Segura

Camino Vasco del Interior

Gipuzkoa · GuipúzcoaPaís Vasco / Euskadi · País Vasco

Toponym from the Latin securus ('safe, fortified'), applied to the walled town founded as a safe control post of the Aralar pass. Compositional pattern common to Segura (Jaén), Segura de la Sierra, Segura de los Baños.

Fortified town founded in 1290 by Sancho IV the Brave as a control post of the natural pass between Gipuzkoa and Álava through the Aralar range. It preserves the medieval walled ensemble with three gates and the historical centre with declaration of Historic Ensemble in 1973.

Evolution of the name

  1. securus Latin 1st–5th centuries
  2. Segura medieval Castilian from 1290

Reflections, to the letter

Of the five gates that walled this villa, three still stand. The Camino Vasco del Interior enters Segura through one of them, the Zerain gate, the best preserved, before dropping toward the Oria. To cross it is to step through the very 'secure place', securus, that named the town: not a metaphor, a threshold of worked stone you walk under.

Languages of origin

Themes

Origin status

confirmed

Glossary

Segura toponymy
Castilian toponymic family derived from the Latin securus, applied to fortified towns with defensive function at strategic passes. Attested in Segura (Gipuzkoa), Segura de la Sierra (Jaén), Segura de los Baños (Teruel), Segura del Toro (Cáceres). All share the model of medieval foundation with wall and royal charter.

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Camino Vasco del Interior

  1. ··· toward Santiago
  2. La Puebla de Arganzón
  3. Argomaiz
  4. Vitoria-Gasteiz
  5. Aspuru
  6. Galarreta
  7. Salvatierra-Agurain
  8. Segura
  9. Zegama
  10. Idiazabal
  11. Beasain
  12. Ordizia
  13. Beasain
  14. Alegia
  15. ··· toward the start