Zugarramurdi is a quaint Basque village nestled in the foothills of the western Pyrenees. Its name, meaning “hill of elm trees,” doesn’t hint at its more infamous history tied to caves and witchcraft. This village was the site of a brutal witch hunt during the Spanish Inquisition.
In 1610, fifty-three people from the Zugarramurdi area were accused of witchcraft following imprisonment and torture in Logroño’s dungeons. The events leading up to these trials are well documented, but it raises the question: why did this calamity strike a seemingly peaceful village hidden in the Pyrenees?
Going back to 1140, Aymeric Picaud wrote the Codex Calixtinus, an early guide to the Camino de Santiago, which gave the Basque people of Navarra a terrible reputation. Picaud described them as fierce-looking and barbaric, spreading an image that persisted over centuries. This negative perception made pilgrims fearful as they crossed the dark forests and isolated villages of the Pyrenees, filled with people who looked and spoke differently.
Several factors contributed to Zugarramurdi’s ill reputation. Locals regularly made remedies from mushrooms and plants native to the area, men were often away on whaling expeditions, and the Basque population had a high rate of Rhesus negative blood, leading to many stillbirths. These elements led some uneducated folks to believe the village was full of witches.
The Spanish Inquisition, always on the hunt for heretics, received a tip from a young woman who had returned from France claiming she had been part of witches’ gatherings and accused others in the village of the same. Accusations soon ran wild, with villagers blaming witchcraft for misfortunes like storms, deaths, and failed crops.
The village priest tried to calm things by offering pardons to those who confessed, but the Abbot of Urdax had different plans. He sent the accused on a grueling journey to Logroño to ask for forgiveness from the Spanish Inquisition. Instead of receiving forgiveness, the accused were thrown into dungeons, and inquisitors launched a full-scale witch hunt in Zugarramurdi.
On November 7th, 1610, after fifteen months of torture, the infamous witch trials occurred in Logroño with 53 people accused. The trials were a public spectacle witnessed by thousands, leading to several executions.
Realizing the witch hysteria was counterproductive, the Inquisition enlisted Alonso de Salazar Frías. After extensive investigation, he concluded most accusations were false, fueled by sermons about devils and witches. He recommended that the best way to end witchcraft was simply to stop talking about it, which helped reduce the hysteria.
Today, you can visit the Museo de las Brujas in Zugarramurdi, which recounts the village’s dark history. Nearby, the Cave of Zugarramurdi offers an ideal spot to let the stories of the past sink in and your imagination wander.
Georgina Howard is a British teacher and writer who has lived in the Basque countryside for over 20 years. Through her enterprise, Pyrenean Experience, she offers Hiking Holidays and Spanish Language Immersions, sharing her love for the Basque country and its culture.
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