Olite

Olite ( Erriberri will euskera some), is a city of the Communauté Forale de Navarre (Spain)). It is chief town of the Merindad of the same name and belongs to the legal district of Tafalla.

Gentilice

Olitense , olitejo .

Geography

Olite is in the central zone of Navarre, on Zidacos, to 42 km in the south of Pampelune and 50 km in the north of Tudela.

Cities bordering

History

Thanks to the archaeological vestiges, one knows that at the time imperial Roman (), a robust wall defended a small borough on which later the town of Olite was going to be founded. In addition, were found around the current urban core, of the remainders of Roman villas.

Isidore saint of Seville, in Historia of regibus gothorum gives the first reference written on Olite: according to the aforementioned bishop of Seville, the king Visigoth Swinthila founded the city into 621 and undertook of the refortifier in order to face the Vascon S. By a privilege given to Estella in 1147, García IV Ramírez " Restaurateur" , king of Navarre, grants Olite his first for, the Fuero of los francos of Estella (For of the Francs of Estella), and gives by là-même to the city grounds of culture. The promulgation of for involves a rapid expansion of Olite: it provides to the city a clean legal personality allowing its free administation, and of notable tax incentives. March 17th, 1266, in Saint-Denis, Thibaud II of Navarre concedes in Olite fifteen days of annual fair, as with Estella, fair which is held starting from May 1st. As from this same year 1266, the Cortes (Parliament where were represented the nobility, clergy and cities) are held in Olite. In January 1302, the king de Navarre Philippe II and his Jeanne wife, reaching at the requests of the city, move the annual fair, which begins from now on on November 2nd.

After obscure times, the city knows one period of splendor during the Low Middle Ages, when it is being one of the favorite places of residence of kings de Navarre. As from the 15th century, the king Charles III of Navarre, known as " Noble" , and his wife, Eléonore de Trastamare, begin the construction of the splendid royal palace of Navarre, reflection one brilliant time old.

Olite is the seat of the Merindad same name, created by Charles III Noble the in 1407. Philippe IV, king d' Espagne, grants to him the statute of city in 1630. Between its time of splendor at the 15th century and the 19th century, Olite crosses one period of political and demographic decline. At the beginning of the 19th century, the city knows serious communal problems and adheres to the movement agricultural supporter of corporatism (the first co-operative of Navarre - third of Spain - was then founded in Olite).

Monuments

Religious monuments

Church of San Pedro

Romance church (with Gothic enlargings and baroques), notable for its cloister and its Gothic tower.

Church of Santa María Real

Gothic church of the 15th century, celebrates for its gate.

Civil monuments

Old palate ( Palacio Viejo ), known as of Thibault

On the foundations of a Roman construction, one builds a first defensive castle at the time of the king Sanche VII the Fort, castle which will be consolidated by its successors Thibaud Ier and Thibaud II ( Theobaldo in Spanish, from where the name of the castle). The fortress currently shelters Parador.

Palate of Kings de Navarre

Charles III of Navarre began at the 15th century the enlarging of a former palate, and thus gave rise to the palate of the kings de Navarre. Although it is commonly called castle, the denomination of palate is adapted, since it is about a construction of the courtier type or palatial, where the defensive characters are erased to leave room to elements of residential architecture.
Le apparent disorder of its organization is one of its most appreciated charms. That is due to the fact that the current building is the fruit of several campaigns of constructions and enlargings carried out during several centuries, apart from any overall project, though the majority of work were carried out between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of 15th. The Navarrese king of then, Charles III, indeed decided to transform the already existing palate into permanent headquarter of monarchy and to adapt for this purpose installation and decoration.

The unit, composed of the various parts, of the gardens, ditches, and surrounded by high punctuated walls of many towers, offers a spectacular silhouette. At the time, he was regarded as one of the most beautiful palates of Europe. One little to distinguish two enclosures there: the Palacio Viejo , or old Palate, transformed into Parador, and the Palacio Nuevo , or New Palate. Following the invasion Castilian of Navarre at the 16th century, the palate was left more or less with the abandonment and worsened gradually. The worst occurred in 1813, during the Guerre of Independence, when the guerrillero Francisco Espoz there Mina, fearing to see the Napoleonean troops seizing the fortress, ordered that it is set fire to.

The actual position of the building is the fruit of a restoration, still unfinished, started at the beginning of the 20th century, and based on the project of the Jose architects and Javier Yárnoz, victorious of the contest organized for the repairing of the castle. The objective of work is to find the original strucutre palate. Nevertheless, the very rich interior decoration of the palate thus the external gardens are lost forever.

Festivals

employers' Festivals , from September 13rd to 19th.
Gone medieval , organized each year during one weekend of August
Santa Brígida , pilgrimage with the hermitage of Holy-Brigitte, on the Encianar mount, celebrated each year saturdays nearest of May 22nd.
Virgen del Cólera . August 26th.

External bonds

Site of the town hall
tourist Information, monuments…
http://www.euskomedia.org/euskomedia/SAunamendi?idi=es&op=7&voz=OLITE
http://turismo.navarra.com/media/olite.html
Castillo-Palacio Real d' Olite
Castillo Palacio d' Olite on Statistical CastillosNet.org
Institute of Navarre
Database on Navarre
http://www.euskomedia.org/

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