Enériz/Eneritz - Navarra Media

An iconic stop on the Way to St. James

Enériz/Eneritz, in the heart of the Valdizarbe Valley to the south of the Sierra del Perdón mountains, is a Navarran town that combines tradition, heritage and a remarkable history. At a height of 425 metres and with a municipal district of 9.45 km², it borders Muruzábal and Adiós to the north, Úcar to the east, Añorbe to the south and Obanos to the west. Even though the town lies in a valley, its municipal district includes heights such as Montemocha, Chaparral and Monte Castellano; it is also crossed by the River Robo and the Gabildoa stream.

The earliest remains date back to the Iron Age (4th century B.C.) and the Roman presence is also documented with ceramic fragments, coins and traces of walls dated between the 1st and 3rd centuries. In the Middle Ages, there was a Romanesque church that welcomed the first pilgrims on the Way to St. James, whose Aragonese route ran through Enériz before reaching the Church of Santa María de Eunate in Muruzábal.

Reasons to visit Enériz/Eneritz

The place name seems to come from a lord called Ener, resulting in the Latin form Enerici, which refers to his descendants. The charter town’s coat-of-arms includes a vine with branches, a silver half moon and two golden lions rampant, symbols that were formalised in 1953 to reflect the town’s antiquity and nobility.

The artistic heritage includes the Church of María Magdalena, built between 1763 and 1765, which replaced an earlier 12th-century church. There are two shrine chapels in the municipal district: Santa Catalina and Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The monument to the Way of St. James recalls the pilgrims making their way through the municipality and bolsters its Jacobean hallmark.

Its leading figures include Sebastián de Eslava y Lazaga, born 1685, who became Viceroy of Nueva Granada.

The patron saint’s festivities take place from 3 to 6 September, with celebrations for all that reflect the sense of community and conserve local customs.

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