, thus, the award granted in this edition is added to the medal obtained by the capital of Álava in 1982 for the urban treatment of the Medieval Town and the Special Prize awarded to the restoration of the Cathedral of Santa María in 2002.
It is a Renaissance style building from the 19th century. The main façade is located on Calle de la Zapatería "Calle de la Zapatería (Vitoria)") with a double doorway of semicircular arches with a beautiful noble coat of arms. The rear façade is made of masonry with neo-Gothic elements, best known, it is located on Calle de la Herrería "Calle de la Herrería (Vitoria)"). The building is property of the King of Morocco.[119].
It is a very altered Renaissance palace, built by Juan Ruiz de Vergara and María Díez de Álava on the plots of ten houses that he received as a dowry from his parents with the aim of placing their shields.[120].
The House of the Landázuri and Romarete has been considered the customs house. Until 1841, it was where the control of the passage of goods from the interior of the peninsula to the rest of Europe was carried out. The historian Joaquín José de Landázuri y Romarate was born and lived there. The houses at the beginning of Correría Street were built in the first months of 1757 by Manuel Baltasar de Uriarte y Castillo, who placed his coat of arms between the first two portals of the street and on the first floor. The houses of Alforja are an example of the constructions of merchants in the 19th century. The lower floor was used for business and the upper floor as a home.[120].
This building belongs to the first expansion of the city and was part of the walled area that surrounded it.[120][121].
Free-standing building built between the and centuries, whose main and rear façades face the Santo Domingo square and a fenced garden, respectively. The Álava-Velasco palace is in the Baroque style, it was built by Francisco Carlos de Álava y Arista y Amézaga and his wife María Josefa de Ibarra y Echazarreta. The name is due to its last owners, the Velascos, heirs of the founder.[122][123].
The Corcuera house is one of the oldest in the city. Corner party house whose rear façade is attached to the tower of the church of San Miguel "Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel (Vitoria)"), while the main one faces Correría street "Calle de la Correría (Vitoria)"). It has a rectangular floor plan and consists of a ground floor and three floors. The first two bodies were built in stone and the upper ones in brick. Three shields stand out on its south façade with the arms of the Corcuera, united with the Mendoza and Urbina. Of them, a round shield is especially interesting, due to its style and simplicity, it could correspond to the last third of the century.[120][124].
Main parks and green spaces
Located in the expansion "Ensanche (Vitoria)"), it is considered a true botanical garden. With 35,000 m², it was designed in the century according to the romantic style prevailing at the time, with streams and groves. In it you can find strange and exotic botanical varieties from all parts of the planet with ninety-five species of trees and seventy-nine of shrubs. It houses the bandstand from the 1890s and statues of four Gothic kings.
It could be said that they are a continuation of the Florida park. They border the ambulatory part of the new cathedral and house a curious sculpture of a huge rhinoceros, the work of Vitorian sculptor Koko Rico.
It is popularly known as “Shell Park” due to the shape of the buildings that surround it or “Duck Park” due to the large number of ducks that live in its pond. It is one of the most beautiful urban parks built in the city and has 85,000 m² where eleven different species of conifers, sixty-six species of hardwoods and more than ten thousand rose bushes live. It is located in the neighborhood of the same name and has numerous areas for children's leisure, a skate park and a large pond with a colorful geyser.
Also known as "Molinuevo park", it is located north of the medieval town. In addition to a wide variety of hardwood and coniferous species, its blue spruce and lofty palms stand out.
Judimendi (which translated into Spanish would be "hill of the Jews") is located in the city's old Jewish cemetery that was handed over to the authorities in the century when the Catholic Monarchs ordered its expulsion. Inside the park you can see the monolith that remembers its history. This beautiful space stands out for its white poplars.
It is located in the Lakua-Arriaga district and is configured around a sworn hermitage. It stands out, above all, for its 190,000 m² populated with acacias, poplars, rose gardens and numerous aromatic plants. It also has a lake frequented by various species of birds.
It is a park widely used by Vitorians, especially by jogging lovers. The history of this park goes back more than a century when it was an ancient pasture for grazing domestic animals. It is home to twenty-one species of trees, all of them deciduous. The most notable specimens that can be seen are horse chestnuts, ash trees, lime trees and maples.
It is located in the northeast of the city and has a large number of birch, beech and oak trees.
It has connected Florida Park with the Romanesque Basilica of San Prudencio de Armentia for more than a century. More than two kilometers long, the pleasant walk it offers under its chestnut trees leads to other green spots of great interest such as the gardens of the Zulueta palace, El Prado or Las Campas de Armentia. Along the path, there are other points of interest such as the Ajuria-Enea palace, the Armory Museum or the Augusti palace-Museum of Fine Arts.
green ring
The Green Belt is a set of peri-urban parks of high ecological and landscape value strategically linked. It is the result of a project that began in the nineties to restore and recover the periphery of Vitoria, both from an environmental and social point of view.
It is made up of six parks: Armentia "Armentia (Álava)"), Olarizu, Salburua, Zabalgana, Zadorra and Errekaleor. All of them connected through urban paths in order to facilitate movement between the city and the nature that surrounds it.[137].
Bridges
Abetxuko Bridge: This is a bridge built over the Zadorra River in the northern part of the city. It was one of the initiatives of the Vitoria city council to improve the mobility of the citizens of Abetxuko who for years have been connected to the city center through a narrow bridge, six meters wide, which generated risky situations for pedestrians. The structure is made up of two longitudinal lattices. The design of the lattices goes beyond traditional shapes and introduces complex, organic-looking shapes whose dimensions adjust to resistant needs. The designers of the bridge have used Corten steel as a tribute to the Basque sculptors Eduardo Chillida and Jorge de Oteiza. The spaces of the traditional lattices become alveoli of varied shapes whose appearance and color vary with the light and invite very different perspectives, turning it into a living bridge.
Old Bridge of Castilla: It has been in disuse as a bridge since 1994, the year in which it was installed in the gardens of the Foronda portal) as a monument since it is a jewel of industrial archeology, built with structures that are no longer manufactured in the Eiffel style. It is the bridge of the Madrid-Irún railway line that crossed the Castilla portal of Vitoria since the end of the last century. The origins of this peculiar monument are born from the urban growth of the city that caused that in the mid-nineties, that point, a link between the city center and the Prado park and further afield with the Ariznavarra neighborhood, became a bottleneck for cars and an uncomfortable passage for pedestrians. It was replaced by the new Puente de Castilla.
New Bridge of Castilla: Also called Blue Bridge by the people of Vitoria, this bridge replaces the old nine-meter span bridge that prevented the normal development of the city. The new bridge has a span of sixty-four meters and crosses the lower road at a great angle of forty-nine degrees.
Theaters
It is the largest theater[138] in the city, which in 2018 celebrates 100 years of existence. It has almost a thousand seats and a very varied annual program in which both plays and concerts are presented, reaching up to one hundred and fifty shows. These are structured into four seasons that are winter-spring, summer, the International Theater Festival and Christmas.
It is the oldest theater located in civic centers and the one with the greatest demand for use. Thanks to its children's theater program, it has been contributing to the creation of new audiences for the performing arts for years.
The Jesús Ibáñez Theater in Matauco[139] is one of the spaces where different artistic initiatives are carried out and developed. Located in the Hegoalde civic center associated with the municipal network of theaters. Among the theater's programming, the Flamenco Siglo cycle and the JIM Aktual dedicated to contemporary creation stand out.
This is the theater that has the most modern stage infrastructure in the city as it has the latest generation equipment. It was named in honor of one of the most important stage programmers in Vitoria, Félix Petite, who was also the founder of the International Theater Festival.
Theater in which various groups, associations, music and dance schools in the city develop their programs and artistic creations. Many boys and girls attend the music education programs carried out there.
urban sculptures
• - Main urban sculptures of Vitoria.
• - La Mirada, 1992, by Agustín Ibarrola, Plaza General Loma (next to Plaza de la Virgen Blanca).
• - Equilibrio, 2000, by Benito Valladares, UPV University Campus.
• - Crocodile, 2005, by Koko Riko, gardens of Bishop Fernández de Piérola.
• - Rhinoceros, 2005, by Koko Riko, gardens of Bishop Fernández de Piérola.
• - Prometeo-Libertad, 1982, by Casto Solano, Abechuco.
• - Monument to Manuel Iradier, 1956, by Lorenzo Ascasibar, La Florida Park.
• - San Prudencio, 1940, by José Marín Bosque and José López Goicolea, San Prudencio Avenue.
• - El Caminante, 1985, by Juan José Eguizábal, Plaza del Arca.
• - El Minotauro (El Torero), 1992, by Casto Solano, Eduardo Dato street&action=edit&redlink=1 "Edudardo Dato street (Vitoria) (not yet written)").
• - Monument to Ken Follett, 2008, by Casto Solano, adjacent to the Cathedral of Santa María.
• - Tribute to Los Fueros, 1981, by Eduardo Chillida, plaza de los Fueros.
• - Monument to Ignacio Aldecoa, 1999, by Aurelio Rivas, La Florida park.
• - Statue of Celedón, 2005, by Ángel Benito Gaztañaga, balcony of the church of San Miguel.
• - Monument to Eduardo Dato, 1925, by Mariano Benlliure, La Florida Park.
• - Monument to the Battle of Vitoria, 1917, by Gabriel Borrás Abella, Plaza de la Virgen Blanca.
• - La Mirada, 2001, by Miquel Navarro, Calle de Francia in front of the ARTIUM.
• - The viewpoint looking, 1958, by Jorge Oteiza, in front of the ARTIUM.
• - Fray Francisco de Vitoria, 1945, by Moisés Huerta, Fray Francisco walk.
• - Wynton Marsalis, 2006, by Koko Riko, La Florida Park.
• - Gothic kings, century, La Florida park.
• - To the Victims of Terrorism, by Agustín Ibarrola, Portal de Foronda Avenue.
• - Bust of Lauaxeta, 2006, Septimiu Jungretan, Plaza del Convent del Carmen.
• - Innocence The Unexpected, 2002, by Imanol Marrodán, Portal de Foronda Avenue.
• - Monolith to the victims of March 3, in front of the San Francisco church.
• - Arrazoiaren Indarra (The Force of Reason), 2013, by Iñigo Arregui, in front of the church of San Francisco.
Culture
La ciudad ha recibido la influencia de diferentes culturas, que se han ido añadiendo al sustrato nativo vasco. En la segunda mitad del siglo arribaron a ella gran número de emigrantes procedentes del resto de España, a los que se han sumado en los últimos años personas inmigrantes de diferentes orígenes. Como consecuencia de ello, Vitoria es hoy día una ciudad bulliciosa y multicultural. Se encuentra entre las ciudades europeas más sostenibles y con mayor calidad de vida.[140][141] Es además la ciudad española con más zonas verdes, 42 m² por persona contando el Anillo Verde de la ciudad,[142] y la segunda si solo se cuentan las áreas verdes dentro de la ciudad con 23,4 m² por persona.[143].
La vieja catedral de Vitoria y las visitas guiadas al templo y los trabajos de restauración han supuesto un antes y un después para el casco histórico de la ciudad. Junto con el descubrimiento de varios tramos de LA muralla medieval han seguido el modelo de «abierto por obras» y han atraído gran número de visitantes. Esto ha reforzado los esfuerzos que la ciudad está realizando para promover la revitalización, restauración y conservación de su barrio medieval, llegando a mostrar interés por parte del ayuntamiento para iniciar los trámites para declararla Patrimonio de la Humanidad y consiguiéndolo en el año 2015 bajo la denominación Camino de Santiago: Camino Francés y Caminos del Norte de España.[144].
Anualmente se celebran varios festivales musicales de Jazz y de Rock. El Festival de Jazz de Vitoria —acaece entre el 15 y el 21 de julio—, en el que han tomado parte casi todas las grandes leyendas del género, desde Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, o Miles Davis, hasta Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin o Wynton Marsalis, quien ha compuesto un álbum de homenaje al festival. El Azkena Rock Festival (festival de indie rock) cumplió en el año 2011 su décima edición, convirtiéndose así en uno de los festivales más importantes del país gracias a su interés por traer reconocidas bandas de rock como Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Wilco, Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Blondie o Fun Lovin Criminals.
Otro evento cultural anual de la ciudad, enfocado en la difusión de ideas innovadoras, es el TEDxVitoriaGasteiz"),[145] que desde 2015[146] se viene celebrando por primavera; en el que han participado personajes como Erion Veliaj"), José Mota, Tania Lamarca, Hossein Derakhshan, Edurne Portela, Karmele Jaio o Virginia Pérez Alonso, entre otros.
La manifestación festiva más importante de la ciudad, sin embargo, son las Fiestas de La Blanca, que tienen lugar entre el 4 y el 9 de agosto; sin olvidar el Día del Blusa (celebrado cada 25 de julio desde 1926), con su tradicional mercado de ajos, la Romería de Olarizu (el primer lunes después de la Virgen de septiembre) ni la festividad de San Prudencio cada 28 de abril, cuando se celebra la Romería en las campas de Armentia en honor del Patrón de la provincia de Álava. No hay que olvidar el FesTVal de Vitoria, primer festival que se dedica exclusivamente a la televisión y a la radio en todos sus formatos: programas, concursos, magazines, series… que se celebra en la ciudad cada septiembre desde 2009 todo ello, con la participación de todas las cadenas generalistas (EITB, TVE, Antena 3, Cuatro "Cuatro (canal de televisión)"), Telecinco, La Sexta y Canal +) y con los diferentes artistas de interés.
Museums
The capital of Álava is dotted with first-rate museums.
ARTIUM offers a collection of contemporary art from the beginning of the century to the present. It is considered the second most important collection in Spain, after the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.[147] In the house-hotel of the Count of Dávila (from 1912), on the Paseo de Fray Francisco (famous for its sumptuous and sometimes eccentric palaces from the beginning of the century), is the Museum of Fine Arts of Vitoria: this center offers a brilliant selection of Basque customs, Romanesque and Gothic carvings, triptychs flamencos and paintings of the centuries and . Together with the Museum of Archeology, it is part of a museum network that is completed by the Armería (also on Paseo de Fray Francisco, next to Ajuria Enea), the Museum of Natural Sciences (in the imposing Doña Otxanda Tower, century ) and the Fournier Museum of Playing Cards (with the largest collection of playing cards in the world thanks to the contribution of the local company Naipes de Heraclio Fournier S.A., founded in 1868). On the other hand, numerous art galleries are distributed throughout the city, hosting exhibitions of all kinds.
Its permanent collection is considered one of the best and most important in contemporary art in the entire State.[148] It was inaugurated on April 26, 2002 and is an open and dynamic museum.[149] The Permanent Collection has works by the artists (in alphabetical order): Ana Laura Aláez, Txomin Badiola, Miquel Barceló, Joseph Beuys, Joan Brossa, Rafael Canogar, Juan Francisco Casas, Jacobo Castellano, Costus, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Eduardo Chillida, Salvador Dalí (Portrait of Mrs. Fagen), Óscar Domínguez, Equipo Crónica, Alberto García-Alix, Luis Gordillo, Eva Lootz, Manolo Millares, Joan Miró, Juan Muñoz, Jorge Oteiza, Pablo Palazuelo, Guillermo Pérez Villalta (The Bath), Pablo Picasso (Musketeer with a Pipe), Antonio Saura, Pablo Serrano, José María Sicilia, Antoni Tàpies, Darío Urzay, Juan Uslé and Darío Villalba, among many others. In total, the collection consists of around 3,000 pieces of painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, video and installations. The monumental La Mirada, a 45 m high iron sculpture by artist Miquel Navarro (2001), stands in front of the building in the square overlooking Calle de Francia.
Located in the ambulatory of the new cathedral, it offers samples of the religious artistic heritage of the province, divided into sections of stone carving, wood carving, painting on panel, painting on canvas, metalwork and liturgical furniture.
The museum is installed in the Torre de Doña Otxanda, an example of medieval architecture. It is also a center for research and dissemination of Natural Sciences.
The Archeology Museum is located in a modern building attached to the Fournier Card Museum. The set of two museums is called Bibat and creates one of the most interesting points of the medieval town, combining antiquity and modernity. While the archeology one is recently built, the playing cards one is based in the Renaissance palace of Bendaña. The manufacture of playing cards has been one of the most characteristic activities of Vitoria, promoted by Heraclio Fournier. The museum has more than 20,000 decks, some of them very old.[150].
Basque
Since 1981 the percentage of bilinguals has been increasing progressively. In 2011, 22.5% of the city's inhabitants (52,298 people) were bilingual, and another 26.1% (60,851 people) were passive bilingual. 51.4% had no knowledge of Basque.[151] The percentage of Basque speakers is higher in the younger age groups. Thus, the 10 to 14 age group is the most bilingual: only 6% have no knowledge of Basque.
Gastronomy
The proximity of the province of Álava to the Cantabrian Sea provides excellent fish and seafood to Vitorian tables, but the raw materials from the land are the most common ingredients in the area's dishes. From alavesa snails, which are consumed with a strong sauce, to seasonal mushrooms (especially the highly prized perrechicos, mushrooms that have come to be called the "elvers of the mountain"). The stews are an important part of the Vitorian recipes, the nearby orchards provide magnificent legumes and vegetables, especially red, pinto and white beans without forgetting the Vitorian-style broad beans and vegetable stews. In addition, meats also take center stage in the city's dishes: from steaks and barbecues to game dishes (stewed quail is one of the most traditional), including sausages such as blood sausage that is made in different towns in the province.
As throughout the Basque Country, pintxo is also typical in Vitoria, from the classic potato omelette skewer made with Alavesa potatoes, to new culinary designs that combine different ingredients from the garden, the land and the sea. Desserts have a deep roots in Vitoria, and the city is dotted with sweet shops and pastry shops (some of them centuries old) that make the area's typical sweets: chocolate truffles, goxua (Vitorian sweet made with sponge cake, cream and cream) creation of pastry chef Luis López de Sosoaga,[152] Basque cake, eclairs, vasquitos and nesquitas and rice pudding. As for wines, we must highlight the presence in the province of Álava of one of the most famous regions in terms of oenology, such as Rioja Alavesa, one of the three subregions into which the qualified designation of origin (DOCa) of Rioja "Rioja (wine)") is divided, and the production of Txakoli de Álava in the northern Cuadrilla de Ayala, also with Designation of Origin.
In 2014 Vitoria won the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy award, taking over from Burgos. The award was awarded by the Spanish Hospitality Federation and the Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers.[153].
The gastronomic highlight is the pintxo-pote, which makes rounds of the bars consuming a tapa with each drink for the price of one euro. There are currently more than twenty routes throughout the city.
The wine offered is usually from Rioja Alavesa and there are pintxos of all kinds: stained tortillas, grilled mushrooms, mini Roquefort burgers...
It is worth highlighting the quality pintxopote, where part of what the hoteliers collect is destined to the promotion of local musical groups. There is also the Barrel Route and the Beer Route.
European Green Capital 2012
The European Commission recognizes the commitment and efforts of European cities to address and tackle ecological problems and improve the quality of life of their citizens, reducing the impact and pressure they exert on the environment through The European Green Capital Award or European Green Capital Award.[12].
Cities that qualify for this title are examined on a complete list of environmental criteria. Any European city of more than two hundred thousand inhabitants that is a benchmark in this sense can apply for the award. On October 21, 2010, Vitoria was designated by the European Commission as European Green Capital 2012. This distinction aims to recognize those cities that: Have consistently demonstrated compliance with environmental standards, are committed to setting new ambitious objectives for environmental improvement and sustainable development, can act as a model, inspiring other cities and promoting best practices to all other European cities.
In this way, Vitoria has become a model of green action and now it is up to it to share its practices with other cities to contribute to the defense of the environment throughout Europe. This award represents the highest recognition for more than thirty years of environmentally friendly proposals and initiatives. It is the result of a high degree of leadership and consensus among political parties on sustainable development, the environmental movement and citizen support through the Green outside, green inside awareness campaign that awakened a strong feeling of civic pride and belonging, promoting green awareness.[154].
Vitoria began its fight against climate change in 2006 with the Vitoria Strategy for the Prevention of Climate Change 2006-2012 (not current), with the main objective of reducing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tons per year by 2012 and, in the long term, making Vitoria a city with a neutral carbon footprint. After signing the Covenant of Mayors of Europe in 2009, Vitoria committed to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 20% compared to those produced in the municipality in 2006 and to develop a Plan to Fight Climate Change. On July 23, 2010, the City Council approved at the Government Meeting the Plan to Fight Climate Change 2010-2020, which merges and updates the objectives and actions of the previous Vitoria Strategy for the Prevention of Climate Change 2006-2012 and the Local Energy Plan 2007-2012, adapting to the commitment of the Covenant of the Mayors of Europe, and establishing for Vitoria the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.[155].
The Sustainable Mobility and Public Space Plan of Vitoria aims to modify the mobility habits of citizens to promote more sustainable means of transport, increase the quality of urban space and improve the accessibility of all people to basic services. The Plan has been approached from a multidisciplinary point of view, with the participation of the majority of municipal departments. A relevant role has been given to citizens, who have participated in the definition of a new model of mobility and public space through a citizen forum created for this purpose. The results of this Plan are now beginning to be visible and, since it was launched, this Plan has silently changed the way in which citizens move around the city. The promotion of a new bus network, together with the tram lines and the new regulation of parking in the OTA area, have led to a 44% increase in monthly trips on public transport. To these actions we must add those carried out to increase the use of bicycles in the city.
Sport
Vitoria is known for Deportivo Alavés, which returned to the LFP first division in the 2023/2024 season after achieving promotion in the play off against Levante. In 2017, Deportivo Alavés reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time in its history, losing 3-1 against Barcelona. A final that hosted the last official match at the Vicente Calderón stadium and to which 25,000 Alaves fans traveled. It should be remembered that the team was runner-up in the UEFA Cup in 2001, after losing the final against Liverpool 5-4, which has been considered one of the best European finals of all time.
As for basketball, Vitoria stands out on the international stage thanks to Baskonia, a Euroleague finalist on several occasions (2001 and 2005), winner of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996. It is considered one of the best teams in Europe despite its small budget and resources compared to other teams. In total there are 4 leagues, 6 King's Cups, 4 Spanish Super Cups, 2 Euskal Kopa, and 1 Association Trophy. This team is characterized by its character, called Baskonia Character or Nortasuna Baskonia, in Spanish and Basque, respectively. In addition, Araski AES has been playing since the 2016/2017 season in the first division of the Spanish Women's Basketball League, after achieving promotion in the previous season. The Araberri basketball club, after losing its category in the LEB Oro league for the 2018-19 season after being bottom, ended its participation in categories of the Spanish Basketball Federation as it did not want to register in any national category. Regarding inline speed skating, the Desliza Vitoria Skating Club (former Marianistas Vitoria)[157] with Patxi Peula and Aura Cristina Quintana Herrera") stands out as the most notable members and the Elurra K.E. Skating Club.[158] Both clubs participating in the World Cup Marathons (World Inline Cup). In figure skating, the Illusion Inline Skating Club stands out with Idoia Ramírez de la Piscina") at the head.[159] The successes of other individual athletes such as Martín Fiz (marathon), Iker Romero (handball) or Almudena Cid, Lorena Guréndez, Tania Lamarca and Estíbaliz Martínez (rhythmic gymnastics), Patxi Peula (inline skating), who come from this city also stand out. Within the world of mountains, this city has also contributed great names such as Juanito Oiarzabal, fourth man to do the 14 eight-thousanders without oxygen, or the Pou brothers, one of the world's greatest exponents of rock climbing.
The largest in the city is occupied by Deportivo Alavés, which plays in the Mendizorroza municipal stadium, which has capacity for 19,840 spectators. Likewise, Vitoria has the Fernando Buesa Arena Pavilion, a multipurpose venue that has recently been expanded from having a capacity for 10,400 people before the start of construction, to having a capacity for 15,504 people.[160] at its reopening on February 5, 2012. The pavilion is used as the headquarters of the Saski Baskonia. This facility has hosted several events such as concerts, trials shows, four Basketball King's Cups (2000, 2002, 2008 and 2013), a Eurocup final (2010) and a Euroleague Final Four (2019). The number of subscribers to the city's sports network is around 80,000.
Media
Before there was Vitoria TV (VTV).
Twin cities
Vitoria is twinned with the following cities:[169][170].
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Vitoria.
• - Vitoria City Council.
References
[1] ↑ Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (ed.). «Vitoria». Datos de altitud para Vitoria en la página de previsión meteorológica de AEMET provenientes del Nomenclátor geográfico de municipios y entidades de población del Instituto Geográfico Nacional: [1].: http://www.aemet.es/es/eltiempo/prediccion/municipios/vitoria-gasteiz-id01059
[5] ↑ a b Celdrán Gomáriz, Pancracio (2004). «Vitoria o Vitoria-Gazteiz». Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 885. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. Wikidata Q19360096.
[6] ↑ Nieto Ballester, Emilio (1997). «Vitoria». Breve diccionario de topónimos españoles. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. p. 370. ISBN 978-84-206-9487-0. Wikidata Q124610703.
[10] ↑ «Ley 1/1980, de 23 de mayo, de Sede de las Instituciones de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco». Boletín Oficial del Estado (110): 34570. 8 de mayo de 2012.: http://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2012-6155
[11] ↑ «20 millones para Vitoria por ser "sede de las instituciones comunes"». El Correo. Vasco Press. 4 de junio de 2013. Consultado el 1 de diciembre de 2016. «El Gobierno vasco mantiene su alergia a considerar a Vitoria capital de Euskadi, aunque aprueba el canon demandado por la ciudad».: http://www.elcorreo.com/alava/20130604/local/millones-para-vitoria-sede-201306041304.html
[15] ↑ Porres Marijuán, María Rosario (1995). «4». En Ayuntamiento de Vitoria, ed. Documentación ayuntamiento. Vitoria: Ayuntamiento de Vitoria. p. 127-130.
[25] ↑ Llanos, Armando (2013). «Cerámica pre-protohistórica. El conjunto cerámico del Campillo Sur (Vitoria-Gasteiz)». En Agustín Azkarate y Jose Luis Solaun, ed. Arqueología e historia de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz I. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. pp. 183-187.
[26] ↑ Martínez Torrecilla, José Manuel (2013). «El corpus cerámico de la Catedral de Santa María». En Agustín Azkarate y José Luis Solaun, ed. Arqueología e historia de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz I. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. pp. 191-194.
[27] ↑ Gil Zubillaga, Eliseo (2000). «Plaza de Santa María, 1 (Vitoria-Gasteiz)». Arkeoikuska 99: 175-182.
[28] ↑ Besga Marroquín, A. (2001) Domuit vascones: el País Vasco durante la época de los reinos germánicos: la era de la independencia (siglos V–VIII). Librería Anticuaría Astarloa, 2001.
[29] ↑ Juan de Bíclaro, obispo de Gerona, su vida y su obra (1960). Edición crítica de Julio Campos. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid.
[30] ↑ Azkarate, Agustín; Solaun, José Luis (2009). «Nacimiento y transformación de un asentamiento altomedieval en un futuro centro de poder: Gasteiz desde fines del siglo VI d. C. a inicios del segundo milenio». En Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo, ed. The archaeology of early medieval villages in Europe. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. pp. 406-407.
[38] ↑ Agustín Azkarate y Jose Luis Solaun (2013): Arqueología e historia de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz (II), Bilbao, p. 435.
[39] ↑ .García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Conclusiones». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV: 486-487.
[40] ↑ García-Gómez, Ismael (2013). «Vitoria-Gasteiz antes de Vitoria-Gasteiz. Una aproximación a la construcción historiográfica de los orígenes de nuestra ciudad». En Azkarate, Agustín, ed. Arqueología de una ciudad. Los orígenes de Vitoria-Gasteiz (Bilbao) II: 35-57.
[43] ↑ Ayuntamiento de Vitoria, Vitoria-Gasteiz 2000. Mirando al futuro, 1999.
[44] ↑ a b García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Conclusiones». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV: 462-465.
[45] ↑ Fernández de Larrea y Rojas, 2000, p. 433.
[46] ↑ García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Secuencia de ensamblaje del sistema urbano de Vitoria-Gasteiz». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV. Bilbao. p. 467.
[47] ↑ García-Gómez, Ismael (2017). «Secuencia de ensamblaje del sistema urbano de Vitoria». Vitoria-Gasteiz y su Hinterland. Evolución de un sistema urbano entre los siglos XI y XV. Bilbao. p. 471.
[48] ↑ [2] Archivado el 1 de diciembre de 2020 en Wayback Machine. ARCHIVO GENERAL DE NAVARRA. (1349-1387).V. DOCUMENTACION REAL DE CARLOS II(1368-1369). Mª Teresa Ruiz San Pedro - Donostia : Eusko Ikaskuntza,D.L. 2003.: http://hedatuz.euskomedia.org/6677/1/docs121.pdf
[99] ↑ "Los centros cívicos como utopía integradora de la ciudad. El caso de Vitoria - Nuria Sampedro, Ainhoa Altuna, Sancho el sabio: Revista de cultura e investigación vasca, N.º 11, 1999.: http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=157621
[120] ↑ a b c d e f g h i Ayuntamiento de Vitoria, ed. (2011). Testigos de la Historia. Un recorrido por las casas señoriales, viviendas, torres y palacios del Casco Histórico. Vitoria: Ayuntamiento de Vitoria.
On May 20, 1980, Vitoria became the capital ("Gasteiz-Vitoria is designated as the seat of Parliament and Government") of the autonomous community of the Basque Country by decision of the Basque Parliament, which agreed to do so through its Headquarters Law. Thus, Vitoria is the capital of the province of Álava and in turn of the Basque Country, being the headquarters of the Provincial Council of Álava, the General Councils of Álava, the Basque Government and the Basque Parliament. In 2012 Vitoria was European Green Capital (European Green Capital).
• - The western periphery, formed by the neighborhoods of Sansomendi, the town and industrial estate of Ali-Gobeo and the neighborhood of Zabalgana.
• - The northeast area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Aranzabela, Arana "Arana (Vitoria)"), Arambizcarra, Santiago "Santiago (Vitoria)") and El Anglo. In addition to the towns absorbed in the plot of Betoño, Eskalmendi, Gamarra Menor and Gamarra Mayor.
• - The central-eastern area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Desamparados "Desamparados (Vitoria)"), Judizmendi and Santa Lucía "Santa Lucía (Vitoria)").
• - The eastern part of the city. In addition to the town of Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"); the district of Salburua, divided into the neighborhoods of Salburua and Arcayate.
• - The southeast area of the city. It includes Adurza, San Cristóbal, Errekaleor and the Oreitiasolo and Venta La Estrella industrial estates. In addition to the towns of Aretxabaleta and Gardélegui.
• - The southwest area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Ariznavarra, Armentia "Armentia (Álava)") and the district of Mendizorroza, divided into the neighborhoods of Mendizorroza, El Batán and Ciudad Jardín, in addition to the University Campus.
Rural councils belonging to the municipality of Vitoria:.
• - Eastern Rural Area of Vitoria. The 20 councils that make up this area are: Aberásturi, Andollu, Arcaute, Arkaia, Argandoña, Askartza "Ascarza (Vitoria)"), Betoño, Bolívar "Bolívar (Vitoria)"), Zerio "Cerio (Vitoria)"), Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"), Gámiz "Gámiz (Álava)"), Ilárraza, Junguitu, Lubiano, Matauco, Oreitia, Otazu, Ullíbarri-Arrazua, Ullíbarri de los Olleros and Villafranca de Estíbaliz.
• - Northwest Rural Area of Vitoria. The area is made up of 23 councils and 2 neighborhoods that do not form councils: Amárita, Antezana de Foronda, Aránguiz, Astegieta, Crispijana, Estarrona, Foronda, Gamarra Mayor, Gamarra Menor, Gobeo, Gereña, Hueto Abajo, Hueto Arriba, Legarda "Legarda (Álava)"), Lopidana, Martioda, Mendiguren, Mendoza "Mendoza (Spain)"), Miñano Mayor, Miñano Menor, Retana, Ullivarri-Viña, Yurre "Yurre (Álava)"). In addition to the 2 neighborhoods that do not form councils: Artatza de Foronda and Mandojana.
• - Southwestern Rural Area of Vitoria. The 15 integrated councils are: Arechavaleta "Arechavaleta (Álava)"), Aríñez, Berrostegieta, Castillo "Castillo (Álava)"), Esquíbel, Gardelegi, Gometxa, Lasarte "Lasarte (Álava)"), Lermanda, Margarita "Margarita (Álava)"), Mendiola "Mendiola (Vitoria)"), Monasterioguren, Subijana de Álava, Zuazo de Vitoria and Zumelzu.
The first facilities of this type consisted of: a library, sound library, playroom, workshops and a meeting area depending on the possibilities of the location. The first center that inaugurated the network was the Sansomendi Center, in 1985. It was followed by: El Pilar in 1986, Campillo, in the Old Town, in a property transferred by the Central Administration, in June of that same year (1986) and Abetxuko in 1987.
In 1989, the Iparralde civic center was created and in December of the same year, the Europa civic center was created, the latter with shared use as a Congress Center. These centers already integrate in a single building all the services that the City Council wants to offer: sociocultural, healthcare, sports, leisure, etc. This will be the model in whose image the rest of the centers that have been integrating the municipal network will be built and designed. The management of the network passes into the hands of the Department of Culture, creating the figure of the director of the center and losing weight of citizen participation in its management and development of projects, being reduced to recipients of services, with hardly any involvement in their production and development.[99].
Currently the network is made up of fourteen centers: Abetxuko, Aldabe, Arana, Ariznabarra, Arriaga, El Campillo, El Pilar, Hegoalde, Ibaiondo, Iparralde, Judimendi, Lakua. Salburua and Zabalgana.[100] Its current organic dependency: Social Area, Economic Promotion, Citizen Security and Culture.[101].
It remains a unique project in the State, with a very high level of users and acceptance by citizens.[102][103].
• - Jaibus (festivals of Alava towns).
• - Technology park. The service is offered to the Álava technology park through two routes. The western route begins at the Zabalganda Avenue stop, 31 next to the Dental Clinic and the eastern route starts in Salbatierrabide next to Clínica Álava (Bus Stop).
• - Gorbeia shopping center. Stop corresponding to the Vitoria-Cigoitia Bus Line.
• - Other lines (Álava Bus).
Vitoria also has its own fleet of taxis, which cover the city and the airport with permanent stops.
Some streets with relatively steep slopes have covered mechanized platforms for pedestrian use, as can be seen in the image, an initiative that is rare in most cities in the world and that especially benefits the elderly.
It is the city of the bicycle. Thanks to being in a flat area, except for the historic center "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") which is located on a hill, the city is ideal for traveling by bicycle, being one of the preferred means of transportation for citizens. The city has an extensive network of cycle paths.[107].
In addition to a wide network of cycle routes to do inside and outside the city, such as the Armentia Forest or an alternative route of the Camino de Santiago.
Its current Urban Mobility Plan wants to connect the areas of the city that do not have a bike lane and expand it, reaching a total of 145 km of bidegorris (bike lanes) and cycle lanes so that cyclists can move comfortably.
In the city there is an association of urban cyclists called Gasteizko Bizikleteroak (www.bizikleteroak.org).
The city participates in the European Biking Cities network, a project led by a German non-profit organization that aims to promote sustainable mobility. Within this network, it is part of the Clean Air macroproject, in favor of better air quality in European cities. Vitoria has a bicycle-friendly policy, based on the promotion of this vehicle and being an instrument of great value for change.[108].
In the month of May, the city hosts Bicycle Week in which multiple activities are carried out in different civic centers and neighborhoods of the city.[109].
The route through Álava was known since the 19th century. along the Roman road XXXIV Ab Asturica Burdigalam[110] from Pamplona, and later with Alfonso VIII who invaded Álava, with a long siege of Vitoria, also from Bayonne through the San Adrián tunnel. on what is known as the Camino de Santiago Vasco del Interior.
There is evidence of different routes but currently, the Camino beacons reach Vitoria through Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"). From there, the modern urbanizations allow you to walk along the comfortable promenade of the Elorriaga portal and then along Santiago Avenue, visiting the historic center "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") and the most notable places, such as the Cathedral of Santa María.
The route through the city ends at the Basilica of San Prudencio (Armentia "Armentia (Álava)").[111].
There are currently more than 20 regular intercity bus lines[112][113] that connect Vitoria with the various municipalities in its functional area (Salvatierra "Salvatierra (Álava)"), Alegría de Álava, Iruña de Oca, Zuya...) and the rest of the province.
Vitoria is a communications hub and an important transit hub in northern Spain. The Northern Highway A-1 crosses the municipality at point 342, later between point 344 and 356 and finally between point 360 and 362. The old N-I serves to access the city from the highway and has been renamed VG-11/N-102 for the entrance from the southwest and VG-21/N-104 for the entrance from the east. The AP-1 toll highway reappears to the north of the municipality and allows communication with Éibar and San Sebastián. The N-622 highway is a highway that goes to Altube to connect with the AP-68 towards Bilbao. The N-240 highway serves as an alternative to a conventional highway to communicate with Bilbao. Finally, the regional highway A-132 heads from Vitoria towards the southeast to Santa Cruz de Campezo.
The Madrid-Irún line has one of its main stops in Vitoria. Half a dozen trains connect the city with Madrid every day, highlighting the Alvia service (three trains per day in each direction) which, via Valladolid, uses the AVE infrastructure to reach Madrid in three hours and forty-three minutes. There are also connections with all of Castilla y León, Galicia, Catalonia, Alicante and Asturias. Among the deficits, it is worth highlighting the lack of direct services that connect with Andalusia, you have to transfer in the city of Madrid from Chamartín to Atocha and there are multiple possibilities to access the south of the peninsula. The lack of rail connection with Bilbao is a problem that will be solved in 2026, with the construction of the Basque Y.
In addition, the Cercanías Álava line of interurban trains that serves Vitoria and its functional area, operated by Renfe under the Renfe Cercanías brand. The stations used, however, belong to Adif. It is made up of a single line, which connects the stations of Miranda de Ebro, Manzanos, La Puebla de Arganzón, Nanclares de la Oca, Vitoria, Alegría de Álava, Salvatierra "Salvatierra (Álava)"), Asparerena and Alsasua using the Madrid-Irún-Hendaya railway line throughout its entire route. The line was inaugurated in May 2025 with the presence of various authorities.
The Vitoria airport was built to be the large airport in the north of Spain and replace the Bilbao airport, but it did not manage to consolidate itself as such although it did manage to become the fourth airport with the largest transport of goods in Spain, behind those of Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza. Today the Ryanair company operates there with regular flights to Milan-Bergamo, Palma de Mallorca, Brussels-Charleroi, Cologne "Cologne (Germany)"), Alicante, Malaga and Seville.
The Torre de los Hurtado de Landa dates back to the 19th century, located at the back of the Cathedral of Santa María in the Plaza de las Burullerías. It was part of the city's defensive system and is a large Gothic building that retains its closed appearance in the lower part, made of masonry stone. The upper one is more open, and was made with a wooden and brick framework. It was declared a Historical-Artistic Monument in 1984, after undergoing a major restoration in 1981.[125].
The Escoriaza-Esquivel palace belonged to Fernán López de Escoriaza, doctor to King Henry VIII of England, and his wife Victoria de Anda y Esquivel ordered the construction of this palace in the middle of the century. Due to its architectural and ornamental richness, it is one of the best examples of Renaissance civil architecture. Built with masonry stone, it is organized around a square patio with double arches superimposed on three sides and a staircase. The capitals and medallions of the columns are richly decorated. It is worth highlighting the main façade, in front of a small square, in which the plateresque doorway stands out where you can see the busts of the owner and his wife. The building, which is located a few meters from the Santa María Cathedral, was acquired in 2010 by the Vitoria City Council.[126][127][128].
The palace of the Marquises of la Alameda is a free-standing house, built under the canons of civil Baroque by Bartolomé de Urbina (first Marquis of la Alameda "Marquisado de la Alameda (1761)") in the century in a baroque style. With a rectangular plan, it was built over the large slope of the hill that occupies the medieval town. In 1830 a bridge was built (now missing) to connect the garden of the house with another larger one located between the streets of Fundadora de las Siervas de Jesús and Cercas Bajas, in what is today the Plaza del Marqués de la Alameda. It has a beautiful corner shield on the main façade on Calle de la Herrería.[129].
The Iruña tower house is a strong house located in the old town "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") of Vitoria (Spain) dating back to the 19th century, it defended the city wall from its exterior façade. In 1970, the reconstruction was carried out with historicist criteria under the direction of Emilio and Luis Ángel Apraiz. It was made in the style of the Segovian or Italian towers of the late Middle Ages, since the roof did not protrude from the base of the tower. It was topped with a crown of cantilevered battlements on triple-curved modillions. In 1984 it was converted into the Álava Natural Sciences Museum.[130].
The old Hospice of Vitoria was founded in 1778 by Royal Decree of Carlos III, beginning to be directed by the Royal Board of Deputation for the Poor. The institution for the reception of orphans was installed in the building of what was the San Prudencio school, founded in 1589 by the Vitorian D. Martín de Salvatierra (1583-1592), bishop of Segorbe and Ciudad Rodrigo. The school and chapel complex, facing San Vicente de Paúl Street, was built between the and . The first, built in good sandstone ashlar, presents a severe classicist façade of three bodies, the first two with a twin structure, consisting of architraves that support four pairs of columns, of Tuscan order on the street level and of Ionic order on the upper one, sixteen in total. In the third body a sculptural relief of Charity stands out.
It is a building that was originally built as a defense of the city. Throughout its history it has undergone several renovations and currently houses homes and a health center.[120].
Casa Armera de los Gobeo and Landazuri Guevara, until a few years ago it functioned as an Archeology Museum.[120].
Built in the century as an element of protection of Media. Currently, El Campillo functions as the civic center.[120].
It is home to the municipal department of the Presidency, previously it was the City Council Design Center. Next to the House there is a park in which until recently there was an important sequoia of which "mocha" is preserved.[120].
Throughout its history it has been home to different spaces, such as the Drawing Academy, the School of Arts and Crafts, the Conservatory of Music... until it became the business hotbed that it is today.[120].
El Portalón was founded at the end of the century as a post house, constituting one of the most emblematic buildings in Vitoria at the time and preserving today all its medieval appearance and charm, being listed as a building of historical interest. Located at the northern exit of the old village of Gasteiz (nowadays the center of the historic center of Vitoria) it is escorted by the famous Cathedral of Santa María, the Torre los Hurtado de Anda and the Plaza de las Burullerías. The name "El Portalón" is completely descriptive of the building and refers to the oak gate that from its foundation until the 1950s kept its door open to protect merchants' carriages and thus prevent theft or deterioration of the transported goods. It was precisely in the rehabilitation of the 50s, when the building as a whole acquired the use that we know today, a top-class restaurant that combines history and gastronomy.
Located next to the church of San Miguel "Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel (Vitoria)") and a few meters from the church of San Vicente "Iglesia de San Vicente Mártir (Vitoria)"), in the well-known Plaza del Machete, in the historic center of the city. Its construction was ordered around 1539 by Martín de Salinas, ambassador to the court of Emperor Charles I. The building is unique in shape, U-shaped, because it had to be adapted to the city wall (against which it was built) and the uneven terrain. The factory is made of ashlar at the bottom of the walls and ashlar stone on the doorway, the shield and the surrounds of the openings. The city council took ownership of the palace and has adapted it to offer congresses, conferences and exhibitions.
Located on Cuchillería Street, it is a beautiful example of civil Gothic architecture. It was built in the century and has a century tower. The Catholic Monarchs stayed in this house, and Hadrian VI was named Pope while he was there. It was built in the century by the converted Jewish merchant Juan Sánchez de Bilbao on some old medieval houses, surrounding the old Gaona lineage tower of the century, which remains inside the first two floors of the palace. The starry and polychrome vault that covers the noble room of the tower and which has remained intact to this day stands out greatly.
This palace is also known as the palace-house of the Marquis of Fresno, it dates back to the middle of the century and was promoted by Antonio Sáez de Maturana. Public institutions are rehabilitating it to make it the headquarters of Zain, a cultural heritage research center in the Basque Country.[131].
The Maturana house is a noble house with raised floors closing Correría Street, which probably belonged to the Maturana lineage. In 1869, a commemorative tablet of the Jura de los Fueros Vitorianos by Isabel la Católica was placed on its side façade. This house is very restored and without any exterior sign, which reminds us of the first tenants.
The Montehermoso palace dates back to the 19th century, much renovated, which historically has had several uses. The building was built in 1524 in a Gothic-Renaissance style at the initiative of Hortuño (or Fortunio) Ibáñez de Aguirre, member of the Royal Council of Castile and the Inquisition, and his wife María de Esquível y Arratia, with the aim of housing a community of Dominican nuns. However, once completed, the Palace was used as the private residence of the Aguirre-Esquível family, who decided in exchange to build the convent of Santa Cruz "Convento de Santa Cruz (Vitoria)") for the Dominicans. In the following centuries, the Palace, equipped with a two-story interior patio with arcades, was the usual overnight mansion for the Spanish monarchs when they stopped in Vitoria and for other personalities of the nobility, even Joseph Bonaparte during the Napoleonic retreat made the palace his court in Vitoria before his escape to France. When it became its headquarters, the Bishopric commissioned the architect Fausto Íñiguez de Betolaza to reform the façade, which acquired its current neo-Gothic appearance. In 1928 another important reform was undertaken. In 1994 it ceased to be the headquarters of the diocese of Vitoria and in 1997, with the annexation of the old Water Reservoir, it became the Montehermoso cultural center, conceived as a space for artistic exhibitions and musical performances.
The Plaza de la Virgen Blanca was once known as Plaza Vieja, it is the nerve center of the city. Some of the most typical streets of the old town and the Ensanche converge there and it is surrounded by old houses with glass viewing points. In its center stands the memorial monument to the Battle of Vitoria. Among the buildings that are in this square, the church of San Miguel stands out, from the century where in one of its porticos an image of the Patron Saint, who gives its name to the square, is represented.
It is a large porticoed square conceived by the architect Antonio de Olaguibel in 1781 to unite the old town with the new Ensanche (then under construction), and to provide the city with a space to celebrate festivities, bullfights and popular markets. One of the most important elements of the complex is the town hall, with neoclassical decoration. The name Plaza Nueva was used in contrast to the adjacent Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, previously called Plaza Vieja, during its first years of existence.
The Plaza de los Fueros, built according to the project of Luis Peña Ganchegui and Eduardo Chillida, was inaugurated in 1979. Erected in pink granite stone, it houses the Monument to the Fueros, by Eduardo Chillida, as well as a fronton and a space designed for Basque rural sports. This square hosts free concerts held at city festivals, Basque rural sports and other types of events such as the Vitoria Science Week or the Ardo-Araba (Álava wine fair). Viewing the Plaza de los Fueros from above, you can see the map of Álava, designed with stone walls that give it its shape. Since the summer of 2011, the square largely bears the architects' original design.[133].
Los Arquillos is a street with arcades that was built in the century also by Olaguibel together with Díez de Güemes. Through a series of staggered buildings, the gap between the old city and the expansion is bridged. It descends from Plaza del Machete to the back of Plaza de España. The medieval area of the capital of Alava sits on a hill and "Los Arquillos" allow the significant unevenness to be overcome through a series of staggered buildings. The new work, which took ten years to build, was the solution for the expansion of the city next to the Plaza de España, also conceived by Olaguibel. Thus, the medieval streets were accessible from the neoclassical expansion. The year 1787 is usually given as the date of construction.
It has been the headquarters of the Basque Government since 1980 and is the official residence of the Lehendakari. It was built in 1918 as the residence of Serafín Ajuria's family, and is an example of Basque architecture of the time. Its name comes from the separation in two words of ajuriaenea, a name that is composed of the surname of the family that built the palace (the Ajuria) declined in Basque in the form of the genitive, coming to mean "from Ajuria."
It was ordered to be built by Alfredo de Zulueta as a house-hotel at the beginning of the century. It is an elegant mansion located on Paseo de la Senda surrounded by garden areas and was the headquarters of the Sancho el Sabio Foundation, a documentation center on Basque culture with historical collections from the century to the present day. In 2012 it was decided to enable the Zulueta Palace as the main headquarters of the European green capital, Green Capital. There is a plan to convert the Zulueta Palace into the Rioja Álava Wine Center. This center will consist of a space where activities will be carried out that will have Rioja Alavesa wine as their main focus. In this way, we want to turn Vitoria into a reference of great importance both nationally and internationally.
It is a building built of ashlar stone, quadrangular in shape and with columns in its entrance atrium. Work of Martín de Saracíbar, its main façade is of late neoclassical style and its construction took place between 1833 and 1858.
Rehabilitated as a multipurpose venue that is named Iradier Arena in honor of four illustrious "iradieres" of the city of Vitoria: Pantaleón Iradier, the architect who designed the city's old bullfighting plaza and the building that houses the Basque Parliament; Cesáreo Iradier, the architect who built the city's Teatro Principal "Teatro Principal (Vitoria)"; the musician Sebastián Iradier and the explorer Manuel Iradier. It was inaugurated on November 4, 2006 to begin hosting the White Fair, which traditionally begins on August 5. It is a building with a structure twenty-three meters high with a façade covered in aluminum and large spaces of transparent glass. It has an arena with a diameter of forty-five meters, five corrals, ten pigsties, an electronic scale to weigh the bulls, a slaughterhouse with a cold room to store up to five bullfights, an operating room, a treatment and resuscitation room, as well as a chapel.
The Vital building is the headquarters of the Caja Vital (Savings Bank of Vitoria and Álava), today part of Kutxabank, it is a modern steel and glass construction located in the ecological environment of the Salburua Wetlands that was born to be a reference for local architecture and a dynamic element of Salburua and the capital of Alava. It is an intelligent building designed by architects Javier Mozas and Eduardo Aguirre. Its exterior image represents the genetic code of a living organism and is reminiscent of the trunks and reeds of the wetland next to which it was built. It has 16,000 square meters built with all those departments that do not provide direct attention to the public, including the Presidency and General Management. It has an auditorium with two hundred seats, a multipurpose room, fourteen offices and twenty-five training rooms, in addition to the meeting rooms of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.[134].
This is a gallery of murals made by artists and volunteers on different facades of the medieval town and the Zaramaga neighborhood. This is a project that encourages creators to get involved in their environment and neighbors and interested parties to actively participate in creations that improve and beautify their own neighborhood by producing public works of art. Guided tours allow you to discover the history, meaning and secrets of each mural as well as how they were painted. Today, we can find murals in various parts of the medieval town: Plaza de las Burullerías"), canton of las Carnicerías, canton of Anorbín, calle de Santa María "Calle de Santa María (Vitoria)"), canton of Santa Ana "Cantón de Santa Ana (Vitoria)"), canton of Santa María, in front of the medieval wall also next to the canton of las Carnicerías and on calle de Francia "Calle de Francia (Vitoria)") in front of the museum ARTIUM. The project intends to continue making murals that expand the current collection.[135].
Network of semi-natural parks that surrounds the perimeter of the city. An initiative that arose in the nineties of the century and was selected by the UN among the hundred best global actions in the III International Competition of "Good Practices for the improvement of living conditions in cities", held in Dubai in 2000. It is currently made up of six parks: Zadorra River park, Salburua Wetlands park, Olárizu park and botanical garden, Armentia Forest park "Armentia (Álava)"), Zabalgana and Errekaleor Park. All of them connected through urban paths in order to facilitate movement between the city and the nature that surrounds it.[136].
In a neo-Renaissance mansion, the Augustín Palace, the museum displays carvings from the 16th century, Flemish triptychs from the 16th century, paintings by Spanish masters such as Ribera and modern Spanish painting, among which you can see works by Picasso or Zuloaga. The museum pays special attention to Basque traditional painting.
Opposite the previous one, there is this museum, where you can see weapons from all eras, from prehistoric axes to century pistols. There is a large collection of medieval weaponry and a model with the reconstruction of the battle fought in Vitoria in 1813 during the War of Independence.
This original museum located in the medieval town houses the two hundred and sixty-seven pieces of polychrome glass that, for more than a hundred years, have been paraded through the center of Vitoria every August 4, on the occasion of the White Virgin festivities.
Located in the Ertzaintza academy in the council of Arcaute. Its objective is to recover, restore, conserve, document and expose material testimonies that contribute to understanding the current peculiar regime of the Basque Country in police matters.
Medieval tower dating from the 1st century, it was built by Íñigo López de Mendoza in the council of Mendoza. The museum has a collection of medieval shields and clothing and abundant information on Alava heraldry. The upper floor of the museum-tower is a magnificent watchtower with wonderful views of the western part of the Llanada.
The air that Vitorian citizens breathe is of the highest quality, and this is reflected by the score that the European Union gives it compared to other cities, the highest of all. The Vitoria City Council seeks to protect citizens from the risks derived from air pollution and improve their quality of life. With this objective, the Air Quality Management Plan 2003-2010 was prepared. The Basque Government's automatic pollution surveillance and control network allows the City Council to know the state of the air we breathe and, in addition, inform citizens. This Network is made up of several stations located in different parts of the city.
The City Council prepares a report that collects the data obtained by this Network and its analysis, in order to evaluate the degree of compliance with legislation on ambient air quality.
The city has the ambitious challenge of reducing water consumption per inhabitant to less than 100 liters, following the trend that the figures have taken since 1999. It is taken into account and worked in the context of the environmental action plan of Agenda 21 of the United Nations to maintain sustainable use and improve water quality.
Vitoria has three noise maps to date and is already working on a new one that will be ready by 2012. To reduce noise levels, the City Council has a legal tool, the Noise and Vibrations Ordinance. Furthermore, reducing noise levels due to traffic is an objective of the Mobility Plan. The new noise map will evaluate the improvements obtained through this application.
In 2010 Vitoria approved the new Comprehensive Municipal Waste Management Plan (2008-2016), based on the "5-Rs" strategy: reduce the amount of waste generated, reuse waste, recycle, reject, do not buy products wrapped in packaging that generate unnecessary waste and hold responsible those who generate waste that is difficult to recycle or dangerous.
The green ring is a natural green area that surrounds, as its name indicates, in a ring shape, the urban area of the city. It is made up of various semi-natural parks such as Salburua, Zabalgana, Olarizu, Alegría "Alegría (Álava)"), Armentia, Zadorra and Errekaleor; All of them have adequate conditioning, equipment and activities for their conservation and enjoyment. An example of this is Ataria, an interpretation center located in the Salburua wetlands whose objective is to promote knowledge of wetlands and show their values, as well as raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and natural heritage.[156].
In addition to the sports facilities that most civic centers have. There is also a considerable network of swimming pools and recreational pools such as AquaMendi.
Vitoria has numerous sporting events. There are many that take place throughout the year and some of them achieve international fame.
April is the month chosen for each edition of the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco.[161] Vitoria has a deep-rooted cycling tradition thanks to its spectacular nature. It is a great event that makes the city focus on cycling.
Vitoria becomes the epicenter of youth rugby every May. The competition takes place over a weekend at the municipal facilities of Betoño, which repeat as the setting for an event that breaks participation records year after year. The tournament maintains its original philosophy: that values such as sportsmanship, solidarity and camaraderie govern the competition.
The Araba Rugby Cup has become a reference tournament as witnessed by the presence of teams from not only the entire State, but also from neighboring countries such as France and Portugal.
In May the queen of athletics is held. A competition sponsored by one of the elite of world athletics from Vitoria. Martin Fiz. Parallel to the marathon, a half marathon and another popular 10 km run. In addition, a 1 km txiki marathon is held for the little ones and their companions.[162] The 21k and 42k skate test was held until 2019 and, despite the success of participation, it has not been organized again after the pandemic.[163].
The capital of Alava has hosted this traditional race every June since 2007 in support of the fight against breast cancer.[164] A pink tide of women floods the city for a good cause. It is common to see the "sold out bibs" sign in recent editions, where more than 5,000 have been put on sale.
From June 29 to July 1, 2018, for the first time, it will host the Spanish Veterans Athletics Championship.
This championship combines swimming, cycling and athletics in a single very tough event. Every July it becomes a must-see event marked on the calendar by all the people of Alava who come to cheer up and experience the atmosphere.
It has two distances Half (1.9/94/21 km)[165] and Full (3.8/180/42 km).[166].
The first part of the test begins in the Landa park, where the participants perform the swimming sector while receiving encouragement from the audience.
After this, the triathletes get on their bicycles and go through a beautiful route through the towns of the Llanada of Alavesa that reaches the center of the city, where they will leave their bicycles to begin the race on foot.
In this last section they will have to travel through the city center until they reach the finish line, located in the Plaza de España.
The capital of Alava has tried to actively participate in this important cycling meeting, which is held in September, trying to be the goal or the start. Thousands of fans come out to meet the cyclist in any corner of the territory.
The Euskalgym International Rhythmic Gymnastics Gala was based from 2014 to 2017 in Vitoria. It is a non-competitive event in which prominent figures of rhythmic gymnastics, both Spanish and from other countries, participate. Occasionally gymnasts from other disciplines also perform. The same weekend the Euskalgym Group Tournament is also held, in which rhythmic gymnastics groups from all over Spain, both grassroots and federated, participate, as well as a Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament.[167].
The Half Marathon, better known as La Media, has become the event in the Basque Country that, without having cash prizes, attracts thousands of participants every year, more than half of whom come from outside Vitoria and Álava.[168].
For thirty-five years, on the afternoon of December 31, it has been customary to celebrate the popular race in the streets of Vitoria in which hundreds of runners compete and fill the entire route with people. In this race it is very common to see participants dressed in costumes.
Athens of the North
On May 20, 1980, Vitoria became the capital ("Gasteiz-Vitoria is designated as the seat of Parliament and Government") of the autonomous community of the Basque Country by decision of the Basque Parliament, which agreed to do so through its Headquarters Law. Thus, Vitoria is the capital of the province of Álava and in turn of the Basque Country, being the headquarters of the Provincial Council of Álava, the General Councils of Álava, the Basque Government and the Basque Parliament. In 2012 Vitoria was European Green Capital (European Green Capital).
• - The western periphery, formed by the neighborhoods of Sansomendi, the town and industrial estate of Ali-Gobeo and the neighborhood of Zabalgana.
• - The northeast area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Aranzabela, Arana "Arana (Vitoria)"), Arambizcarra, Santiago "Santiago (Vitoria)") and El Anglo. In addition to the towns absorbed in the plot of Betoño, Eskalmendi, Gamarra Menor and Gamarra Mayor.
• - The central-eastern area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Desamparados "Desamparados (Vitoria)"), Judizmendi and Santa Lucía "Santa Lucía (Vitoria)").
• - The eastern part of the city. In addition to the town of Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"); the district of Salburua, divided into the neighborhoods of Salburua and Arcayate.
• - The southeast area of the city. It includes Adurza, San Cristóbal, Errekaleor and the Oreitiasolo and Venta La Estrella industrial estates. In addition to the towns of Aretxabaleta and Gardélegui.
• - The southwest area of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Ariznavarra, Armentia "Armentia (Álava)") and the district of Mendizorroza, divided into the neighborhoods of Mendizorroza, El Batán and Ciudad Jardín, in addition to the University Campus.
Rural councils belonging to the municipality of Vitoria:.
• - Eastern Rural Area of Vitoria. The 20 councils that make up this area are: Aberásturi, Andollu, Arcaute, Arkaia, Argandoña, Askartza "Ascarza (Vitoria)"), Betoño, Bolívar "Bolívar (Vitoria)"), Zerio "Cerio (Vitoria)"), Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"), Gámiz "Gámiz (Álava)"), Ilárraza, Junguitu, Lubiano, Matauco, Oreitia, Otazu, Ullíbarri-Arrazua, Ullíbarri de los Olleros and Villafranca de Estíbaliz.
• - Northwest Rural Area of Vitoria. The area is made up of 23 councils and 2 neighborhoods that do not form councils: Amárita, Antezana de Foronda, Aránguiz, Astegieta, Crispijana, Estarrona, Foronda, Gamarra Mayor, Gamarra Menor, Gobeo, Gereña, Hueto Abajo, Hueto Arriba, Legarda "Legarda (Álava)"), Lopidana, Martioda, Mendiguren, Mendoza "Mendoza (Spain)"), Miñano Mayor, Miñano Menor, Retana, Ullivarri-Viña, Yurre "Yurre (Álava)"). In addition to the 2 neighborhoods that do not form councils: Artatza de Foronda and Mandojana.
• - Southwestern Rural Area of Vitoria. The 15 integrated councils are: Arechavaleta "Arechavaleta (Álava)"), Aríñez, Berrostegieta, Castillo "Castillo (Álava)"), Esquíbel, Gardelegi, Gometxa, Lasarte "Lasarte (Álava)"), Lermanda, Margarita "Margarita (Álava)"), Mendiola "Mendiola (Vitoria)"), Monasterioguren, Subijana de Álava, Zuazo de Vitoria and Zumelzu.
The first facilities of this type consisted of: a library, sound library, playroom, workshops and a meeting area depending on the possibilities of the location. The first center that inaugurated the network was the Sansomendi Center, in 1985. It was followed by: El Pilar in 1986, Campillo, in the Old Town, in a property transferred by the Central Administration, in June of that same year (1986) and Abetxuko in 1987.
In 1989, the Iparralde civic center was created and in December of the same year, the Europa civic center was created, the latter with shared use as a Congress Center. These centers already integrate in a single building all the services that the City Council wants to offer: sociocultural, healthcare, sports, leisure, etc. This will be the model in whose image the rest of the centers that have been integrating the municipal network will be built and designed. The management of the network passes into the hands of the Department of Culture, creating the figure of the director of the center and losing weight of citizen participation in its management and development of projects, being reduced to recipients of services, with hardly any involvement in their production and development.[99].
Currently the network is made up of fourteen centers: Abetxuko, Aldabe, Arana, Ariznabarra, Arriaga, El Campillo, El Pilar, Hegoalde, Ibaiondo, Iparralde, Judimendi, Lakua. Salburua and Zabalgana.[100] Its current organic dependency: Social Area, Economic Promotion, Citizen Security and Culture.[101].
It remains a unique project in the State, with a very high level of users and acceptance by citizens.[102][103].
• - Jaibus (festivals of Alava towns).
• - Technology park. The service is offered to the Álava technology park through two routes. The western route begins at the Zabalganda Avenue stop, 31 next to the Dental Clinic and the eastern route starts in Salbatierrabide next to Clínica Álava (Bus Stop).
• - Gorbeia shopping center. Stop corresponding to the Vitoria-Cigoitia Bus Line.
• - Other lines (Álava Bus).
Vitoria also has its own fleet of taxis, which cover the city and the airport with permanent stops.
Some streets with relatively steep slopes have covered mechanized platforms for pedestrian use, as can be seen in the image, an initiative that is rare in most cities in the world and that especially benefits the elderly.
It is the city of the bicycle. Thanks to being in a flat area, except for the historic center "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") which is located on a hill, the city is ideal for traveling by bicycle, being one of the preferred means of transportation for citizens. The city has an extensive network of cycle paths.[107].
In addition to a wide network of cycle routes to do inside and outside the city, such as the Armentia Forest or an alternative route of the Camino de Santiago.
Its current Urban Mobility Plan wants to connect the areas of the city that do not have a bike lane and expand it, reaching a total of 145 km of bidegorris (bike lanes) and cycle lanes so that cyclists can move comfortably.
In the city there is an association of urban cyclists called Gasteizko Bizikleteroak (www.bizikleteroak.org).
The city participates in the European Biking Cities network, a project led by a German non-profit organization that aims to promote sustainable mobility. Within this network, it is part of the Clean Air macroproject, in favor of better air quality in European cities. Vitoria has a bicycle-friendly policy, based on the promotion of this vehicle and being an instrument of great value for change.[108].
In the month of May, the city hosts Bicycle Week in which multiple activities are carried out in different civic centers and neighborhoods of the city.[109].
The route through Álava was known since the 19th century. along the Roman road XXXIV Ab Asturica Burdigalam[110] from Pamplona, and later with Alfonso VIII who invaded Álava, with a long siege of Vitoria, also from Bayonne through the San Adrián tunnel. on what is known as the Camino de Santiago Vasco del Interior.
There is evidence of different routes but currently, the Camino beacons reach Vitoria through Elorriaga "Elorriaga (Vitoria)"). From there, the modern urbanizations allow you to walk along the comfortable promenade of the Elorriaga portal and then along Santiago Avenue, visiting the historic center "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") and the most notable places, such as the Cathedral of Santa María.
The route through the city ends at the Basilica of San Prudencio (Armentia "Armentia (Álava)").[111].
There are currently more than 20 regular intercity bus lines[112][113] that connect Vitoria with the various municipalities in its functional area (Salvatierra "Salvatierra (Álava)"), Alegría de Álava, Iruña de Oca, Zuya...) and the rest of the province.
Vitoria is a communications hub and an important transit hub in northern Spain. The Northern Highway A-1 crosses the municipality at point 342, later between point 344 and 356 and finally between point 360 and 362. The old N-I serves to access the city from the highway and has been renamed VG-11/N-102 for the entrance from the southwest and VG-21/N-104 for the entrance from the east. The AP-1 toll highway reappears to the north of the municipality and allows communication with Éibar and San Sebastián. The N-622 highway is a highway that goes to Altube to connect with the AP-68 towards Bilbao. The N-240 highway serves as an alternative to a conventional highway to communicate with Bilbao. Finally, the regional highway A-132 heads from Vitoria towards the southeast to Santa Cruz de Campezo.
The Madrid-Irún line has one of its main stops in Vitoria. Half a dozen trains connect the city with Madrid every day, highlighting the Alvia service (three trains per day in each direction) which, via Valladolid, uses the AVE infrastructure to reach Madrid in three hours and forty-three minutes. There are also connections with all of Castilla y León, Galicia, Catalonia, Alicante and Asturias. Among the deficits, it is worth highlighting the lack of direct services that connect with Andalusia, you have to transfer in the city of Madrid from Chamartín to Atocha and there are multiple possibilities to access the south of the peninsula. The lack of rail connection with Bilbao is a problem that will be solved in 2026, with the construction of the Basque Y.
In addition, the Cercanías Álava line of interurban trains that serves Vitoria and its functional area, operated by Renfe under the Renfe Cercanías brand. The stations used, however, belong to Adif. It is made up of a single line, which connects the stations of Miranda de Ebro, Manzanos, La Puebla de Arganzón, Nanclares de la Oca, Vitoria, Alegría de Álava, Salvatierra "Salvatierra (Álava)"), Asparerena and Alsasua using the Madrid-Irún-Hendaya railway line throughout its entire route. The line was inaugurated in May 2025 with the presence of various authorities.
The Vitoria airport was built to be the large airport in the north of Spain and replace the Bilbao airport, but it did not manage to consolidate itself as such although it did manage to become the fourth airport with the largest transport of goods in Spain, behind those of Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza. Today the Ryanair company operates there with regular flights to Milan-Bergamo, Palma de Mallorca, Brussels-Charleroi, Cologne "Cologne (Germany)"), Alicante, Malaga and Seville.
The Torre de los Hurtado de Landa dates back to the 19th century, located at the back of the Cathedral of Santa María in the Plaza de las Burullerías. It was part of the city's defensive system and is a large Gothic building that retains its closed appearance in the lower part, made of masonry stone. The upper one is more open, and was made with a wooden and brick framework. It was declared a Historical-Artistic Monument in 1984, after undergoing a major restoration in 1981.[125].
The Escoriaza-Esquivel palace belonged to Fernán López de Escoriaza, doctor to King Henry VIII of England, and his wife Victoria de Anda y Esquivel ordered the construction of this palace in the middle of the century. Due to its architectural and ornamental richness, it is one of the best examples of Renaissance civil architecture. Built with masonry stone, it is organized around a square patio with double arches superimposed on three sides and a staircase. The capitals and medallions of the columns are richly decorated. It is worth highlighting the main façade, in front of a small square, in which the plateresque doorway stands out where you can see the busts of the owner and his wife. The building, which is located a few meters from the Santa María Cathedral, was acquired in 2010 by the Vitoria City Council.[126][127][128].
The palace of the Marquises of la Alameda is a free-standing house, built under the canons of civil Baroque by Bartolomé de Urbina (first Marquis of la Alameda "Marquisado de la Alameda (1761)") in the century in a baroque style. With a rectangular plan, it was built over the large slope of the hill that occupies the medieval town. In 1830 a bridge was built (now missing) to connect the garden of the house with another larger one located between the streets of Fundadora de las Siervas de Jesús and Cercas Bajas, in what is today the Plaza del Marqués de la Alameda. It has a beautiful corner shield on the main façade on Calle de la Herrería.[129].
The Iruña tower house is a strong house located in the old town "Casco Viejo (Vitoria)") of Vitoria (Spain) dating back to the 19th century, it defended the city wall from its exterior façade. In 1970, the reconstruction was carried out with historicist criteria under the direction of Emilio and Luis Ángel Apraiz. It was made in the style of the Segovian or Italian towers of the late Middle Ages, since the roof did not protrude from the base of the tower. It was topped with a crown of cantilevered battlements on triple-curved modillions. In 1984 it was converted into the Álava Natural Sciences Museum.[130].
The old Hospice of Vitoria was founded in 1778 by Royal Decree of Carlos III, beginning to be directed by the Royal Board of Deputation for the Poor. The institution for the reception of orphans was installed in the building of what was the San Prudencio school, founded in 1589 by the Vitorian D. Martín de Salvatierra (1583-1592), bishop of Segorbe and Ciudad Rodrigo. The school and chapel complex, facing San Vicente de Paúl Street, was built between the and . The first, built in good sandstone ashlar, presents a severe classicist façade of three bodies, the first two with a twin structure, consisting of architraves that support four pairs of columns, of Tuscan order on the street level and of Ionic order on the upper one, sixteen in total. In the third body a sculptural relief of Charity stands out.
It is a building that was originally built as a defense of the city. Throughout its history it has undergone several renovations and currently houses homes and a health center.[120].
Casa Armera de los Gobeo and Landazuri Guevara, until a few years ago it functioned as an Archeology Museum.[120].
Built in the century as an element of protection of Media. Currently, El Campillo functions as the civic center.[120].
It is home to the municipal department of the Presidency, previously it was the City Council Design Center. Next to the House there is a park in which until recently there was an important sequoia of which "mocha" is preserved.[120].
Throughout its history it has been home to different spaces, such as the Drawing Academy, the School of Arts and Crafts, the Conservatory of Music... until it became the business hotbed that it is today.[120].
El Portalón was founded at the end of the century as a post house, constituting one of the most emblematic buildings in Vitoria at the time and preserving today all its medieval appearance and charm, being listed as a building of historical interest. Located at the northern exit of the old village of Gasteiz (nowadays the center of the historic center of Vitoria) it is escorted by the famous Cathedral of Santa María, the Torre los Hurtado de Anda and the Plaza de las Burullerías. The name "El Portalón" is completely descriptive of the building and refers to the oak gate that from its foundation until the 1950s kept its door open to protect merchants' carriages and thus prevent theft or deterioration of the transported goods. It was precisely in the rehabilitation of the 50s, when the building as a whole acquired the use that we know today, a top-class restaurant that combines history and gastronomy.
Located next to the church of San Miguel "Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel (Vitoria)") and a few meters from the church of San Vicente "Iglesia de San Vicente Mártir (Vitoria)"), in the well-known Plaza del Machete, in the historic center of the city. Its construction was ordered around 1539 by Martín de Salinas, ambassador to the court of Emperor Charles I. The building is unique in shape, U-shaped, because it had to be adapted to the city wall (against which it was built) and the uneven terrain. The factory is made of ashlar at the bottom of the walls and ashlar stone on the doorway, the shield and the surrounds of the openings. The city council took ownership of the palace and has adapted it to offer congresses, conferences and exhibitions.
Located on Cuchillería Street, it is a beautiful example of civil Gothic architecture. It was built in the century and has a century tower. The Catholic Monarchs stayed in this house, and Hadrian VI was named Pope while he was there. It was built in the century by the converted Jewish merchant Juan Sánchez de Bilbao on some old medieval houses, surrounding the old Gaona lineage tower of the century, which remains inside the first two floors of the palace. The starry and polychrome vault that covers the noble room of the tower and which has remained intact to this day stands out greatly.
This palace is also known as the palace-house of the Marquis of Fresno, it dates back to the middle of the century and was promoted by Antonio Sáez de Maturana. Public institutions are rehabilitating it to make it the headquarters of Zain, a cultural heritage research center in the Basque Country.[131].
The Maturana house is a noble house with raised floors closing Correría Street, which probably belonged to the Maturana lineage. In 1869, a commemorative tablet of the Jura de los Fueros Vitorianos by Isabel la Católica was placed on its side façade. This house is very restored and without any exterior sign, which reminds us of the first tenants.
The Montehermoso palace dates back to the 19th century, much renovated, which historically has had several uses. The building was built in 1524 in a Gothic-Renaissance style at the initiative of Hortuño (or Fortunio) Ibáñez de Aguirre, member of the Royal Council of Castile and the Inquisition, and his wife María de Esquível y Arratia, with the aim of housing a community of Dominican nuns. However, once completed, the Palace was used as the private residence of the Aguirre-Esquível family, who decided in exchange to build the convent of Santa Cruz "Convento de Santa Cruz (Vitoria)") for the Dominicans. In the following centuries, the Palace, equipped with a two-story interior patio with arcades, was the usual overnight mansion for the Spanish monarchs when they stopped in Vitoria and for other personalities of the nobility, even Joseph Bonaparte during the Napoleonic retreat made the palace his court in Vitoria before his escape to France. When it became its headquarters, the Bishopric commissioned the architect Fausto Íñiguez de Betolaza to reform the façade, which acquired its current neo-Gothic appearance. In 1928 another important reform was undertaken. In 1994 it ceased to be the headquarters of the diocese of Vitoria and in 1997, with the annexation of the old Water Reservoir, it became the Montehermoso cultural center, conceived as a space for artistic exhibitions and musical performances.
The Plaza de la Virgen Blanca was once known as Plaza Vieja, it is the nerve center of the city. Some of the most typical streets of the old town and the Ensanche converge there and it is surrounded by old houses with glass viewing points. In its center stands the memorial monument to the Battle of Vitoria. Among the buildings that are in this square, the church of San Miguel stands out, from the century where in one of its porticos an image of the Patron Saint, who gives its name to the square, is represented.
It is a large porticoed square conceived by the architect Antonio de Olaguibel in 1781 to unite the old town with the new Ensanche (then under construction), and to provide the city with a space to celebrate festivities, bullfights and popular markets. One of the most important elements of the complex is the town hall, with neoclassical decoration. The name Plaza Nueva was used in contrast to the adjacent Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, previously called Plaza Vieja, during its first years of existence.
The Plaza de los Fueros, built according to the project of Luis Peña Ganchegui and Eduardo Chillida, was inaugurated in 1979. Erected in pink granite stone, it houses the Monument to the Fueros, by Eduardo Chillida, as well as a fronton and a space designed for Basque rural sports. This square hosts free concerts held at city festivals, Basque rural sports and other types of events such as the Vitoria Science Week or the Ardo-Araba (Álava wine fair). Viewing the Plaza de los Fueros from above, you can see the map of Álava, designed with stone walls that give it its shape. Since the summer of 2011, the square largely bears the architects' original design.[133].
Los Arquillos is a street with arcades that was built in the century also by Olaguibel together with Díez de Güemes. Through a series of staggered buildings, the gap between the old city and the expansion is bridged. It descends from Plaza del Machete to the back of Plaza de España. The medieval area of the capital of Alava sits on a hill and "Los Arquillos" allow the significant unevenness to be overcome through a series of staggered buildings. The new work, which took ten years to build, was the solution for the expansion of the city next to the Plaza de España, also conceived by Olaguibel. Thus, the medieval streets were accessible from the neoclassical expansion. The year 1787 is usually given as the date of construction.
It has been the headquarters of the Basque Government since 1980 and is the official residence of the Lehendakari. It was built in 1918 as the residence of Serafín Ajuria's family, and is an example of Basque architecture of the time. Its name comes from the separation in two words of ajuriaenea, a name that is composed of the surname of the family that built the palace (the Ajuria) declined in Basque in the form of the genitive, coming to mean "from Ajuria."
It was ordered to be built by Alfredo de Zulueta as a house-hotel at the beginning of the century. It is an elegant mansion located on Paseo de la Senda surrounded by garden areas and was the headquarters of the Sancho el Sabio Foundation, a documentation center on Basque culture with historical collections from the century to the present day. In 2012 it was decided to enable the Zulueta Palace as the main headquarters of the European green capital, Green Capital. There is a plan to convert the Zulueta Palace into the Rioja Álava Wine Center. This center will consist of a space where activities will be carried out that will have Rioja Alavesa wine as their main focus. In this way, we want to turn Vitoria into a reference of great importance both nationally and internationally.
It is a building built of ashlar stone, quadrangular in shape and with columns in its entrance atrium. Work of Martín de Saracíbar, its main façade is of late neoclassical style and its construction took place between 1833 and 1858.
Rehabilitated as a multipurpose venue that is named Iradier Arena in honor of four illustrious "iradieres" of the city of Vitoria: Pantaleón Iradier, the architect who designed the city's old bullfighting plaza and the building that houses the Basque Parliament; Cesáreo Iradier, the architect who built the city's Teatro Principal "Teatro Principal (Vitoria)"; the musician Sebastián Iradier and the explorer Manuel Iradier. It was inaugurated on November 4, 2006 to begin hosting the White Fair, which traditionally begins on August 5. It is a building with a structure twenty-three meters high with a façade covered in aluminum and large spaces of transparent glass. It has an arena with a diameter of forty-five meters, five corrals, ten pigsties, an electronic scale to weigh the bulls, a slaughterhouse with a cold room to store up to five bullfights, an operating room, a treatment and resuscitation room, as well as a chapel.
The Vital building is the headquarters of the Caja Vital (Savings Bank of Vitoria and Álava), today part of Kutxabank, it is a modern steel and glass construction located in the ecological environment of the Salburua Wetlands that was born to be a reference for local architecture and a dynamic element of Salburua and the capital of Alava. It is an intelligent building designed by architects Javier Mozas and Eduardo Aguirre. Its exterior image represents the genetic code of a living organism and is reminiscent of the trunks and reeds of the wetland next to which it was built. It has 16,000 square meters built with all those departments that do not provide direct attention to the public, including the Presidency and General Management. It has an auditorium with two hundred seats, a multipurpose room, fourteen offices and twenty-five training rooms, in addition to the meeting rooms of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.[134].
This is a gallery of murals made by artists and volunteers on different facades of the medieval town and the Zaramaga neighborhood. This is a project that encourages creators to get involved in their environment and neighbors and interested parties to actively participate in creations that improve and beautify their own neighborhood by producing public works of art. Guided tours allow you to discover the history, meaning and secrets of each mural as well as how they were painted. Today, we can find murals in various parts of the medieval town: Plaza de las Burullerías"), canton of las Carnicerías, canton of Anorbín, calle de Santa María "Calle de Santa María (Vitoria)"), canton of Santa Ana "Cantón de Santa Ana (Vitoria)"), canton of Santa María, in front of the medieval wall also next to the canton of las Carnicerías and on calle de Francia "Calle de Francia (Vitoria)") in front of the museum ARTIUM. The project intends to continue making murals that expand the current collection.[135].
Network of semi-natural parks that surrounds the perimeter of the city. An initiative that arose in the nineties of the century and was selected by the UN among the hundred best global actions in the III International Competition of "Good Practices for the improvement of living conditions in cities", held in Dubai in 2000. It is currently made up of six parks: Zadorra River park, Salburua Wetlands park, Olárizu park and botanical garden, Armentia Forest park "Armentia (Álava)"), Zabalgana and Errekaleor Park. All of them connected through urban paths in order to facilitate movement between the city and the nature that surrounds it.[136].
In a neo-Renaissance mansion, the Augustín Palace, the museum displays carvings from the 16th century, Flemish triptychs from the 16th century, paintings by Spanish masters such as Ribera and modern Spanish painting, among which you can see works by Picasso or Zuloaga. The museum pays special attention to Basque traditional painting.
Opposite the previous one, there is this museum, where you can see weapons from all eras, from prehistoric axes to century pistols. There is a large collection of medieval weaponry and a model with the reconstruction of the battle fought in Vitoria in 1813 during the War of Independence.
This original museum located in the medieval town houses the two hundred and sixty-seven pieces of polychrome glass that, for more than a hundred years, have been paraded through the center of Vitoria every August 4, on the occasion of the White Virgin festivities.
Located in the Ertzaintza academy in the council of Arcaute. Its objective is to recover, restore, conserve, document and expose material testimonies that contribute to understanding the current peculiar regime of the Basque Country in police matters.
Medieval tower dating from the 1st century, it was built by Íñigo López de Mendoza in the council of Mendoza. The museum has a collection of medieval shields and clothing and abundant information on Alava heraldry. The upper floor of the museum-tower is a magnificent watchtower with wonderful views of the western part of the Llanada.
The air that Vitorian citizens breathe is of the highest quality, and this is reflected by the score that the European Union gives it compared to other cities, the highest of all. The Vitoria City Council seeks to protect citizens from the risks derived from air pollution and improve their quality of life. With this objective, the Air Quality Management Plan 2003-2010 was prepared. The Basque Government's automatic pollution surveillance and control network allows the City Council to know the state of the air we breathe and, in addition, inform citizens. This Network is made up of several stations located in different parts of the city.
The City Council prepares a report that collects the data obtained by this Network and its analysis, in order to evaluate the degree of compliance with legislation on ambient air quality.
The city has the ambitious challenge of reducing water consumption per inhabitant to less than 100 liters, following the trend that the figures have taken since 1999. It is taken into account and worked in the context of the environmental action plan of Agenda 21 of the United Nations to maintain sustainable use and improve water quality.
Vitoria has three noise maps to date and is already working on a new one that will be ready by 2012. To reduce noise levels, the City Council has a legal tool, the Noise and Vibrations Ordinance. Furthermore, reducing noise levels due to traffic is an objective of the Mobility Plan. The new noise map will evaluate the improvements obtained through this application.
In 2010 Vitoria approved the new Comprehensive Municipal Waste Management Plan (2008-2016), based on the "5-Rs" strategy: reduce the amount of waste generated, reuse waste, recycle, reject, do not buy products wrapped in packaging that generate unnecessary waste and hold responsible those who generate waste that is difficult to recycle or dangerous.
The green ring is a natural green area that surrounds, as its name indicates, in a ring shape, the urban area of the city. It is made up of various semi-natural parks such as Salburua, Zabalgana, Olarizu, Alegría "Alegría (Álava)"), Armentia, Zadorra and Errekaleor; All of them have adequate conditioning, equipment and activities for their conservation and enjoyment. An example of this is Ataria, an interpretation center located in the Salburua wetlands whose objective is to promote knowledge of wetlands and show their values, as well as raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and natural heritage.[156].
In addition to the sports facilities that most civic centers have. There is also a considerable network of swimming pools and recreational pools such as AquaMendi.
Vitoria has numerous sporting events. There are many that take place throughout the year and some of them achieve international fame.
April is the month chosen for each edition of the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco.[161] Vitoria has a deep-rooted cycling tradition thanks to its spectacular nature. It is a great event that makes the city focus on cycling.
Vitoria becomes the epicenter of youth rugby every May. The competition takes place over a weekend at the municipal facilities of Betoño, which repeat as the setting for an event that breaks participation records year after year. The tournament maintains its original philosophy: that values such as sportsmanship, solidarity and camaraderie govern the competition.
The Araba Rugby Cup has become a reference tournament as witnessed by the presence of teams from not only the entire State, but also from neighboring countries such as France and Portugal.
In May the queen of athletics is held. A competition sponsored by one of the elite of world athletics from Vitoria. Martin Fiz. Parallel to the marathon, a half marathon and another popular 10 km run. In addition, a 1 km txiki marathon is held for the little ones and their companions.[162] The 21k and 42k skate test was held until 2019 and, despite the success of participation, it has not been organized again after the pandemic.[163].
The capital of Alava has hosted this traditional race every June since 2007 in support of the fight against breast cancer.[164] A pink tide of women floods the city for a good cause. It is common to see the "sold out bibs" sign in recent editions, where more than 5,000 have been put on sale.
From June 29 to July 1, 2018, for the first time, it will host the Spanish Veterans Athletics Championship.
This championship combines swimming, cycling and athletics in a single very tough event. Every July it becomes a must-see event marked on the calendar by all the people of Alava who come to cheer up and experience the atmosphere.
It has two distances Half (1.9/94/21 km)[165] and Full (3.8/180/42 km).[166].
The first part of the test begins in the Landa park, where the participants perform the swimming sector while receiving encouragement from the audience.
After this, the triathletes get on their bicycles and go through a beautiful route through the towns of the Llanada of Alavesa that reaches the center of the city, where they will leave their bicycles to begin the race on foot.
In this last section they will have to travel through the city center until they reach the finish line, located in the Plaza de España.
The capital of Alava has tried to actively participate in this important cycling meeting, which is held in September, trying to be the goal or the start. Thousands of fans come out to meet the cyclist in any corner of the territory.
The Euskalgym International Rhythmic Gymnastics Gala was based from 2014 to 2017 in Vitoria. It is a non-competitive event in which prominent figures of rhythmic gymnastics, both Spanish and from other countries, participate. Occasionally gymnasts from other disciplines also perform. The same weekend the Euskalgym Group Tournament is also held, in which rhythmic gymnastics groups from all over Spain, both grassroots and federated, participate, as well as a Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament.[167].
The Half Marathon, better known as La Media, has become the event in the Basque Country that, without having cash prizes, attracts thousands of participants every year, more than half of whom come from outside Vitoria and Álava.[168].
For thirty-five years, on the afternoon of December 31, it has been customary to celebrate the popular race in the streets of Vitoria in which hundreds of runners compete and fill the entire route with people. In this race it is very common to see participants dressed in costumes.