The Castle of Xabier is located on a hill in the town of Javier

Javier, Spain

Javier is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain with a population of 112.-External links:*...

 (Navarre

Navarre

Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

), to 52 km east of Pamplona

Pamplona

Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...

 and 7 km east of Sangüesa

Sangüesa

Sangüesa is a city in Navarre, Spain, 44.5 kilometers from Pamplona. It is close to the River Aragon and is located on the Way of Saint James. It has been an important stopping point for pilgrims since the Middle Ages...

. Built in the 10th century. In this castle was born and raised the Saint Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...

, son of the Lords of Xavier, and from there took his surname.

Etymology

The name Xabier derives from the Basque Etxeberri or new house, which in its evolution became Xabier. The original spelling is Xavier.

Building

Consists of three, successively staggered in order of antiquity. Highlight the "Tower of the Kristo Santuaren", stronghold and chapel where there is an interesting Late Gothic

Gothic art

Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...

 crucifix and a series of murals depicting the dance of the death, unique in Spain, the "Tower of Homage" call it San Migel (the oldest of the castle) and the museum dedicated to the life of the saint. In its foundations and bases there are Muslims traces that could be of the 10th century. In the 11th century was formed the first enclosure that sheltered the early surround rooms. In the 13th century were added, for the four orientations, two polygonal bodies and two flanking towers.

History

The castle and village of Xabier were won by Sancho VII of Navarre

Sancho VII of Navarre

Sancho VII Sánchez , called the Strong or the Prudent, was the King of Navarre from 1194 to his death...

 around the year 1223. A Aragonese noble had given as warranty for a loan of 9,000 sols

French sol

The sol was a coin in use in Ancien Regime France, valued at a 20th of a livre tournois. The sol itself was subdivided into 12 deniers.Over the 17th century the term sol was, apart from in a few instances, progressively replaced by sou, reflecting its pronunciation. In 1787 a sol's buying power was...

 that awarded the King of Navarre, but at the end of the period and can not afford to pay, became property of Sancho. It was not the first time, or last, as Sancho VII was one of the major lenders to the Crown of Aragon

Crown of Aragon

The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...

, and through to loans not returned, seized a number of villages and castles delivered as backing that helped strengthen its border with Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

: Escó

ESCo

An energy service company is a commercial business providing a broad range of comprehensive energy solutions including designs and implementation of energy savings projects, energy conservation, energy infrastructure outsourcing, power generation and energy supply, and risk management...

, Peña, Petilla

Petilla de Aragón

Petilla de Aragón is a town and municipality of the autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. The municipality itself is formed by two enclaves that are entirely surrounded by the neighboring autonomous community of Aragon.The town is the birthplace of the famous scientist Santiago Ramón y...

, Gallur

Gallur

Gallur is a small town and municipality in the Spanish Autonomical Region of Aragón, province of Zaragoza.The town of Gallur is located on a plain which stretches from the West Bank until the Moncayo High River Ebro, in the so-called Somontano Moncayo, seated on the right bank....

, Trasmoz

Trasmoz

Trasmoz is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 65 inhabitants.The village has a street named after Nayim's goal against Arsenal FC, known as Gol de Nayim...

, Sádaba

Sádaba

Sádaba is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.Sights include the ancient Roman Mausoleum of the Atilii and the Sádaba Castle....

, etc.

In 1236 the castle was handed over by King Theobald I

Theobald I of Navarre

Theobald I , called the Troubadour, the Chansonnier, and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234...

 to Adán de Sada.

After the conquest of Navarre, the castle belonged to Maria Azpilikueta, native of Baztan Valley, married to Joanes Jatsukoa, whose family defended the independence of the kingdom. For this reason Cardinal Cisneros ordered the complete demolition of the castle in 1516, but only held a topping of the strong part of it:

• Was knocked down all the walls around of it and was trimmed with battlements and embrasures.
• Was filled the pit to equal to the field.
• It destroyed two large portals.
• Were demolished two round towers.
• It demolished the drawbridge and; inside the wall, the garden and the home of the rabbits.
• The Tower of Homage of San Migel was reduced by half.

After successive inheritance, the ownership of the castle, along with the rest of the town of Xabier, went to the House of Villahermosa.

The Castle of Xabier is the target of a massive pilgrimage in early March, in honor of the patron saint of Navarre, popularly known Xabierraldi.