You can walk Donapaleu with the piano and flute of the song of Antton Valverde in the head of the last queen of Navarra, while the cold winter streets of Donapaleu lead you through the silent footprints of the last representatives of the crown of Navarra. The old stones made countless grimaces and the Cold Pencil River blew in its ears a thousand and a secret. In the swing of that melody, Xabier Lete’s words will help you get into Donapaleu’s history during the Renaissance, especially on the street of the Palace of Justice. There you will see the headquarters of the States of Navarra, the Protestant church and the house of Arnaud Oihenart, which wrote Notitia Utrisque Vasconiae, which is barbaric to us. Next, you are hidden the appearance of that old one: Basque, Hugenot, exiled, soon head of the kingdom of France... by which the lineage of the Labrit passed. Today, the last wall against the new attack, Donapaleu is an exhausted, cracked wall full of vitality and has a lot to tell, even if it does not seem so.

If it is not Friday, there will be no problem leaving the car everywhere, in Donapaleu. To do so outside the heart of the people, along with the church and the mail is not a bad option. By the way, we can go to see if there is an exhibition in Amikuze's media library or if they have received one of our most beloved weekly newspapers. If not, it is very nice to park in Foirail Square, if it is not the market time on Friday, it goes, of course. Bananas in this central square protect the doors of the ratchet and the cozy lodgings. And as the writer Mixel Thikoipe tells us, he's just known Amikuze's story. For example, the resistance of some citizens to the Nazis.

It is Amikuze Baja Navarra and is known as the Donapaleu area. It consists of 24 villages, in which it shares three with Zuberoa: Pagola, Domintxine and Lohitzüne-Oihergi. With a little bit of xanthza, walking around Donapaleu we will hear the Basque of the amikuztarras with “zuka” honey. With a friend or with two. Because the Basque country is seriously dominated in Amikuze. The region reviews the aggressive transformation that the east of Euskal Herria has historically undergone. It is precisely in this sense that the work of several agents, including the ikastola de Amikuze, which last year turned 40 years, is often highlighted. From theater groups like Altza Burgaintzi or Kitzikazank. On the other hand, it is recalled that Amikuze has been born or lives with several Basque writers. So, Itxaro Borda is Orgrip's natural. The narrator Koldo Ameztoi, from Arruta, is a very elegant village. Writers Eñaut Etxamendi and Mattin Hirigoien live in Amikuze. Also Mixel Thikoipe from Amikuze, one of the biggest experts in memory literature. All these forces contributed to the implementation of Euskera Day two years ago in Donapaleu. That is what this year has become the campaign for the Basque Country that has spread throughout Nafarroa Beherea. Along the same path, Amikuze’s Euskaltzales have raised the carnivals, and they have regained Libertiment, the new project. That is to say, work is being done on the implementation of a peto in the crack that the wall has, in order to keep the walls of the Basque culture firm.

Half town, historic center

The stones of the Donapaleu Valley house are the sign that we are in the center of the village. Yes and a striking crossroads. East we have Zuberoa and Bearn: Aizamo, Domintxine, Maule, Salbaterra, Saliese, Pau. Juana de Labrit took refuge in Salies, a saltwater town, during the religious war. In these villages of the Bearn neighborhoods there are still the temples of the Protestants. West, it's Lapurdi. Northeast, Peirahorada and Landa. Halfway, on the border, the town of Xarnegu, close to oblivion. Indeed, the country of the three islands had been seen to be extinct by fog. Today the Xarnegu music festival is held, once a year, in Bardoze, in order to keep the memory alive. And the Xarnege group has been able to bring together both music from Euskal Herria and from Gascuña.

But we have escaped. Lapitz Frio Gauden (in French, Bidouze) on the bank of the river leading up to Aturri. To choose, to the sun. On the left of the tourist office you can visit the tissue factory Ona Tiss, the last of these characteristics in the Basque Country. Since 1948 they have been spinning cotton and flax. Then you can go to the riverbank, walking. Get down the stairs and go under the main road bridge. However, before doing so, we must take a careful look at the pool on the other side of the river, assuming that this area was a place of horse racing, not so long ago. Our grandparents and grandmothers were spectators of the famous equestrian tests that brought the unfortunate patrons of De Saint Jayme. In this way, we will observe the oval shape of the racing field, as well as the top on which the staggered seats of the spectators have been placed.

After the bridge, a few steps from the grass, we see on the left the footprints of what the river was. It's sweet to enjoy the view that's in your cascade. Then, the narrow street will lead us to the Palace of Justice (Rue du Palais de Justice), which was the “Calle Real de Navarra”. On the far left is the church that belonged to Jondoni Paulo in the 12th century. The building assumed the political function throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, becoming the headquarters of the Navarra Elder States. When Juan de Albret and Henry IV were Navarros kings in Donapaleu, it was also a temple of the reformed church. After the French Revolution of 1789, he became a Tribunal until 1955. Today it is the seat of the Amikuze Public College.

Echoes of Oihenart

In front of it is the noble house of Derdoy Oihenart, also called “Buruen etxea”. In the portico, the chisels of the last kings of Navarre are known. But also the devil and fertility. Arnaud Oihenart, a man of law, historian and writer mauletano, author of the book Notitia Utrisque Vasconiae tum ibericae, tum aquitanicae, married to this house. Member of the Navarre nobility by marriage, Oihenart studied history and laws, always from the point of view of the crown he represented and of the lineage of Agramonte. It is considered the first he wrote about the history of the Basque Country. Before his death, he had 20,000 pages, writings, notes and documents. Unfortunately, the majority disappeared. The first Zuberotarra writer Oihenart wrote a lot in Latin, although he also published two books in Basque: Proverbs and Youth in verses. He died in the house under our eyes at the age of 75, in 1667.

Specifically, from Oihenart Street, the church is accessed and the visit to the town centre of Donapaleu is taken away. We can enter the road to the church of Santa Maidalena. It was built in the 19th century, due to the scarcity of space in the church at the time. It is a listing in Historical Buildings by the orgina Cavaillé Coll. On the right of the church, we will reach the Village House and to our starting point, the Foirail Square. Like the church, Donapaleu's Saint Jayme Ratchet is included in the Historical Buildings. Its steel spine is made according to the nail system invented by Gustave Eiffel. The first and, above all, the longest trench in the Basque Country owes its name to the rich son of Donapaleu, Francis of Saint Jayme. He had chosen the best techniques and ways to build from the time. Reputed by fame, De Saint Jayme was a millionaire of bad fortune. Both in the ratchet and in other nearby accommodations or in the Plaza de la Casa Consistorial, you can find a comfortable space to stay and rest. You can ask in Basque there or there. A little openness, we will also have the answer.

Note: On the website Ihesi de Euskal Herria, besides finding the recommendations made by the citizens, you can also make your contributions.