Muralla de Navarrete

The French Way enters La Rioja in the seventh stage, which ends in Logroño. The eighth stage of this route takes place entirely in Rioja territory, and crosses the town of Navarrete. The old town of this town still maintains the medieval layout that was marked next to the wall. Through it we can verify the growth of Navarrete, although only some sections are preserved.

The importance of the Navarrete wall

Navarrete did not have a defensive system until 1380, when the planning and construction of the wall began. A fortress was also built, although it is not preserved today because several water tanks were built on its location. The main objective of the wall was to protect the area from possible incursions from the Kingdom of Navarre, which bordered the town. The wall came to have seven gates and several defensive towers along its route.

With the growth of the town until it reached the population it has today, more houses were built that often overlapped the layout of the wall. This has meant that a large part of the layout has been lost, although a part of its original route is still standing and remains of the Puerta de Nuestra Señora in the Plaza del Arco are preserved.

Restorations have also been carried out, especially in 1972. In that year, a section in very poor condition was covered with stone. It was only kept standing by a buttress, also very deteriorated and which was completely removed for the work. Now you can see this reconstructed section next to the Town Hall.