Zugarramurdi

A Basque village with a large cave where a witch trial of 1609 to 1614 began, ending in an Inquisition auto-da-fe in Logrono.

Practised and told of here

Basque witch trialsAlonso de Salazar FríasZugarramurdiAuto-da-fé

Best time: August for the festival, or spring and autumn for walks.

The cave of Zugarramurdi, with a stream running through it, was said in the early seventeenth century to be a meeting place of witches. A woman returned from France in 1608 and told of the gatherings. The Spanish Inquisition took up the case and sent a commissioner into the area.

The trials

In 1610 an auto-da-fe at Logrono condemned many people. Eleven were sentenced, and six were burned alive and five burned in effigy. The inquisitor Alonso de Salazar Frias then questioned the evidence and in 1614 concluded that there was no proof that witchcraft had taken place. His judgement brought the hunts in Spain largely to an end.

Today

A witches' museum, the Museo de las Brujas, and a festival in August draw visitors. The cave is called Sorginen Leizea in Basque, and a path through it can be walked.

Visiting

The village is near the French border. The cave is open to all, with a modest entry fee for the museum.

A respectful visit to Zugarramurdi

Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.

Witches' Museum Read the account of the trials.
Sorginen Leizea cave Walk through it.
Urdax Monastery See the old abbey nearby.

About this page

Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Zugarramurdi" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇪🇸 SpainSorginak Mythical beings and historical figures associated with Basque witchcraft and the goddess Mari.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreAlonso de Salazar Frías An inquisitor who used evidence to stop witch executions in SpainBelief Historical

🇪🇸 SpainBasque witch trials A seventeenth-century Inquisition campaign against alleged witches in the Basque Country.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Basque witch trials: Alberto-g-rovi, CC BY 3.0, source
Sorginak: Errazking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Alonso de Salazar Frías: Oscar Montañés, CC BY-SA 4.0, source