Burgui/Burgi (Navarra) (0)

Did you know that... Burgui

It is a locality of the Foral Community of Navarra located where the rivers Esca and Biniés converge, to the south of the valley of Roncal, in the right margin of the river Esca. To the south of the village is the Foz de Burgui, in which the Esca river nestles between the mountains of Illón and La Peña, at the top of which is the hermitage of the Virgen de la Peña. In the municipality of Burgui there are still remains of what was the old Benedictine monastery of Urdaspal, which is said to have been visited by San Eulogio in the 8th century, after its disappearance it was a lordship and feudal palace. Its strategic location and border with Aragon made it, in the Middle Ages, an important military bastion in the defence of the valley, even having a castle that in the sixteenth century, following the conquest of Navarre by Ferdinand the Catholic, was still in use.

A little more history

Today in its place stands the hermitage of the Virgen del Castillo. The town of Burgui bears the coat of arms that is common and exclusive to each of the towns that make up the Roncal Valley and which originally had only the head of the bleeding Moorish king on a bridge, under which there were rocks in memory of the battle of Olast that took place in the vicinity of this town. After the War of the Convention of 1797, Charles IV, in recognition of the heroic behaviour of the Roncaleses, added to this coat of arms the castle and the greyhound. The town of Burgui uses in its current seals a sword with a scale, symbolizing justice. The 18th century, with the exploitation of wood, brought a notable economic impulse to the area.

What to see in Burgui?

Burgui welcomes the visitor with a beautiful medieval bridge, which over the Esca river preserves its four original arches and its old peralte, to enter into its cobbled streets and discover its curved tile houses that cover pointed roofs with cylindrical chimneys. In the highest part of the village, the hermitage of Nuestra Señora del Castillo watches over daily life while on the outskirts of the town the hermitage of the Virgen del Camino keeps constructive remains from the 16th century although its portico, roof and façade with belfry date back to 1975. In the square, next to the town hall built around 1850, is the church of San Pedro, built in late Gothic style in the first half of the sixteenth century. In its interior the old organ of the Monastery of Leyre accompanies the religious services. In the sacristy there is a baroque carving of San Sebastián, from the 17th century and the image of the Virgen del Castillo, a Gothic image from the 14th century that comes from the hermitage of the same name.

To discover

In the town hall building is the small ethnographic museum of the Almadía which, with the exhibition of the process that covers all the operations of the loggers-almadieros, pays tribute to all the almadieros of the Roncal valley. In Burgui and its surroundings, lovers of nature and hiking also find a pleasant incentive to walk its two interpretative paths that lead to the Foz de Burgui, declared a Natural Reserve and has one of the largest colonies of vultures in Europe, the fir tree of Basari or the Sasi ponds, in addition to being able to make a journey through time through the path of the professions, a comfortable circular route of 4 kilometers in which to know various elements that were part of life before. The smell in Burgui also has its role, as the air smells of hot bread baked in a wood-fired oven and of freshly baked sweet cakes.

Festivities

Burgui, in addition to the pilgrimages to the Virgen del Camino and the Virgen de la Peña, celebrates its patron saint, San Pedro, on 29 June.

Traditions

The first weekend of May is celebrated the Day of the Almadía, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, and has become a sign of identity of Burgui. On this day, tribute is paid to the ancient trade of almadiero by descending three almadías, which end their route at the medieval bridge of Burgui, remembering the old way of transporting wood along the course of the Esca river. The last raft that, transporting wood in the course of the work, descended down the Esca did so in 1952.

Curiosities

It is said that Burgui receives its name from each of the initials of the names of the villas that together with it form the valley: The B of Bidankoze, the U of Urzainki, the R of Roncal, the G of Garde, the U of Uztarroze and the I of Isaba..

The Legend

In Burgui the Inquisition also acted harshly between the years 1525 and 1611. It is said that in 1569 the sorcerer was the cleric. Legend has it that a neighbor of Burgui, even when she was dead, would turn around inside the coffin. Although it is true that most of the autos de fe were accused of witchcraft, through falsehoods, poor people, healers and healers. All they did was try to alleviate illnesses with herbs and medicinal ointments, there is a Basque proverb that says: izena duena da, what has a name exists.

OTHER PLANS AND EXCURSIONS IN NAVARRA

​

SOME ROUTES BY BURGUI AND SURROUNDINGS

MORE ROUTES AVAILABLE, DON'T MISS IT...

​

MORE PLACES TO VISIT IN NAVARRA

MORE PLACES AVAILABLE, DON'T MISS IT...

​

OTHER CHARMING VILLAGES OF NAVARRA