Barrundia town hall

Barrundia Town Hall sits in Ozaeta, a small village in the province of Álava, in Spain's Basque Country, which has served as the municipal capital since the late 19th century. Since 2013, local government offices have operated out of the Palacio Iduia, a stone manor house that once belonged to a noble family and now houses the municipal administration.

Where is the town hall and how do you get there?

Ozaeta lies in central Álava, in what used to be the Ganboa valley, surrounded by gentle hills and open farmland. It's a small village that's easy to explore on foot — the town hall stands on the main square, next to the parish church and a handful of other historic buildings. The coordinates place it at roughly 42.917°N, -2.496°W, only a short drive from Vitoria-Gasteiz, the provincial capital.

What's the history behind the municipality and the building?

Barrundia is first mentioned in written records from the 11th century, in a tax roll known as the Reja de San Millán, which listed Álava villages obligated to pay tribute in iron ploughshares to the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. Ozaeta itself shows up in documents a little later, with its name recorded in the 12th century.

The municipality took its current shape in two stages. In 1885, the municipalities of Barrundia and Gebara merged, with Ozaeta chosen as the joint administrative capital. A second major change came in the mid-20th century: when the Ganboa valley was flooded in 1955 to build a reservoir, several villages from that area — including Garaio, Marieta, Larrintzar, Zuazo and Mendixur — were absorbed into neighboring municipalities, Barrundia among them. The palace building that now serves as the town hall belonged to local noble families for centuries before being converted for administrative use in the 2010s.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

Ozaeta and the wider municipality of Barrundia offer a typical slice of rural Álava — stone houses, manor palaces and parish churches scattered across farmland and low hills. Nearby villages within the municipality preserve similar examples of noble architecture, and the area around the Ganboa reservoir, built where the old valley once stood, is now a popular spot for walking and cycling. The village itself is small, so visiting the town hall and its immediate surroundings usually takes under an hour, making it an easy addition to a longer trip through Álava.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Barrundia Town Hall located? In Ozaeta, the administrative capital of the municipality of Barrundia, in the province of Álava, Basque Country.

Is the town hall building historic? Yes — since 2013, the municipal government has been based in the Palacio Iduia, a former noble manor house converted for administrative use.

Since when has Ozaeta been the municipal capital? Since 1885, when the municipalities of Barrundia and Gebara merged and established their joint capital in Ozaeta.

Are there other attractions nearby? Yes — the Ganboa reservoir area and neighboring villages with well-preserved noble architecture typical of rural Álava.