Like the monumental parts of the cities, the grandparents of the forests keep their stories. The centenary oaks of Munain and Okari, for example, speak of the exploitation of forests in the 18th century. To extract the wood, the branches were cut to a certain height, so that the oldest trees of the place have taken the form of a candlestick, a move that has also given the forest its name: Arimotx or short oak. A local woman recalls that her father, the sawmill, told her that throwing and transporting these giants entailed a high cost, and that, because they were old, they had many holes and rottenness. That is why the oaks of Munain and Okariz were saved from the intensive exploitation of the time, and also why Arimotxes and Arimotxis are untouchable and enchanted forests for the population.

Perhaps best known is the heartbreaking story that has been preserved by the ancient beasts of Albertia: At the end of 1936, the Republicans attempted to regain Álava and took Legutio. They resisted for ten days, but the attempt of the Euko Army failed; thousands of warriors died during the Leguto War. The largest beeches are located around the monolith that preserves the memory of the Republicans. Oak trees also occupy a preferential place on the stage of war or in the beliefs of the inhabitants of Leguto for centuries, since the old tradition that has spread from Urbina to the whole of the Basque Country is that oak serves to heal hernia.

Much more joyful stories, or at least more musical, would be told by the art of Resquicio in the Sierra de Badaia and the wizard of the Cortes de Langraiz, both of which are the main sources of inspiration for the artist DJ Loro. The magician has a spectacular perimeter compared to other trees of his species: With 3.64 meters he has broken all the records. The art of Resquicio is also gigantic, with a trunk of 4.28 meters of perimeter, and the large canopy extends at a height of four meters. DJ Loro, his father-in-law, has discovered these places; he has been transporting cattle since he was a child, from the village to the Sierra de Badaya, and has kept in memory the paths that ascend from Santorkariz to Torkaladron and the wonderful arts that surround them.

Their own names

The largest tree in Álava would also tell impressive legends, if we speak: The Grandfather of the Galarras has a diameter of 8 meters and a crown of 21.70 meters. The undeveloped oak was put in jeopardy when the Corrosion-Parri dam was built a few years ago, but once again, the historic tree was saved.

Crispin’s Chestnut Tree is also among the giants that have escaped the clutches of developed society. It can be seen on a plot of Apinaiz, grey and solitary. In the middle of the 20th century, ethnographer Gerardo López de Gereñu photographed the giant tree and its owner, Crispin Martínez de Rituerto. A unique chestnut tree could be seen in this photograph; however, in the spring of 1988 a stranger set fire to the tree and it burned for days. Crispin made him some vaccines, and he's barely survived to this day. With a perimeter of 10.5 meters, the trunk is probably the largest chestnut tree of a time in the Basque Country.

The lost molars of Gorobel, the Albeiz herds, the oaks of Zalduondo... There have been thirty-five routes that Marta Villota and Jonathan Rubines have collected to know the significant trees of the Basque Country: "We have gathered trees of many species, stories of different societies, times and places are told. We have not only collected the largest trees; we have taken into account the cultural and social side, the connection with the citizens and the history behind them."

Ten routes in Álava

Rubines is a biologist and landscape designer and engineer in Villota. Together they have written Rutas para descubrir ·arboles monumentales, with the publishing house Sua, which has recently been published in the collection called Euskal Herria. A total of 35 routes are proposed throughout the Basque Country, of which ten in Álava: “Álava is the territory we know the most and we had more routes, but we had to make the selection.”

This news has been published by Alea de Álava and we have brought it to LUZ thanks to the license CC-by-sa.