Makhila Ainciart Bergara Makhila in Larressore

Opening hours

Open

  • Monday 09:00 am - 12:00 am 02:00 pm - 06:00 pm
  • Tuesday 09:00 am - 12:00 am 02:00 pm - 06:00 pm
  • Wednesday 09:00 am - 12:00 am 02:00 pm - 06:00 pm
  • Thursday 09:00 am - 12:00 am 02:00 pm - 06:00 pm
  • Friday 09:00 am - 12:00 am 02:00 pm - 06:00 pm
  • Saturday 09:00 am - 12:00 am
  • Sunday Closed

Closes at 06:00 pm

Useful information

Location : In town

Province : Labourd

Services

  • Open all year round
  • English
    • A traditional Basque stick, the makhila or makila symbolizes a whole way of living, thinking, honoring. Elegant, practical, formidable, decorative and defense object, distinctive sign or walking companion, it is an essential element of Basque sensibility.
      "Makhila" (or makila) means "the stick" in the Basque language.
      A jewel of Basque craftsmanship, the makhila or makila is made by the Ainciart Bergara family in Larressore, a village in the Basque Country.

      Discover the Ainciart Bergara site, the noble manufacturing journey, the ancestral know-how of the only Basque family that has been making makhilas by tradition for 6 generations.

      The makhila factory Ainciart Bergara is located in the center of the village of Larressore, along the main road and on the pediment (Basque pelota playground).

      The house is old. Its name of Killoteia comes from the Basque word which indicates the distaff. It is a former renowned linen weaving workshop but the Ainciart family also made cattails and makhilas there. Only the production of makhila or makila was to survive with Jean Ainciart. In 1926, his daughter Marie-Jeanne married Jean Bergara and the makhila became Ainciart Bergara.

      The workshop of the factory can be visited every day except Sunday and holidays, from 8 to 12 and from 14 to 18 hours (Saturdays: 17h).

      We can attend the different stages of making a makhila on very old workbenches, count the stalks of medlar during drying, examine a photo gallery of artists, politicians or sportsmen who received a makhila made here: Léon Zitrone, Gérard Klein, César, Charlie Chaplin, Chirac, General de Gaulle, Ronald Reagan, Prince Philip, Pope John Paul II, Platini, Cantona, Lizarazu, architect Pei, Nelson Mandela and many others again, including all the presidents of the Republic of Lebrun to Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande.

      You will see there the diploma of Best Worker of France obtained in 1936 by Jean Bergara for the perfect welding of the pommel of the makhilas of honor. You can sit there on a zuzulu, listen to all the useful explanations and, of course, touch the medlar wood and try the different models of makhila. The workshop is EPV Centenaire et Plus (Living Heritage Company) and their makhila has been listed in the inventory of rare crafts by Unesco.


      OPENING HOURS :

      • closed on Saturday afternoon from January to the end of March
      • open in the morning all year round
      • open in the afternoon from April to December
  • Français
  • Español
  • Deutsch
  • Euskara

Traveller Reviews Makhila Ainciart Bergara

4.8 sur 5 307 reviews

  • Jim Robertson

    5 sur 5 Reviews posted by Jim Robertson on 16/10/2022

    Hand manufactured walking sticks. Made the same way for 5 generations.

  • Marc Vergnault

    5 sur 5 Reviews posted by Marc Vergnault on 12/05/2024

    Manufacturer of the famous Basque Country walking stick "the MAKILA", you have the opportunity to see deer master craftsmen in the manufacture of the MAKILA, visit the workshop and store Friday May 10 and received by kind people, thank you to them, headed to go see the small museum, and a beautiful video which shows you the making of MAKILA, if you have the opportunity to go to Laressore go visit them you will not be disappointed, friendly Marc.

  • sagnes gerard

    5 sur 5 Reviews posted by sagnes gerard on 20/09/2024

    With friends we visited Makhila's manufacturing workshop on site. I had seen a report on television which really interested me and there I fell under the spell and in love with an object which is disappearing in favor of what is a concentrate of customs and ancestral know-how. I have to wait two years before being able to benefit from it, the price of a deserved success and which will add a little to the certainty of having a companion of an outdated nobility but very modern in my eyes. THANK YOU to you noble artisans.

Traveller Reviews Makhila Ainciart Bergara

4.5 sur 5 59 reviews

  • "Really worth a visit"

    5 / 5 Reviews posted by RosB__11 (Alberton, South Africa) on 24/08/2015

    I loved our visit to this Makhila producing family. The skill and love with which each walking stick is crafted was mind boggling, so much so I ordered one for shipping back to South Africa. A true...

    Read the full review
  • "Wonderful place for enthusiasts of ancestral professions…"

    5 / 5 Reviews posted by Nikkolashp (Hendaye, France) on 25/08/2023

    Wonderful place, I entrusted my makhila to be repaired, the work done is fabulous, very neat, the workshop is welcoming and all the people are eager to share their know-how!

    Read the full review
  • "J'ai appris sur le Makhila en peu de temps"

    5 / 5 Reviews posted by Jean-pierre B (Rennes, France) on 05/07/2023

    Accueil très aimable. Explication sur le Makhila et sa fabrication détaillée. Vidéo pour suivre la fabrication, puis détail dans la boutique.

    Read the full review

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Makhila Ainciart Bergara

Address

Inthalatzia Ouest
Fronton
64480 Larressore

GPS coordinates

43° 22'5.64"N, 1° 26'24.32"W

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