Errenteria
Year: 2026
Population: 39779+
Errenteria, a municipality in the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, whose capital is San Sebastián. In the 20th century, while San Sebastián was compared to Paris, Errenteria was known as "Little Manchester." That century saw the rise of the Art Deco movement, an architectural, industrial, and graphic design movement from 1920 to 1939, known as the "Belle Époque" or "Crazy years." Consumerism and advertising were the defining characteristics of the era.
The Errenteria Costume Museum houses some costumes from that era. It is worth noting that the museums collection changes periodically.
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| Shoes. |
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| Purple Dress. | Mannequins. | Brown dress. |
Errenteria, also called Renteria or Errenderi, derives its name from the payment of "royal rents." The name Orereta is also used when referring to its old town. Public services include the metro, trains, buses, and taxis.
We enter the old town and our journey begins at the town hall or municipal building.
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| Errenteria City Council. |
We looked closely at our surroundings and the parish church of "Nuestra señora de la Asunción" (Our Lady of the Assumption) stood out, with its altarpiece depicting the Passing of the Souls. As Dante Alighieri said in the "Divine Comedy," the souls passed through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.
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| Nuestra señora de la Asunción | Altarpiece of the Souls. | Sanctuary. |
As you can see in the altarpiece, there are no souls passing by. Where does the name "Altarpiece of the Souls" come from? It stems from a local custom: the people of Errenteria used to pray for the deceased in front of this altarpiece.
Next to it is "Kapitain etxea," a medieval building that houses the aforementioned costume museum. Marino MartÃn de Renteria y Uranzu, a 16th-century Gipuzkoan born in Errenteria, lived there. He participated in the defense of Hondarribia in 1521 and 1523, among other battles. We will continue along "Erdiko kalea" street and arrive at an open space filled with protest murals. Here we will find the womens center and a childrens playground. We will cross through and descend.
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| Enough is Enough Mural | ||
Once we descended, we spotted a building with a cannon on the roof; that same street leads us to the Alameda de Errenteria.
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| Cannon on the roof. | Orereta ikastola. | Koldo Mitxelena. |
It should be mentioned that Koldo Mitxelena Elissalt (Koldobika), born in the 20th century (1915, San Sebastián), was a writer and philologist who contributed to the standardization of the Basque language. Errenteria has two official languages, Spanish and Basque (Euskara).
We continued along the promenade, parallel to the Oyartzun River, and arrived at a shopping center, Niessen.
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| Bicycle roundabout. | Niessen Building. |
Once here, we will walk around the back towards the Basilica of La Magdalena (Hermitage of Errenteria).
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| Basilica of Magdalena. |
We are interested in seeing the Fanderia mill (Fanderiako errota), since it is an example of the industrialization that Errenteria underwent. Hence the nickname: Errenteria, the little Manchester.
On the way to Fanderia (Neighborhood of Errenteria), we have come across the following figures.
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| Tunnel scooter. | Windows. |
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| Pediment drawings. | Augustinian Convent. |
The last image shows the Augustinian convent, founded in 1543, in the 16th century. After a short walk, we reached our destination: the Fanderia mill.
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| Fanderia mill. | The other side of mill. | Side mill |
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| Three mills. | Mill gear. |
Now it is time to rest and enjoy leisure time in Errenteria; tomorrow we have an excursion.