Medieval Village of Sajazarra

Sajazarra is a municipality in the autonomous region of La Rioja (Spain). It is located around the confluence of the rivers Aguanal and Ea.
It is part of the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Spain.
The first mention of the village, under the name of Saggazahar, appears in a document in the cartulary of San Millán de la Cogolla, when the King of Pamplona, Sancho el de Peñalén, donated some land in his territory to the monastery in La Rioja on Epiphany in 1075. Before the end of the 11th century, it appears in the Charter of Miranda de Ebro in 1099 under the name of “Saja”.
In 1146, it appears with its current name in the documents granting Cerezo de Río Tirón its charter by Alfonso VII.
In 1169, King Alfonso VIII donated the town to the monastery of Valdefuentes, in a deed dated in Tudela.
It was fortified between the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1463 it was one of the five founding towns of the Brotherhood of Álava together with Vitoria, Miranda de Ebro, Pancorbo and Salvatierra.
Its castle/palace was built in the second half of the 15th century when the town became a manor of the Velasco family.
The town and castle belonged to the Counts of Nieva.
In 1790, Sajazarra was one of the founding municipalities of the Royal Economic Society of La Rioja, which was one of the societies of friends of the country founded in the 18th century in accordance with the ideals of the Enlightenment.
Within its historic quarter, different monuments stand out, such as its castle, the remains of the wall and gate of the Arch, recently restored, and the church of Santa María de la Asunción.