Vitoria, Spain: its History
Vitoria in the Middle Age
Vitoria is a city with a long history. The city was founded as villa in 1181 by Sancho el Sabio of Navarre, on the site of a small village named Gasteiz which was perched at the top of a hill and was initially designed to act as a fortified city against Castile.
The villa was originally surrounded by a wall which was gradually expended as the city grew and spread out down the sides of the hill.
In 1200 Vitoria changed into the crown of Castile, conquered by Alfonso VIII who ordered its first Gothic expansion on the western side of the hill.
Alfonso X extended Vitoria in 1256 towards the east with new streets bearing the name of guilds.
The Jewish quarter was very important before the expulsion by the Catholic King and Queen.
With Juan II, Vitoria obtained city status in 1431.
Vitoria losted the "c" of its first name Victoria over the years. Whithin the city walls you can find vestiges of all the historic monuments...
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