Zarautz

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Zarautz, Gipuzkoa Province

\Zarautz' (the official and Basque spelling) is a coastal village located in Gipuzkoa Province in the Basque Country. The town is a popular tourist destination with the population swelling from its usual 22,056 to around 60,000 in summer. The Palace of Narros, located adjacent to Zarautz's 2.8km long beach, is where Queen Isabella II and Fabiola of Belgium once spent their summer holidays. The beach is known for being the longest in the Basque Country and one of longest of the Cantabrian cornice. The Mayor of Zarautz in 2006 was Maite Etxaniz.

1 History
2 Infrastructure and Transport
3 Recreation
4 Sister Cities
5 External links

[edit] History

1237 The city is awarded status as fuero by king Fernando III of Castile.
1857 The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Zarautz, thanks to the enterprise "Fabril Linera". An era of economic growth and development begins.
1936 The Civil War begins and Zarautz overwhelmingly supports the Nationalist cause.
1937 The province falls to Falangist forces in the Spanish Civil War, who conduct reprisals against the nationalists.

At the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century, the popularity of Zarautz as a luxury tourist destination grew, and many well known people began to holiday there. A number of lavish houses and mansions sprung up, particularly along the beach. Nowadays many of these buildings have become public buildings.

During the 70s and 80s Zarautz became a more affordable destination, and is now perhaps best known for its surfing and water sports.

[edit] Infrastructure and Transport

[edit] Road

Zarautz is connected to the european road network and to the rest of Spain by the A8 motorway.

[edit] Public Transport

Zarautz has two railway stations, and trains (Euskotren) connect it with San Sebastian and Bilbao.

Zarautz has two bus lines operating within the town.

[edit] Museums

There are two museums in Zarautz, the Photomuseum [1] and the Art and History Museum of Zarautz [2]. In "Dorre Luzea" there are frequent art exhibitions. The town also has many other picture galleries.

[edit] Churches

There are three main churches in Zarautz and many other smaller churches. Santa Maria la Real is the main church, with a very interesting altar piece and a romanic structure. Santa Clara is also quite interesting, built in a baroque style. Finally, Franciscanos church has been almost rebuilt, and has got a very interesting library.

[edit] Recreation

Zarautz has first class sporting facilities, such as an old and elegant Golf Club. But Zarautz is renowned worldwide as a surfing destination. Over the last few years, it has become incredibly popular between surfers, and a number of surfing schools have even been established (Zarautz, Pukas).