Laguardia, Álava
| Laguardia | ||
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| Municipality | ||
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 Laguardia
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| Coordinates: 42°33′12″N 2°35′6″W / 42.55333°N 2.58500°WCoordinates: 42°33′12″N 2°35′6″W / 42.55333°N 2.58500°W | ||
| Country |
 Spain
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| Autonomous community |
 Basque Country
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| Province | Araba | |
| Comarca | Rioja Alavesa | |
| Founded | 1164 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | José Manuel Amézaga (Partido Popular) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 81,08 km2 (3,131 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 62 m (203 ft) | |
| Population (2014) | ||
| • Total | 1,518 hab. | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 01300 / 01308 / 01309 / 01321 | |
| Website | http://www.laguardia-alava.net | |
Laguardia (Basque: Guardia) is a town and municipality located in the southern province of Álava, in the north of Spain; it belongs to the region of Rioja Alavesa, in the Basque Autonomous Community. It has a population of 1500; but in the past it had 2500.
The place lies over a hill and it is surrounded by a wall that the King Sancho the Strong ordered to build. There are still preserved five different entries to access the city. Their names are: Mercadal, Butchers, Páganos, San Juan and Santa Engracia. Additionally, the streets and surroundings of Laguardia still keep a medieval atmosphere that give the city an ancient touch.
Regarding the economy, its main strength is the wine industry. Indeed, the wine is elaborated and processed in numerous wineries.
During the Middle Ages, it appeared with names such as Leguarda, Giardia, Guard, Guoardia, Lagarde, and Laguoardia until the current name was finally fixed. Indeed, the full and complete name with which the town is known currently is La Guardia de Navarra Sonsierra.
There has been some controversy about the Basque name of the town. In the late nineteenth century, the belief that before granting the "letter of villazgo" in 1164, the population of Laguardia was called Biasteri had spread. Many people saw "Biasteri" as a name of Basque origin and folk etymologies such as "bi haitz herri" became popular. As a consequence, the term Biasteri was used as the Basque name of the town until recently.
Nevertheless, in the late twentieth century, philologists and historians reached the conclusion after some research that Biasteri was the ancient name given to the nearby town of Viñaspre, not of Laguardia. Therefore, the association made until that date was not correct, and the Basque Language Academy, Euskaltzaindia, ruled that the Basque standard name of the town is Guardia.
Laguardia has three separate neighborhoods:
Laguardia possesses a very rich historical past. At a place called La Hoya, there is an important archaeological site. It is a pre-Roman settlement of Celtiberian of Berona ethnic and it covers an extensive period of more than a thousand years or so since the twelfth century. BC to the second century. BC.
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Wikipedia