Mañaria

Mañaria (both in Basque and Spanish) is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. Mañaria is part of the comarca of Durangaldea and has a population of 459 inhabitants as of 2006 according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute.

History

As happens with most of the elizates, little is known about the early history of the town and its foundation. Prehistoric deposits of Magdalenian and Neolithic origin have been found in the caves of Silibranka, Kobazar and Atxuri, among others. A Visigoth liturgical vase of the 7th Century has also been found.

Mañaria was part of the merindad of Durango, and it had voice and right to vote in the Juntas of Guerendiaga, where it occupied the seat number four. On the 18th Century the construction of the Royal Road connecting the city of Vitoria with the coast of Biscay going through Urkiola meant the realignment of the town's location, making it the central axis of the municipality. Since mid 18th Century and during the entire 19th Century, Mañaria lived a period of splendor because of the exploitation of its quarries. The church is extended, and the school, the Basque pelota fronton, the tower of the clock and the cemetery are built.