During these days, excavators have demolished one of the oldest houses in Hondarribia to build a chalet there. The Moxkanea or Moskenea farmhouse had at least the “sale” cartel hanging since 2018, and during these years the owners have changed it by hand several times.

The municipal group Abotsanitz denounced on April 14 the total demolition of the dwelling, although the current owner only had permission to rebuild it. “At first the roof and the main walls were demolished, but in a few days the whole building was demolished,” he explained.

The first references to the Moxkanea farmhouse date back to the 17th century, namely 1663. Hondarribia's hamlet also knows it and is called Moxka or moreno. It has also been called Luisenea, as recorded in a 1787 census.

As explained to ARGIA by archaeologists Josu Narbarte and Pia Alkain, Moxkanea was of a peculiar architectural typology and in the same way as the houses that in the seventeenth century began to be built in the Bidasoa Valley and on the coast of Lapurdi. At the time of taking walks in Hondarribia to learn about the heritage, Alkain took as an example this farmhouse.

The demolition of the building has given much to talk about. For example, on Instagram the old and current photographs of Moxkane have been placed in an account that raises reflections on the heritage of Hondarribia: “The composition of the facade gave a special character to this historic building,” they point out.

The Hondarribia City Hall makes the notice public and clarifies that the rebuilding license of the farmhouse specifies in a “very concrete” way the works that could be done. The Urban Planning Area of the City will analyze the facts and announce the opening of the file: “If these actions have been excessive, measures will be taken that may involve exemplary sanctions”.

The villages in the claws of urbanism

It is not the first time that a historic town has been demolished as a result of works linked to urbanism. The High-Speed Train has demolished several villages, such as Mendilibiar-Centro de Abadiño, 500 years old, or the Erbetegi Tower, one of the oldest civil buildings in San Sebastian. In Andoain, the Illarramendi and Perikotegi villages were torn down to build a hypermarket for Mercadona.

In the case of Moxkanea de Hondarribia, the building has been demolished to build a new house of great patrimonial value in this rural landscape.

The urban pressure on the entire coast of the Basque Country also has a significant impact on this tourist municipality of Bidasoa. Not far from the location of the farmhouse was planned the urbanization of the luxury apartments called Mendienea, but after the annulment of the General Urban Management Plan of Hondarribia in 2020 by the Superior Court of Justice, it has been called into question. The announcement of the urbanization continues.