Historical notes about Beasain

We can stress two moments when reviewing the History of Beasain. The first one comes from the Middle Ages when Beasain was included in the territory of Gipuzkoa; the second began in the 19th century, with the arrival of industrialization. These two historical events have marked the History of Beasain. Our city, which was so dynamic at the beginning of the 21st century, had a very different way of life until not very long ago.

At the end of the 16th century, the people that lived in Beasain were faced with the need to organize and strengthen their full identity. We can say that the main concern of the time was to face up to the Elders. In this confrontation, they chose to join the then growing Gipuzkoa. In 1399 they came under the protection of Villafranca that had been developed in Ordizia, turning their backs on the Elder's model of medieval society, the one which was reflected in the Lords and Ladies of Igartza.

In any case, strong villages like Ordizia, especially the municipal positions that ruled them, did not guarantee the freedom of the nearby towns either. For this reason, together with other surrounding towns, in 1615 the people of Beasain agreed to abandon the Villafranca of Ordizia and to form their own village. From then on, the Beasaindarras (the people of Beasain) developed their own organization, in the same way as any other village of Gipuzkoa: the opportunity to choose a mayor-judge; the right to have a representative in the Meetings of the territory; the obligation to pay common expenses, etc.

It was to reduce the expenses caused by their participation in the Meetings, that Beasain used to seek the collaboration of other similar bodies, and it formed "Unions" with Zaldibia-Arama, Ataun-Zaldibia, or Ataun-Idiazabal. In the same way, it was also very common to create the parzuergos around the exploitation of the land. The union created with Astigarreta and Gudugarreta, for example, was in force until 1811.

As has been stated, in the decade of eighties in the 19th century modern industry transformed the old Beasain. Beasain was where the first Blast Furnace in Gipuzkoa and the first producers of tin in the Basque Country were located, including their English workers. After this, several new industries came into operation; which is why we have the printing industry, the eclectic field and, of course, the train and train machinery industry, which became the symbol of Beasain.

Workers also arrived from other areas, forming a new Beasain. These workers outnumbered the society based on the language and the traditional customs, sometimes by a few and on other occasions by a great many. From this time, the concerns did not come from the confrontations with the Lords and Ladies of Igartza or the competition with the surrounding towns, but from the inherent needs of the new Beasain, since the population's growth would demand an increase in services and would occupy more space.

By looking towards the future, on the other hand, we could see new challenges appear. The conservation of the patrimony (including language and culture) that the new Beasain has not destroyed, for example, such as the Historic Buildings of Igartza, in order to understand how our town was developed and formed.