July 12, 2026
Julio Caro Baroja Made Zugarramurdi Famous. He Never Saw the Original Trial Files.
Julio Caro Baroja made Zugarramurdi world famous in 1961, using an archive that had already lost its key trial records for over a century.
Blog
Category: History & Culture
Explore Pamplona’s rich heritage—Roman origins, medieval kingdom of Navarre, Hemingway’s influence, bull traditions, and the cultural significance of San Fermín.
July 12, 2026
The Fort Above Pamplona That Never Fired a Shot Became the Site of One of Europe’s Largest Prison Escapes
Fuerte de San Cristóbal sits on Mount Ezkaba, 892.8 meters high and about 4 kilometers north of Pamplona, and it was built to defend the city with artillery.…
July 11, 2026
Txalaparta Has No History in Pamplona. The City Made Itself Its Capital Anyway.
The txalaparta, the two-person Basque wooden percussion instrument struck upright with heavy sticks, was not born in Pamplona and was never a documented part of the city’s own…
July 11, 2026
San Fermín Didn’t Go Global With Hemingway’s Novel. That Took Three More Decades.
Ask most people how a Catholic saint’s day fair in a mid-sized Navarrese city became a global event and they will give you one answer: Ernest Hemingway wrote…
July 11, 2026
The Encierro Didn’t Start as a Sport. Its Original Job Ended in the 1800s.
Most encierro history stops at the cattle-transport explanation. Here's the full timeline: banned racing, 18th-century ordinances, and how the run outlived the job that created it.
July 11, 2026
Did Hemingway Run With the Bulls? The Photo Says Yes. His Grandson Says No.
A single line keeps resurfacing in articles about Ernest Hemingway and San Fermín: word has it that Hemingway himself never actually ran with the bulls, that he only…
July 10, 2026
The Roncesvalles Myth Didn’t Start With the Song of Roland. Charlemagne’s Own Court Chronicle Erased It First.
The standard version of the Roland Roncesvalles myth goes like this: a medieval poem turned a small ambush into a holy war, swapping the real attackers for an…
July 10, 2026
José María Iribarren Wrote San Fermín’s Vocabulary Book. He Also Wrote the Book on Hemingway.
Every English-language account of Ernest Hemingway’s visits to San Fermín traces back, whether it says so or not, to a single 1970 book: Hemingway y los Sanfermines. Its…
July 10, 2026
Women Were Banned From the Encierro for 107 Years. The First to Run Broke the Law by Hiding in a Crowd of Men.
Women were banned from Pamplona's encierro for 107 years under an 1867 law. The history behind the 1974 repeal and today's low turnout.
July 10, 2026
Sancho III el Mayor’s Real Legacy Isn’t the Kingdom He Split. It’s the Road He Rerouted.
Sancho III el Mayor is remembered for splitting his kingdom in 1035. His deeper legacy: the Camino de Santiago route through Navarra still walked today.