Estella, two venues for one city

Until 1259, each historic district of Estella had its own board. At that time, King Theobald II reunited them into a town hall and established them in the council house of San Martín. With the passage of time and in spite of successive reforms, the building must have become too small, and a new town hall was erected in its place at the beginning of the 18th century.

Unlike previous palaces in Estella, which alternated between ashlar and brick, we are faced with a splendid ashlar masonry structure. Its façade stands out for the sculptural volume acquired by the arrangement of the columns, which are almost free-standing, and the moldings that flank the main door and the windows, giving a graceful mobility. It ends in an attic that speaks to us of the influence of the zone average Navarra and with a wide eave. In this the rich ornamentation of young nudes, slightly modest, that let us glimpse beautifully sculpted forms with a Renaissance flavor, stands out.

By the end of the 19th century, the City Council decided to undertake a new move "for its eccentric status , small capacity and for being extremely humid", although the complicated economic situation of the consistory delayed the construction, on the remains of the ruined convent of San Francisco and under the plans of Máximo Goizueta, until 1904. The project contemplated both the house itself and the municipal schools. internship The old building, previously described, was reused as a courthouse during the whole of the 20th century and, since 2018, it has been used as a tourist office.

Of considerable dimensions and built in an eclectic style, it consists of leave and a single floor. The masonry is made of masonry and solid brick, and the facades are plastered and painted imitating the red brick, while the floor leave and other architectural and decorative elements are made of natural stone. The main facade is developed very horizontally and is divided into two equal halves by a high central structure, delimited by pilasters that end in palmettes and vases, and frame the balcony, the clock and the coat of arms of the city. The whole is crowned by a forged structure that supports the bells and a simple weather vane. The rest is composed of two bodies that fully combine with the decoration of the central wall. The whole set exudes a young and innovative language, typical of the eclecticism of that time.

Inside, the great imperial staircase that articulates the whole, whose box is decorated with plasterwork of Gothic and Mannerist evocation, illuminated through a showy stained glass window with the arms of the city. The internal space was completely reorganized after the reform of 1987.