- Azkoitia
Azkoitia is a town located in the province of
Gipuzkoa , in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the North of Spain. It is also the seat of themunicipality of the same name.Geographical setting
Azkoitia and the pertaining municipality are located on and around the upper
Urola river valley, centered on a smallalluvial plain surrounded by theBasque mountains . Except for the valley itself the remaining terrain is rather rugged, with elevations ranging to little less than 950 meters.Population
As of 2004ref|azkoitiademographics, the municipality numbers 10,946 inhabitants, of which 5,324 (49.867%) are men and 5,262 (50.133%) are women. Age is distributed among the sexes rather evenly with
child ren andadolescent s (0 to 17 years of age) forming 16.235% of the population,adults (18 to 54 years of age) making up 53.744%, withsenior citizen s being the remaining 30.021%.Historical relevance
Azkoitia was the birthplace of the mother of
Saint Ignatius of Loyola , founder of the Jesuit religious order. Ignatius' maternal grandfather, Don Martin Garcia de Licona, had purchased Balda Tower in the mid1400s . Recurring bloody encounters in the region persuaded the king,Henry IV of Castile , to reduce the tower from afortress to acourthouse . On 13th July1467 Don Martin's daughter, Dona Marina Saenz de Licona Balda married Don Beltran Ibanez de Onaz y Loyola from neighbouringAzpeitia in the Licona family home in Azkoitia. The original wedding contract still exists.Loyola's birth house is still preserved as a museum a part of a large Jesuit compound. It is located a few kilometers east of Azkoitia's city center, at the small community of
Azpeitia , and is a major tourist attraction.External links
* [http://www.gipuzkoa.net Official Website] Information available in Spanish and Basque.
* [http://www.euskomedia.org/euskomedia/SAunamendi?idi=en&op=7&voz=AZKOITIA AZKOITIA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)] Information available in SpanishNotes
# [http://www3.gipuzkoa.net/pmhest/estadis.cfm?hiz=cas Demographics for all Basque municipalities]
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