DESCRIPTION AND WHAT TO SEE IN UJUÉ
Ujué is one of the most beautiful towns in Navarra, due to its location above the mountains dominating the plains, for its fortress sanctuary with a powerful silhouette and for its stone houses that are crowded on the mountainside in labyrinthine alleys. A privileged enclave that its neighbors try to protect, and that hospitably welcomes the many tourists who visit it. Why does such a beautiful town arise in such a rugged place? It is all due to the insistence of a dove, which entered and left a cave, and which a shepherd tried to scare away. Seeing that he could not, he entered the grotto where he found the effigy of the Virgin of Ujué. A temple was built on top of the grotto and the locals gathered around it in search of refuge. In honor of such insistence, the name Ujué was derived, which in its medieval version Uns, Unse or Uxua has a great phonetic similarity with the Basque word Uxoa, which means dove.
SANCTUARY-STRENGTH OF SANTA MARÍA
In its origins it was a small pre-Romanesque chapel, on top of which a Romanesque temple was built (12th century) of which three apses with barrel vaults are preserved in the head and to which the wide Gothic nave was finally added in the 14th century. .
PORTICUS OF SANTA MARÍA
It presents a pointed and flared scheme of ten archivolts, all richly ornamented. The central tympanum stands out, in which we see the Last Supper and the Adoration of the Three Wise Men represented, both scenes of great dynamism.
PARADE
In front of the north doorway is what was the parade ground of the 9th century castle. The Muslims considered it the most impregnable watchtower in the kingdom of Pamplona, of which today only the cistern that stored water for times of sieges remains.
ROUND WALK
The sentinels used it to secure the perimeter of the castle. It surrounds the church-fortress and highlights the viewpoint with a wooden roof, beautiful pilasters, stone balustrades with quatrefoils and impressive views of the Ribera de Navarra.
UNIVERSITY OR GENERAL STUDIES
Charles II the Bad, in addition to ordering the construction of the Gothic nave of the church, wanted to promote a university in Ujué. Read more
STREETS AND HOUSES
Ujué is a stone town that grew sheltered from the church-fortress and spreads out on steep slopes along its southern slope. Walking through its houses and passing through its passageways is almost an obligation after visiting the sanctuary.
HERMITAGE OF SAN MIGUEL
Built in the 1806th century, it was ordered demolished in XNUMX due to the poor condition of its vault. It barely preserves the walls, the doorway with the oculus, the belfry with the holes for the bells, and the charm of the views of the sanctuary among its ruins.
PANORAMICS
Behind the hermitage there is an altar where the Virgin was crowned in 1956. The best thing about getting there are the panoramic views, which do not detract from those we will find if we stop on the NA-5311 road in the direction of the Monastery of La Olive.
