{"id":6454,"date":"2022-04-13T07:37:46","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T05:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/what-to-see\/mercado-de-gernika\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T18:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:52:07","slug":"the-gernika-market","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/what-to-see\/the-gernika-market\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gernika Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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One of the few remaining traditional markets in the Basque Country<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cLunes gernikes, kolperik ez\u201d -  Mondays in Gernika, not a stroke of work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until the mid-20th century, Gernika\u2019s weekly Monday market was held in the open air<\/strong> - there simply was no covered area that could house it. After the town was bombed in 1937 and during the rebuilding that followed<\/strong>, the Devastated Regions and Repairs Department drew up plans for an enclosed market<\/strong>, which was completed in 1943. Around the end of the 1980s, in view of the deterioration the building had suffered (partly due to the passage of time and partly to the low quality materials used by Devastated Regions Department), the City Council decided to tear it down and build a new one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new market opened in 1991<\/strong> and continues to this day. \u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Every Monday, people from all over the Busturialdea region<\/strong> flock to the Gernika market to buy and sell agricultural products. This Monday market might well be defined as a meeting point for the locals, and the fact is that it does still fulfil a social function<\/strong> just as it did decades ago, when people weren\u2019t able to get around as much as we can today, and Mondays were used not only to buy and sell goods, but also to socialize.\u00a0 This is one of the few traditional markets <\/strong>that are still held in the Basque Country and it\u2019s a day with a colourful and cheerful atmosphere that culminates with cesta <\/em>games in the Jai-Alai Fronton<\/strong>. As the old saying goes... \u201cLunes gernikes, kolperik ez\u201d, in other words, \u201cMondays in Gernika, not a stroke of work\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we really want to understand the concept behind Gernika\u2019s Monday market, we\u2019d be best advised to consider its motto: \u201cBaserritik Plazara<\/strong>\u201d, in other words, \u201cfrom the farmhouse to the market square\u201d.\u00a0 This is a reference to the fact that the only people who can sell goods at the Monday market are producers who have their own farms, resellers aren\u2019t allowed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Did you know that in Gernika there is a person they call the \u201cregatera\u201d? <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some producers in the region are not allowed into the Gernika market. So the \u201cregatera\u201d, shall we say, the \u201chaggler<\/strong>\u201d, goes around all these farmhouses buying up their surplus produce. Then he sells all these products in the market square, thus making sure that the local landscape is maintained and taken care of<\/strong>, as otherwise it would be littered with wilting vegetable gardens and produce going to waste. The real gardeners of Urdaibai are the farmers themselves, who take care of the land and their vegetable gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Monday market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/strong>, although traders may sometimes pack up their stalls earlier or later than that, depending on how the day\u2019s sales have been going. Monday is the best day of the week to come to Gernika. Experience Monday in Gernika for yourself!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Special Saturday Fairs<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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These are themed markets that promote a different local product on the first Saturday of every month from June to December. These markets are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n