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Alsasua
«Alsasua es un nudo de comunicaciones clave en el norte.»Alsasua is a key transport hub in the north.
Alsasua is located in the Burunda basin, in the far west of Navarre, on the route between the region and the Meseta. It grew in the 19th century as a railway junction and in the 20th century with metallurgy, and its carnival preserves the momotxorro, figures with bull horns and sheep's blood on them.
Did you know
A railway crossroads since the 1800s.
The strategic position between the Basque Country and Navarre has made Alsasua a crucial railway crossroads since the 19th century.
How they talk in Alsasua
«Altsasu» is the Basque name of the town and Euskera is much more present than in the south of Navarre. «Sakana» is the Basque name of the valley and a territorial identity used daily.
auzolan
Community or neighborhood work done together. Basque term for a practical collaboration in which the inhabitants contribute to the good of the neighborhood or the town.
Everyday life in Alsasua
The «Momotxorro» of the carnival
During the carnival, figures covered in sheepskins, with horns and blood on them, go out and chase people in the street: it is an ancient and unsettling ritual, and it is done at night.
«Los momotxorros salen de noche.» — The momotxorros go out at night.
«Euskera» is the home language
In Alsasua, Euskera is spoken at home and in the street, and school is in Basque: it is the area where the language has never been lost, and the signs are truly bilingual.
«Aquí en casa hablamos euskera.» — Here at home we speak Basque.
The railway junction in the middle
Here the lines towards Pamplona, Vitoria and Madrid cross, and the railway has provided work for generations: the station is disproportionately large for the town.
What to eat in Alsasua
Menestra navarra
Vegetables from the garden stewed one by one and then combined.
Pochas
Fresh white beans cooked with vegetables or quail.
Cuajada
Sheep's milk curd, in an earthenware pot, with honey and walnuts.
Festivals in Alsasua
Fiestas de Altsasu
in September
The «txupinazo» opens the week and the peñas tour the town, where the home language is Basque.
What to see in Alsasua
Carnaval de los Momotxorro
Men covered in sheep's blood, with bull horns and pitchforks, who go out at dusk.
Iglesia de la Asunción
The town church, with the tower and the Renaissance portal.
Sierra de Urbasa
The plateau of beech trees above the town, with pastures and sinkholes.
Where Alsasua comes from
Men with horns, at dusk
13th century
The village
It was born in the Burunda basin, on the road between Navarre and the Meseta.
19th century
The railway
It becomes a railway junction between Madrid, Pamplona and the Basque Country.
20th century
Industry
Workshops and metallurgy make the town grow.
Every carnival
The Momotxorro
The «momotxorro» go out, men covered in blood with bull horns.
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