What is "oiartzun"

Oiartzun (, ) is a town and municipality located in the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.

The name traces back to the Oiasso or Oiarso of the Roman period, an important town dedicated to mining and marine activities. However, it has been pinpointed actually in the current border town of Irun, so the name may have referred to the whole area.

A river bearing the same name meanders through the meadows and neighbourhoods of this sparse municipality. That is actually one of its main features, it is scattered in different quarters across the valley. Elizalde lies on a prominence and it is the central nucleus of the town, with the main church San Esteban and town hall being located there. At the foot of Elizalde lies Altzibar by the Oiartzun River. Ugaldetxo developed into an urban built-up area surrounded by industrial estates near the AP-8 motorway, while the rest of the neighbourhoods have hung onto their rural and picturesque landscape to a large extent.

Alfonso VIII of Castile chartered it as town but it took some decades before its independence from Orereta was total.

The town's football club, Oiartzun KE, plays at Karla Lekuona. The women's side has competed in the highest division of Spanish football, making Oiartzun one of the smallest towns in the country home to a top-flight club.

The Oiartzun River is a short river in the Basque Country in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the smallest river of Gipuzkoa flowing into the Bay of Biscay ( Atlantic basin); the river joins the sea at the Bay of Pasaia. The Oiartzun rises in the Aiako Harria massif at an altitude higher than 700 m. It flows down through steep slopes and falls, with an average drop to its mouth of 5.49% (600 m drop in the first 5 km).

The river meanders through the valley and several hamlets of the town of the same name. On its last stage, it crosses the A-8 motorway squeezed up into a canal all along Errenteria, before joining the Bay of Pasaia. The river underwent severe environmental problems on its last 10 km during the whole 20th century, especially on account of the paper mill located in Errenteria, while the issue was largely redressed by the early 21st century.

Category:Rivers of the Basque Country Category:Gipuzkoa