Uterga (Navarra) (0)

Did you know that... Uterga

It is located on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago, south of the Perdón mountain range, near Puente La Reina-Gares, in the heart of Navarre. Uterga was a town of royal lordship, so in 1280 it paid the crown an annual pecha. The Monastery of Santa María de Irache also had estates in its district, at least since the 12th century. Its income was ascribed to the viscounty of Muruzábal created in 1407 by Charles III for his stepbrother Leonel. At the end of the 18th century the priest of the church was appointed by the neighbours.

A little more history

By the middle of the 19th century Uterga already had two schools, one for boys and the other for girls. The main road was the one leading to Pamplona/Iruña. In 1846, when Valdizarbe, of which it formed part, broke up, it became an independent town hall. In the middle of the 19th century there was a house next to the basilica of San Salvador de Aguitarnáin, whose owner was obliged to accommodate poor passers-by and pilgrims.

To discover What to see in Uterga?

The houses of Uterga are articulated around the main street. Several houses have coats of arms from the 16th to the 19th century. At one end of the street is the parish church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, with its square tower topped by a small belfry, is basically sixteenth century but with later additions, such as the seventeenth century tower and the brick portico, nineteenth century, inside contains a sixteenth century Christ.

Festivities

It celebrates the feasts of San Isidro on May 15 and the 15th of August, La Asunción.​

Traditions

In Uterga is celebrated of the Day of the Wind. Its parallel streets allow the wind to slip between them. The locals have known how to take advantage of this meteorological phenomenon, which has always characterized the town. Today, Uterga pays tribute to it with a festive day that takes place every two years on the first Sunday in October. Its skies are furrowed with kites, hot air balloons and paragliders while on earth it is the wind instruments that become the owners.

Curiosities

It seems that there were two groupings of houses under the name of Olandain and that each one had its own parish, but they shared land in common and for that reason there were quarrels and misunderstandings that nobody liked and that not wanting them to reach more, they decided to move the houses of the mentioned Olandain to Uterga. The works of the relocation took place between the years 1601 to 1633.