Nanclares de la Oca

Nanclares de la Oca in Spanish and Langraiz Oka in Basque (officially Nanclares de la Oca/Langraiz Oka), is a village located in the province of Álava, (Basque Country, Spain). It is also the capital village of the municipality of Iruña de Oca and the most populated village of the region named Cuadrilla de Añana.Until its merger with the municipality of Iruña in 1976, Nanclares de la Oca was a separate municipality which comprised the villages of Nanclares de la Oca, Montevite and Ollávarre.The village is located in the western part of the Llanada Alavesa (plains of Álava), just about 12 kilometers far from the capital city of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz.HistoryFirst Settlements And Roman AgeThe first term related to Nanclares De La Oca was found in a celtiberian stela which referred to the towns as "Langrares". Is for this reason, that experts think there were prerroman settlements in the area.Roman ruins have also been found not just in Iruña-Veleia, an ancient city located near Nanclares, but also in some recent excavations made in Nanclares.The arrival of romans changed completely the style of life and turned Iruña Veleia and its surroundings into an important area.The Middle AgesThere are datums about several Templar settlements in The Middle Ages. The sufix "Oca" is thought to be related with the Templars, as they called the area where they lived "Tierra de la Oca", which means "The Land of Geese". Still the origin is not certain.