Hondarribia was the second town in Guipuzcoa to receive the Charter in the year 1203 after San Sebastian and was the first to be founded by a Castilian king. Its strategic location, its importance as a fortified town and the development of its defence systems made this village, later a town, exceptional.Already fortified in the Middle Ages, it would not reach its maximum splendour until the first years of the sixteenth century. Its important commercial and trading activities, along with its significant fishing activity, converted Hondarribia into one of the most important enclaves in Guipuzcoa.