Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Javier

What to see and do in Javier (Sangüesa, Navarra): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities

When to go to Javier: festival calendar

March: La Javierada (marzo; 6 de noviembre de 1982)
December: Festividad de San Francisco Javier (December 3)

How far each place is from the centre of Javier

La Javierada 600 m
Castillo de Javier 600 m

Towns near Javier

What to see in Yesa 3.9 km · 10 places
What to see in Undués de Lerda 4.4 km · 3 places
What to see in Sangüesa/Zangoza 4.6 km · 21 places
What to see in Liédena 5.1 km · 5 places
What to see in Navardún 10 km · 2 places
What to see in Urriés 10 km · 2 places
What to see in Lumbier 10 km · 4 places
What to see in Sos del Rey Católico 10 km · 8 places

Spain › Chartered Community of Navarre › Sangüesa › Javier

What to see and do in Javier

Javier
Village
The territory held a Celtic hillfort from the 5th century BC, with later Iberian and Roman pottery; in the 10th century, following the campaigns of Sancho Garcés I, the population moved from the inconvenient Castellar to the current site, whose name —Etxeberri, "new house"— gave rise to "Javier." In 1964, a new town center was built to accommodate pilgrims, moved from the old village on the castle esplanade.
Castillo de Javier
Monument
A fortress with foundations and plinths of possible 10th-century Muslim origin, extended with a wall in the 11th century and polygonal towers in the 13th. In 1516, Cardinal Cisneros ordered its partial demolition —tearing down walls, filling in the moat, and reducing by half the tower of San Miguel—, the oldest one preserved. In the late 19th century, the Duchess of Villahermosa and her husband promoted its reconstruction, with the adjoining basilica built between 1896 and 1900 under the direction of the architect Ángel Goicoechea; the complex later passed into the hands of the Society of Jesus. The tower of the Santo Cristo preserves a late Gothic crucifix and a rare Spanish mural painting of the danse macabre, and the castle today houses a museum dedicated to the life of San Francisco Javier.
San Francisco Javier
Curiosity
Francisco Javier (1506-1552), co-founder of the Society of Jesus and missionary in Asia, was born in this castle, the son of Juan de Jaso and María de Azpilicueta. Co-patron saint of Spain and patron saint of Navarre, his figure turned Javier into an international pilgrimage destination.
La Javierada
Activity
A mass pilgrimage on foot, by bicycle, and by other means, which every year in early March brings thousands of Navarrese to the castle of Javier in honor of San Francisco Javier; it is one of the largest pilgrimages in Spain. During his visit on 6 November 1982, Pope John Paul II was welcomed by around 80,000 pilgrims.
Parroquia y Abadía de la Anunciación de Javier
Monument
A church founded in 1500 by the parents of Francisco Javier, Juan de Jaso and María de Azpilicueta; it functioned as a monastery of the Oblates of Christ the Priest between 1971 and 2011.
Festividad de San Francisco Javier
Activity
The patron saint festival of Javier in honor of San Francisco Javier, celebrated on 3 December.