The black market 

During the years of need and hunger, the Plazaola railway line became a very safe mode of transport for those engaged in the black market. Most staple foods – bread, potatoes, beans, etc. – reached the towns via train. Many women used it daily to acquire the food needed by their families. 

Solidarity among employees of the stations often made it possible to prevent the Civil Guard from taking the food from passengers. When the station chiefs would see a tax authority official or a Civil Guard, they would warn the stations so that passengers would hide their bags or get rid of them. 

There is a story about the nervousness of one of the women upon learning that Civil Guards were in the station. At the time, the woman tried to get rid of tried packages in such a hurry that she did not notice that one of the packages she was throwing out the window was a baby wrapped in a blanket. The slowness of the train prevented the child from suffering injuries. On another occasion, passengers threw out what they were carrying when they arrived in Lasarte with such bad luck that it landed in the courtyard of the Civil Guard barracks.

Solidarity among employees of the stations often made it possible to prevent the Civil Guard from taking the food from passengers. When the station chiefs would see a tax authority official or a Civil Guard, they would warn the stations so that passengers would hide their bags or get rid of them. 

There is a story about the nervousness of one of the women upon learning that Civil Guards were in the station. At the time, the woman tried to get rid of tried packages in such a hurry that she did not notice that one of the packages she was throwing out the window was a baby wrapped in a blanket. The slowness of the train prevented the child from suffering injuries. On another occasion, passengers threw out what they were carrying when they arrived in Lasarte with such bad luck that it landed in the courtyard of the Civil Guard barracks.

Skiing pioneers 

On 4 January 1914 – fifteen days before the official inauguration of the San Sebastián-Pamplona (the Plazaola) railway – members of the “Tolosano Ski Club” used a special unit of the railroad to reach Leitza and go skiing. It was the first unofficial train trip that allowed that allowed those athletes to reach the snow easily and quickly. 

The story recounts the enjoyment of the Leitza townsfolk upon seeing the pioneering skiers belonging to San Sebastian Recreation Club and Tolosano Ski Club kissing the ground. The village received the athletes and their sports equipment with great curiosity. With this trip, the Plazaola consolidated the development of skiing, a sport that was started by the Norwegian industrialists from the “O Mustad y Cía” company in Tolosa at the beginning of the century. In 1909 the Tolosano Ski Club – the oldest in the country – was founded. 

These men’s expertise and love of sport found their best possible ally in the train for making their dream of reaching the snowy areas and skiing a reality. 

Fabiola’s long summers in Lekunberri 

During the Roaring Twenties and until the Civil War, San Sebastián was the main summer resort of the Spanish aristocracy. 

The nearness of our valleys to the capital city of San Sebastián attracted a large coterie of illustrious visitors to our towns. Among them were Queen Fabiola of Belgium and her family, who used to summer at a well-known hotel in Lekunberri. 

The metallurgical industry in Navarre

In the Middle Ages, the Pyrenees was known for its production of iron in hydraulic forges. While metal mining in the mountains of Navarre was not as important as that of neighbouring Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia, there was considerable trade in iron from northern Navarre with France which lasted until the early nineteenth century. 

The splendour of Navarre’s ironworks occurred in the sixteenth century, when the Basque Country became the main centre for iron production in Western Europe. These began to decline during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when they were unable to compete with the Europe’s blast furnaces, and were abandoned in the nineteenth century. 

The ironworks and their auctions 

Matxain, Urto, Eleuna, Astibia, Irizabal and Errezuma were some of the foundries that existed in Leitza. The town’s situation – with flowing rivers, waterfalls and good mineral holdings – enabled the development of metal production and of these industries that belonged to the king and were considered part of the Town Council’s services. 

The mountain’s coal mines provided the natural coal required for the ironworks to operate. Added to this was the iron mined in Leitza, which allowed the process to be finished. The ironworks also smelted copper coming from Bilbao. The end products – axes, keys, weapons, tools – then went to the markets to be sold. 

To own an ironworks, you had to pay a royal tax and be granted royal permission. The local nature of these ironworks resulted in the owners acquiring through auction. The process was done with candles, depending on the offer made. Whoever lit the last candle without a better proposal having been made became the owner of the ironworks, a method also used for the permit to sell wine, the mill and the bakery. 

The last ironworks in Leitza – the Olaberria ironworks – closed early in the last century. Claudio Erbiti, who is now 90 years old – used to work there.