Oñati is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

, in the north of 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...

. It has a population of approximately 10,500 and lies in a valley in the center of the Basque country. It lies about 40 km south of the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

 and is about 236 m above sea level. The name in Basque translates roughly as "place of many hills", reflecting the landscape of the area. The town is surrounded on three sides by green mountains on the southern side by the Aloña limestone formation.

Main sights

Dating back to the Medieval period, Oñati is home to numerous monuments. The Ancient University of the Basque Country, which is in the town's centre, is one of the oldest university buildings on the Iberian peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

. Today it houses the International Institute for the Sociology of Law

International Institute for the Sociology of Law

The International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati is the only international establishment which is entirely devoted to teaching and promoting the sociology of law, socio-legal studies, and law and society research....

. Other important sites include the monastery and hospice of Bidaurreta and the Church of Saint Michael.

Above the city lies the Sanctuary of Arantzazu

Sanctuary of Arantzazu

The Sanctuary of Arantzazu is a Franciscan sanctuary located in Oñati, Basque Country, Spain. The shrine is a much appreciated place among Gipuzkoans, with the Virgin of Arantzazu standing for the main worship figure and patron of the province along with Ignatius of Loyola.The place benefits from...

, which is known for its Pilgrimage Church of Our Lady. A shepherd is said to have discovered a figure of the Virgin here in 1469. The original 16th Century chapel was replaced in 1950 by a church in a more contemporary style.

Onati is also known for having hosted the Boise State University Campus in the Basque Country program at ETEO. The time was very volatile politically, and mirrored Northern Ireland in many ways, since it saw the death of Franco and the transition to a non dictatorial political system.

External links

• Official Website Information available in English, Spanish
  Spanish language
  Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
  
   and Basque
  Basque language
  Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
  
  .
• OÑATI in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) Information available in Spanish
  Spanish language
  Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...