Tiebas (Navarra) (0)

Did you know that... Tiebas

It is located to the west of the northern slope of the Sierra de Alaitz, in the Sangüesa Merindad, in the Pamplona Basin. Although it is known, thanks to archaeological excavations, that in the place where the castle palace of Tiebas is located there was a settlement in the Iron Age, the origin of the location of the locality, on the slope of the mountain range, and that of the castle, on a hillock, seems to be related to the surveillance and control of ways. There are few writings about the town until the reign of Theobald II, when he already had a mayor governing the castle. The stay in the castle of the abbess of Marcilla, daughter of Sancho VII el Fuerte, as well as the stay in it of the Count of Lorena, brother-in-law of King Teobaldo II, have also been reflected in writings. To Tiebas, villa realenga, the king Teobaldo II granted the fuero of Estella in the year 1264, a little later, to its inhabitants also gave the privilege of being realengos and free of all labor, except working in the castles.

A little more history

In that same year the king and those who ruled the Collegiate Church of Santa María de Roncesvalles agreed to exchange possessions, so the king would receive property in Tiebas while giving in favor of the Collegiate its properties in the municipality of Badostáin. In the year 1283 Tiebas saw its favors increased with a weekly market on Mondays. In the Middle Ages, Tiebas also had a provost, in charge of maintaining public order and administering justice, a privilege that very few Navarrese peoples had. The vicissitudes of Tiebas in the following centuries ran parallel to those of the Navarrese kingdom and the 19th century and the War of Independence also left their mark in the locality. It was a town with its own identity and government, mayor and councillors elected by the neighbourhood, although administratively it belonged to the Elorz Valley, from which it was separated by the Alaitz mountain range, until the middle of the 19th century with the municipal reforms. After them Tiebas became a totally independent town hall. Nowadays the town of Tiebas forms, together with the council of Muruarte de Reta, the municipality of Tiebas-Muruarte de Reta, in Euskera Tebas-Muru Artederreta, being in Tiebas the seat of the town council.

What to see in the Tiebas?

Between the houses of Tiebas, which is situated around the parish church and to the west of the castle, there are still some buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Next to the town hall, in the Calle Mayor, there is a transept, which was built in the 20th century and is a copy of and occupies the place of a previous one from the 16th century. Next to the laundry there is a fountain and behind it an access to a canalization that by means of lead pipes took the water to the castle. The church of Santa Eufemia is Gothic of the fourteenth century, you can also see the ruins of the hermitages of Santa Catalina and Santa Maria. The medieval castle-palace of Tiebas is a Gothic construction from the 13th century, built very possibly on the initiative of King Theobald II of Champagne, King of Navarre, who served as his residence as well as other Navarrese kings. In it was kept the treasure and the royal archives, in addition also the castle was during a time prison. During the war with Castile, in the year 1378, the palace was destroyed. It suffered abandonment until the middle of the 15th century when it was donated to the Beaumont family, who rebuilt it, and it belonged to this family and its successor, the house of Alba, until the 19th century.

To discover

The War of Independence took its toll on him, leaving him hopelessly ruined. Today the castle-palace of Tiebas, declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1995, is owned by the municipality of Tiebas-Muruarte de Reta. Some informative panels give a vision of how the building could be. Built on three levels as staggered terraces, on the lower level were located the orchard, the garden and the chapel of Santa Catalina and were surrounded by a wall. Afterwards, crossing the wall through a door, a courtyard was opened and in the centre a fountain and around it were located the kitchens, the falconry and some warehouses, through some lateral staircases to the rooms, had rooms on each side. In the northern corner of the courtyard is the staircase leading to the cellar. This area is the best preserved of the castle and you can still see the niches that housed the wine barrels. The palace was painted white and its roof had coloured tiles forming geometric patterns. The ruins of what was once one of the most beautiful palaces in Navarre invite visitors to imagine the lives of the people who lived there, their sorrows, their glory, their festivals...their history.

Festivities

Tiebas celebrates Santa Eufemia on September 16 and the minor festivities in honour of San Gervasio and Protasio are on June 19.

Traditions

Tradition has it that, while living in the castle, King Charles II organized a party in which sixteen dancers dressed as savages covered with black wool lamb skins and masks took part and that later in Paris, in the year 1393, another similar party was held, the Dance of Savages, but the latter ended with a great fire.

Curiosities

The lands of Tiebas were crossed by the pilgrims that through the route of the interior, Aspe-Puente La Reina, went towards Santiago. The "Erromes Kamio", the spiritual path, was dotted with churches, shelters and hospitals for pilgrims and the poor.

The Legend

It is said that in the year 1304 a young Aragonese, who had dared to speak ill against the king in Tudela, was imprisoned in the castle of Tiebas and his tongue was cut off there.

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