Basque ethnography at a glance

The hermitage of the Virgin of the Snows, probably in 1922. Author: Indalecio Ojanguren.

At the foot of Mount Gorbeia, in Igiriñao, is the hermitage of the Virgin of the Snows, the highest hermitage in Bizkaia, at 1,119 meters to be exact. Until about forty years ago, mass was celebrated there every Sunday and during all summer holidays for shepherds and mountaineers; today, it is only celebrated on the feast day of San Ignacio.

In 1922, Eleuterio Goikoetxea from Zeanuri opened a mountain inn in Igiriñao, considered “the first alpine inn in the Basque Country”. A few meters away, he built the hermitage of the Virgin of the Snows (or Mary of the Snows in some areas), which still maintains its original appearance and structure: a small cement building, shaped like a barrel vault, embedded in a rocky slope. It measures 3 x 2.25 meters and is surrounded by a small iron fence that protects the entrance door.

In 1930, there was a project to build a new chapel in Igiriñao, since the chapel of the Virgin of the Snows could not accommodate more than two people and had no porch or shelter. Ignacio Rotaetxe justified the project by saying that the existing chapel “is like a small and simple cement arch inserted into the rock, with a small balustrade in front where the door is. There is a small, poor and rustic chapel, with space for the honorary member and the acolyte. It is dedicated to the Virgin of the Snows, a gift from the Excellent City Council of Vitoria”. A Fundraising Committee was formed to oversee the contributions for the construction of the new chapel, and work began, but the project was soon abandoned, probably due to the difficulties of construction at the time.

After the civil war, Eleuterio Goikoetxea sold different parts of his mountain inn, the first two in 1942 and the third in 1957. Fourteen years after the last part of the shelter was sold, on February 18, 1971, Eleuterio’s widow, Guillerma Uriarte, and her daughter, Begoñe Goikoetxea, donated “to the Catholic Church of the Diocese of Bilbao, for the benefit of the Parish of Saint Mary of Zeanuri and the chapel it owns, the separate property with the title “VIRGIN OF THE SNOWS” (…)” under the following conditions:

“1. – The Parish of Saint Mary of Zeanuri may not sell or exchange the donated land while the donors are alive.

2. – Likewise, no buildings may be built on this land, unless destined to religious worship.

3. – The Parish of Saint Mary of Zeanuri shall use the donated land exclusively for religious purposes”.

Therefore, since 1971, the chapel from Igiriñao has been the property of the Parish of Saint Mary of Zeanuri.

The hermitage of the Virgin of the Snows, on its centenary, on July 31, 2024. Author: Jon Urutxurtu.

On July 31, the feast day of Saint Igntius of Loyola, at 12:00, a mass will be celebrated in Igiriñao, a few meters below the hermitage. The mass will be led by the parish priest of Zeanuri, all the deceased mountaineers and shepherds will be remembered, the march of Saint Ignatius will be sung, and the hermitage of the Virgin of the Snows will be visited.

Finally, in a festive atmosphere enlivened by the txistularis of Zeanuri and the trikitilaris of Orozko, the Zeanuri town council will distribute the traditional barauskarria (mid-morning snack), consisting of white wine and biscuits to those present.

Jon Urutxurtu