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Maria Garro Square in Hondarribia Honors Site of Witchcraft Trials

Hondarribia's City Council will name Maria Garro Square in the area where women accused of witchcraft were tried in 1611, following an initiative by Emeki Elkartea.

Generic image: Stone facade of the Hondarribia town hall with a balcony and iron railings, illuminated by the afternoon sun.
IA

Generic image: Stone facade of the Hondarribia town hall with a balcony and iron railings, illuminated by the afternoon sun.

Hondarribia's City Council has decided to name Maria Garro Square in the area where women accused of witchcraft were tried in 1611, driven by Emeki Elkartea to reclaim historical memory.

Hondarribia will pay tribute to Maria Garro with a new city plaque. This designation will commemorate the historical site where women accused of witchcraft were tried in 1611. The initiative is part of the 'Names of Women in Hondarribia's Streets' project, promoted by Emeki Elkartea, and aligns with the goals of the II Municipal Equality Plan of Hondarribia, aiming to recover historical memory, symbolic reparation, and integrate a gender perspective.
The new square will be located next to the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in the Old Town, specifically in the southern area of the parish. At least six women, including Maria Garro, were tried there in 1611. Currently, this square is situated opposite the baroque bell tower designed by architect Francisco Ibero, next to the building that housed the Inquisition's archives.
Emeki Elkartea began its campaign in 2019 to assign names of women to streets and squares lacking them. Since then, several spaces have been named, such as March 8 Square, Net Menders' Square, Anttoni Etxeberria Mendizabal Square, Agustina Genua Saralegi and Petra Laborda Zuzuarregi Squares, and Bienvenida Emazabel Susperregi Square. Now, Maria Garro Square will be the next space to join this list.
Mayor Igor Enparan explained that this naming will raise awareness of the historical events of the witch hunt and inquisitorial trials of 1611, with informational displays to be installed in the square itself. The proposal was approved with the support of EH Bildu, although PSE-EE and EAJ abstained. EH Bildu, for its part, called for reflection on the future naming of new streets and the potential renaming of streets bearing male names with questionable ethical values.
Regarding the reasons for abstention, PSE-EE recalled that names of women repressed during Franco's regime have also been proposed and requested the establishment of a Technical Commission for Street Naming. EAJ, on the other hand, pointed to a lack of citizen participation, despite agreeing with the initiative to increase female representation.

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