The origins of the city

The location of Santa María Cathedral at the top of Gasteiz hill has enabled the discovery of a great deal of material evidence of the city’s history. The archaeological research associated with the works has brought to light certain hitherto unknown aspects and posed new questions about the origins of the City.

One of these is that there is now documentary evidence of continuous settlement of Gasteiz hill from the seventh century AD and the steady growth of its area of influence. It has also been proven that by the middle of the 12th century the old village of Gasteiz could already be considered as a true urban centre with incipient industries and influence over the surrounding villages.