Discover Barrón: Towers, Church and Sierra de Arkamo

Barrón lies on the slope of a mountain that branches off from the Sierra de Arcamo. The Sierra de Arkamo is designated as a Site of Community Importance. The area is called Arkamo-Gibijo-Arrastaria and belongs to the Natura 2000 network.

This means that a distinctive hillside location and a designated protected area meet in Barrón. The name Arkamo-Gibijo-Arrastaria refers to the established name of the area, while its membership in the Natura 2000 network describes its supraregional protection framework.

Culture and history

Torre de Barrón is a three-storey tower. It was built between the 14th and 15th centuries and is a 15th-century tower. The tower belonged to the Hurtado de Mendoza family; it is currently attributed to the Samaniego family.

The building can therefore be historically classified by its three storeys, its period of construction and its changing attributions. The references to the 14th and 15th centuries and to the 15th century preserve the tower’s chronological classification without reducing its history to a single year.

San Esteban Church has a Latin cross-shaped floor plan. Its tower is low. It is topped by a belfry.

The church building is thus described through three different features: its floor plan, the height of its tower and its finish as a belfry. Together, they give the church a clearly describable architectural form.

The remains of the former Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Abauza or Abanza include a small holy-water font and a roughly engraved cross.

In these remains, the focus is not on the complete architectural forms but on the surviving details. Both the small holy-water font and the roughly engraved cross are part of the traditional furnishings of the former hermitage.

The former town hall of Barrón dates back to the 16th century.

The former town hall also adds a secular building to the town’s historical traces. Its dating to the 16th century distinguishes it from Torre de Barrón and the former hermitage.

Nature and historical traces

Lobera de Barrón consists of two dry-stone walls. The walls converge on a pit. In the 16th century, the lobera was built in the forest to counter the large number of wolves.

The structure therefore combines a clearly recognisable form with its historical function: two walls lead to a pit, and its construction in the forest was connected with how the large number of wolves was dealt with at the time. The lobera is to be understood both as a structure and as a historical trace in the landscape.

Festivals and routes

Barrón celebrates its patron-saint festivals. They take place on the last weekend of August.

The date is therefore tied to a specific weekend in August and forms part of Barrón’s recurring festival calendar.

Barrón lies on a road. This road runs from Cárcamo to Subijana.

The road connection names two reference points for the town: Cárcamo and Subijana. This describes the direction of the road through Barrón.

Other places

Other places on this page: Elburgo/Burgelu, Campezo / Kanpezu, Villanañe, Viñaspre, Caicedo-Sopeña, Agurain, Legutio and Alaiza.

The Senda del Pastoreo runs through the Sierra de Arkamo. Along this route, the ruins of the “Lobera de Barrón” can be seen beside the path. The ruins lie beside the path after approximately two kilometres along the route through the Sierra de Arkamo.

The route description connects the Sierra de Arkamo with the ruins of the lobera. The distance is explicitly given as an approximate figure: after about two kilometres along the route, the ruins lie beside the path.

For the overarching travel overview: Alava.