Orduña House. Town Museum

Orduña House. Municipal Museum

Orduña House was built after the great earthquake of 1644 that devastated the area and ruined the premises of the castle. It was built by the Family Orduña, from Basque Country who had arrived in El Castell de Guadalest with the trust of Cardona, Admirals of Aragon. Sir Sancho de Cardona in 1542 received the title of Marquess of Guadalest. The Orduña were in the service of the Marquis as governors of the fortress and of their states.

The house was burned and looted during the War of Succession (1708). In 1756, D. Pedro Antonio Buenaventura de Orduña and Garcia went into the Military Order of Santiago thereby achieving access to the noble. The family received, not only economic relations and social influence, also the best and strongest cultural training as possible available in the second half of S. Eighteenth century till XIX. Its members are primarily lawyers and military.

The rooms of the house correspond to the moment of maximum splendor and influence of the Orduña family, exercised through D. Joaquín María de Orduña. The decor fits the aesthetic tastes of the bourgeoisie who lived through the political vicissitudes of the second half of S. XIX. We can not forget that this building was always a big house in a small town, immersed in a rural environment and inbreeding, geographically far removed of the big cities influence.

The house occupies a plot irregular. On the one hand supports the rock and the other comes to occupy space above the chapels of the parish church next door. The building is supported by bearing walls of masonry. Wood, plaster and ceramic tiles are part of the construction. It has four levels accessed through several steps. The ground floor consisted of a large entrance hall, cellar, kitchen, dining room, pantry, corrals, stables and barn. The remaining levels were occupied by different dormitories and offices.