The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa has been running farmhouse restoration programmes for over 25 years in an effort to recover and publicise the traditional Basque heritage and ensure that it will be passed down to future generations.
This farmhouse has a number of cultural, historical, anthropological, architectural and symbolic features that make it a key element of the Basque heritage, and one that deserves to be preserved.
Its great age and its uniqueness, along with the fact that its ancient structures are practically complete, led the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa to undertake a flagship restoration project intended to make the farmhouse look as it did in the 17th century. The Provincial Council also decided to build an interpretation centre to help publicise the farmhouse and manage visits. The Igartubeiti Farmhouse Museum comprises the farmhouse itself and the interpretation centre.
The Igartubeiti Farmhouse
Igartubeiti was built in the mid-16th century. It is a magnificent example of the golden age of Basque farmhouses. In the early 17th century it underwent extension work and major changes to adapt it to changes in working methods and the way of life. Much of its original structure is still in excellent condition. This, together with the large cider press the interior, makes it one of the most interesting farmhouses anywhere in the Basque Country.
The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa purchased the Igartubeiti farmhouse in 1992 to prevent it from being demolished. After a complex restoration process that has been widely described as exemplary, it looks just as it must have in the early 17th century.
The interior has been turned into a museum where visitors can see a direct recreation of what life was like in a Basque farmhouse 400 years ago, with original lighting, furnishings and tools, and a recreation even of the typical smells of which such a building would have been redolent.
Interpretation Centre
The interpretation centre recreates the history of Basque farmhouses over the course of more than 1000 years. Through the voices of the inhabitants of Igartubeiti and their neighbours, visitors hear how old farmhouses grew and developed, how their inhabitants lived and worked, how they got along with one another, what they believed in, what they produced, what they ate, what they did for fun and what problems they faced.
The interpretation centre manages visits to Igartubeiti and organises activities based on the history of the farmhouse.
The Organic Vegetable Garden
About us
- Coordinator. Kizkitza Ugarteburu. kugarteburu@k6gestioncultural.com
- Head of projets. Marta Font. mfont@k6gestioncultural.com
- Head of the Education Service. Andrea Aristegi. anaristegi@k6gestioncultural.com; Maddi Etxeberria. maddiigartubeiti@gmail.com
- Content Deparment. Iban Maiz. imaiz@k6gestioncultural.com
- Front Desk and Visits. Maider Aban. harreraigartubeiti@gmail.com