Parque-museo Santxotena
Outdoor sculpture park in Bozate (Arizkun) with wooden works by Xabier Santxotena inspired by Basque mythology and the agotes.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Parque-museo Santxotena is in the Bozate district of Arizkun, in the Baztan valley in Navarre. It is an open-air sculpture museum that brings together the work of the local artist Xabier Santxotena and his ethnographic and cultural research. It covers about 31,000 m² beside the NA-2600 road, which climbs towards France via the Izpegi pass, and here nature is not just the setting for the works but part of the whole.
The wooden sculptures, mostly devoted to figures from Basque mythology, are spread along a pedestrian circuit among eight bordas, buildings that reproduce the old pastoral shelters of the Pyrenees. The park pays tribute to the agotes, the marginalised people who lived in the forests of the area, and it was conceived as a space without barriers in which visitors can touch the works.
The complex is completed by the Casa Gorrienea, the former home of the sculptor’s family, which houses an ethnographic section. Santxotena also welcomes groups to an auditorium, where he gives a talk about the agotes before guiding the visit round the park.
Highlights
- Wooden sculptures by Xabier Santxotena
- Circuit among eight bordas inspired by Pyrenean pastoral shelters
- Sculptures of Basque mythology that can be touched
- Tribute to the agotes, the people of the forest
- Visits with the sculptor for groups
Permanent exhibition
- Parque escultórico Santxotena – Open-air route past wooden sculptures of Basque mythology spread among eight bordas, with a tribute to the agotes.
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The museum presents itself as a space without barriers, with a circuit adapted for people with physical disabilities or reduced mobility, and it allows the sculptures to be touched.
Kids & families
- Hands-on stations
The sculptures can be touched.
Getting there & parking
The park is beside the NA-2600 road, which leads to France via the Izpegi pass, in the Bozate district (Arizkun).
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Visits with the sculptor, Monday to Friday, with prior booking and for a minimum of 30 people: Xabier Santxotena first gives a talk and discussion about the agotes in the auditorium and then guides the route round the park. |
