Discover Elgoibar: Culture, Dolmen Route and Holiday Apartment

Culture

Elgoibar is home to the Museo de la Máquina-Herramienta, a “living” museum with working machine tools. A mechanical workshop from the mid-19th century is recreated there. Guided tours explain the transition from craft methods used from the 14th to the 19th centuries to industrial methods that emerged in the Bajo Deba region from the mid-19th century onwards. The museum therefore focuses both on the surviving technology and on the development of working methods. The working machines and the recreated workshop illustrate the historical change directly through concrete objects. The tours explain this change not only through individual machines, but also through the working methods: from craft methods used from the 14th to the 19th centuries to industrial methods that emerged in Bajo Deba from the mid-19th century onwards.

San Bartolomé Church stands on Foruen plaza. Dedicated to the town’s patron saint, it was created by Longa, Larraza and the Ibero family. After twenty-five years of construction, it was inaugurated in 1716; the building is in the Escorial style and has a Baroque tower and an altar with a distinctly classical character.

Martín Sancho built the church of the San Bartolomé de Olaso monastery in 1459. The monastery and church have disappeared, but the church entrance has survived. It also provides access to the Olaso cemetery and is considered historically and artistically significant.

The Zabale Torre farmhouse preserves original 15th-century architectural elements: pointed-arch portals, twin windows, loopholes and corbels. The Barrena Berri power station is located on the banks of the Deba River. It was the first power station installed in the region and has a horizontal Kaplan turbine with an output of 500 kW.

The Mintxeta Punto de Acogida provides tourist information about Elgoibar and the surrounding region, as well as detailed information about suitable routes. It also offers bicycle and helmet hire, toilets, showers, a first-aid service, an area for cleaning and repairing bicycles, and bicycle parking. In addition to route information, it therefore brings together specific cycling services and the necessary infrastructure.

Routes

The Ruta de los Dólmenes runs for 11 km along the Karakate-Iturriberri ridge and offers the opportunity to discover a total of 19 dolmens and megalithic elements. The route begins in Elgoibar at the Mintxeta municipal sports centre.

The 11 km section along the Karakate-Iturriberri ridge has a low level of difficulty and little elevation gain, making it suitable for families. Los secretos de Sallobente is a walk through the two districts of Sallobente-Ermuaran and Azkue in Elgoibar, which have preserved their rural character particularly well.

Local

The XXI Feria Especial de Trinidad in Elgoibar included the sale of local agricultural products.

Other places

Other local pages: Zestoa, Zegama, Errezil, Éibar, Elduain, Mutriku, Zumaia, Azkoitia

For the higher-level travel overview: Gipuzkoa.