The hórreos of northern Spain are not just old, elevated granaries dotting rural landscapes. They are authentic living symbols of identity, shared memory and collective pride in territories such as Galicia, Asturias, León, Cantabria, Navarre, and the Basque Country. Beneath its simple, traditional architectural appearance lies a universe of meanings, technical knowledge, emotions, and ways of life that remain very much alive today.
In recent years, this heritage has taken a key leap: the Spanish State has officially recognized “The granaries of the northern Iberian Peninsula as vehicles and symbolic expression of identities and feelings of belonging” as a Representative Manifestation of Intangible Cultural Heritage. That is, not only is the wood, stone, or roof protected, but everything that the granaries represent for the communities that have created, used, and reinterpreted them generation after generation.
What is a hórreo and why is it so special?
The granaries are vernacular buildings originally designed to store and aerate crops and foodprotecting them from moisture and animals. Their most striking feature is that they are raised on stilts or uprights that separate them from the ground, leaving a well-ventilated, elevated chamber that is difficult for rodents and vermin to reach; for this reason, they are often referred to as aerial, elevated, or stilt barns.
In Spain, this type of architecture is mainly developed in the Atlantic-Cantabrian stripThat is, in the present-day territories of Galicia, Asturias, León, Cantabria, Navarre, and the Basque Country. Although the shapes, materials, and sizes are very varied, they all share the basic idea of a chamber raised on supports, usually crowned by pieces that prevent animals from climbing up, and roofs adapted to the local climate.
Beyond their physical form, the hórreos have become first-order cultural markers and identity references For the communities of the northern peninsula, they are places of memory, visual landmarks of the landscape, and elements laden with meaning that refer to peasant ways of life, family stories, festivals, shared work, and a specific way of understanding the territory.
Today, many granaries still serve as storage facilities, but increasingly they are also being used as “symbolic granaries” where feelings of belonging, ethnic-identity emotions and memories are storedThey are present in logos, souvenirs, interpretation centers, cultural routes and even in emigration, which shows that, although rural life has changed, the link with these constructions remains very much alive.
This intangible value, however, coexists with real threats: loss of traditional uses, abandonment, lack of succession in specialized trades and breakdown in intergenerational transmission of knowledge and meanings. Hence the importance of the safeguarding measures being implemented at the state, regional, and local levels.
Legal recognition as Intangible Cultural Heritage
The institutional turning point came with Law 10/2015, of May 26, on the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This law assigns the General State Administration, through the Ministry of Culture, the responsibility for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. and in collaboration with the autonomous communities, the competence to protect intangible heritage through the figure of the “Representative Manifestation of Intangible Cultural Heritage”.
Article 12 of this law states that The declaration is initiated ex officio by the MinistryThis procedure was followed in the case of the granaries of northern Spain, with extensive technical and institutional support. This process could be initiated by the government itself, by a reasoned proposal from one or more autonomous communities, or by a substantiated request from individuals or legal entities.
By Resolution of September 4, 2025, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts agreed initiate the file for the declaration of the granaries of the north of the Iberian Peninsula as vehicles and symbolic expressions of identities and feelings of belonging. This resolution was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on September 15 and opened a period of public information so that any interested party could submit comments.
Prior to that initiation, requests were made mandatory reports to the Historical Heritage Council Consultative institutions such as the Public University of Navarre, the University of Oviedo, and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando were already consulted. At the same time, the opinions of the autonomous communities and cities with Statutes of Autonomy were sought, and subsequently, the hearing process provided for in Law 10/2015 and Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure was granted.
Once the procedures were completed, the Ministry of Culture—responsible for Spanish historical heritage according to various royal decrees on ministerial structure—submitted the proposal to the Council of Ministers. On April 7, 2026, after deliberation, the Government approved the Royal Decree by which the granaries of the north of the Iberian Peninsula are declared as Representative Manifestations of the Intangible Cultural HeritageThe declaration takes effect from the publication of the royal decree in the Official State Gazette.
What does it mean for the hórreo to be Intangible Cultural Heritage?
The official statement does not simply acknowledge the architectural beauty of these buildings. It focuses on a key aspect: the intangible value associated with granaries, understood as a complex web of knowledge, social practices, shared memories and symbolic representations that the communities have been building around them.
In accordance with the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the granaries of northern Spain fall within several areas defined by this international framework. Particularly noteworthy are... social practices, rituals and festive events that are organized around it; the knowledge and uses related to nature (orientation, site selection, climate adaptation, etc.); and the traditional craft techniques involved in its construction and maintenance.
The report emphasizes that these elevated granaries function as places of memory and visual landmarks laden with meaningThese traditions are linked to farming, celebrations, oral narratives, customary norms, and a rich collective imagination. This symbolic content is alive because it is constantly recreated, adapted to new circumstances, and transmitted between generations.
At the same time, clear risks to this intangible heritage are identified: functional detachment of granaries from community life, cultural homogenization, disconnection between generations, excessive folklorization with superficial tourist uses, and loss of rural contexts in which they are inserted. All these factors can empty the granaries of their social content, reducing them to mere decorative objects.
Therefore, the declaration as a Representative Manifestation aims to guarantee safeguards that go beyond physical restoration. It seeks to expressly incorporate the immaterial dimension into the processes of identification, documentation, study and dissemination, to strengthen the social recognition of the granary and ensure the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, values and meanings.
Historical origins and evolution of granaries
The origins of granaries date back to High-altitude storage systems have been present in Atlantic Europe since prehistoric timeswhose main purpose was to protect the grain from moisture and animals. In the Cantabrian region, the use of wooden structures has been documented since at least the Middle Ages, although earlier, more ephemeral forms likely existed.
Over time, a process of technical evolution was consolidated in which the following were combined wood and stone in the structuresFirst, stone foundations and bases with wooden chambers appeared; later, the use of stone elements became widespread in both supports and walls, giving rise to a range of typologies adapted to the climate and resources available in each territory.
Throughout the centuries, granaries were continuously adapted to agricultural needs and environmental conditions. In mountainous areas, the roofs were reinforced to withstand the snow.Inland areas, while coastal regions favored lighter, more moisture-resistant solutions. This adaptability explains the enormous formal diversity we find today in Galicia, Asturias, León, Cantabria, Navarre, and the Basque Country.
However, from the 20th century onwards, agricultural mechanization, the emergence of new storage systems and the profound transformation of the rural world brought about a change in the cycle. Many traditional models became "frozen" and were reproduced more out of cultural inertia and identity value than out of productive necessityIn other cases, they simply fell into disuse and became decayed or abandoned.
This historical trajectory has generated a authentic mosaic of constructive and typological solutionswhose richness is not only understood from a technical point of view, but also as a reflection of the creativity, worldviews and cultural responses of the different communities of the northern peninsula to the changes of time.
Traditional uses and new contemporary uses
Originally, granaries were conceived as multifunctional warehousesThe elevated chamber, well-ventilated and now free of rodents, was used to store grains, legumes, apples, chestnuts, walnuts, cheeses, sausages, hams, bacon, and other foods sensitive to humidity. In Asturias, beehives and small dovecotes were even placed outside the chamber.
The lower part, that space "at ground level" under the structure, was used for multiple purposes: dung heap, cellar, woodshed, pigsty, henhouse, tool shed or covered work area where baskets and clogs were made, or tools were repaired. It was not uncommon for this space to be enclosed with walls for better protection, a custom documented since the 15th century in Asturias and, somewhat later, in Navarre and the Basque Country.
For centuries, this vertical distribution of functions remained relatively stable, until the great socioeconomic change of the second half of the 20th century —de-agrarianization, rural exodus, demographic aging, tertiarization of the economy— It drastically reduced the need for these traditional granaries. Many granaries came to be used as haylofts, stables, storage rooms, or were simply left empty, restored only to "show them off" and uphold the pride of the family or the town.
In recent decades, with the emergence of new forms of rurality—farming families, neo-rural people, residents who work in the city but live in the village, owners of second homes—there have arisen very varied contemporary usesGranaries have been converted into guest rooms, tourist accommodations, offices or information points, small restaurants, cinemas and festival venues, art galleries or workshops.
Especially in Asturias, a residential use that was already known in the 18th century has been revived, when figures such as Jovellanos mention granaries used as temporary dwellings in contexts of housing shortage or marginalizationToday, some are rented out as tourist apartments, which has opened up an intense debate about the legitimacy and legality of intervening in these structures (opening windows, installing bathrooms, electricity, etc.).
In Cantabria (Liébana and Picos de EuropaIn León and Galicia, similar paths are being followed, with rehabilitation projects for rural accommodations or other economic uses. These new functions, although generating controversy, show that the hórreo (traditional Galician granary) has a future. It is not a "dead" piece of the past, but a living, dynamic heritage in a constant process of reinterpretation.where productive, symbolic, economic and social utilities coexist.
In Cantabria, León, and Galicia, similar paths are being followed, with rehabilitation projects for rural accommodations or other economic uses. These new functions, although generating controversy, show that the hórreo (traditional Galician granary) has a future. It is not a "dead" piece of the past, but a living, dynamic heritage in a constant process of reinterpretation.where productive, symbolic, economic and social utilities coexist.
Typological diversity, materials and decorations
The typological diversity of the granaries in the northern Iberian Peninsula is the result of a long process of adaptation to natural environments, agricultural needs and availability of materials in each area. Broadly speaking, we find chambers with square or rectangular floor plans, gabled or hipped roofs, structures made entirely of wood or combinations of stone and wood, and more hybrid solutions.
The supports are known by different names depending on the region, which perfectly illustrates the linguistic and cultural diversity associated with these granaries. In Cantabria, León, and Asturias, they are called pegollos (also peullos, pigollos, pigochos or piales in Asturias); in Galicia they are called pes, pes dereitos, cepas or esteos; in Navarre terms such as pilar or postie are used, and in the Basque Country the word abearria appears. This terminology extends to all parts of the hórreo, with specific vocabularies in Galician, Asturian, Leonese, Cantabrian and Basque.
In terms of materials, the variety is enormous: oak or chestnut wood, ashlar or masonry buildings in limestone, sandstone, slate or granite, plant weaving, brick, mud and lime plaster, tile, slab, wooden plank or plant bundle roofs made of cereals or broom. There are also granaries that mix various materials, the result of successive renovations or ingenious local solutions.
The beech-latted roofs—the famous oholak or olak of the Navarrese Pyrenees—are a good example of adaptation to the forest environment of the Irati Forest. Today, only the granary of Orbaizeta retains this type of roof, but the craft of lath-making still survives in two Navarrese artisans who, in addition to working on traditional buildings, They have been providing training courses since 2024 and are part of the Network of Masters of Traditional Construction.
In terms of decoration, Asturian granaries are particularly striking. They have been developing since at least the late 15th century. very rich iconographic programs with erotic scenes, hunting scenes, portraits, soldiers (including those from the Civil War), human and animal figures, mythological beings, religious motifs, clocks, idealized plant motifs, and complex geometric designs. Today, paintings continue to appear, ranging from triskeles, scrolls, and six-petaled flowers laden with identity symbolism to improvised graffiti with children's drawings, signatures, accounts, or messages.
In Galicia, León, Cantabria, Navarre and the Basque Country, the decorations are more closely related to what is known as "folk art": rosettes, sawtooth borders, ears of wheat, checkerboard patterns, rope patterns and crosses These features, which are repeated with few variations over time, are sometimes accompanied by religious inscriptions, construction dates, or the names of owners and artisans. These details, though more discreet, are equally important for understanding the mindset of those who built and maintained the granaries.
Technical knowledge, trades and oral culture linked to the granary
A wide array of structures has developed around the granaries. technical knowledge, specialized trades, beliefs and popular expressions which form an essential part of its intangible content. Building and maintaining a hórreo requires knowledge of basic mathematics, physics, mechanics, folk astronomy (orientation), meteorology, geology, botany, petrology and skills specific to stonemasonry, carpentry, carving, ceramics or locksmithing.
In Navarre, this knowledge is clearly still alive in the manufacture of beechwood slats for roofs, while in Asturias and Galicia the trades are linked to the granary. They are still alive and in the midst of reinventionCombining traditional techniques with modern solutions. In Galicia, a separate professional specialty from carpentry and stonemasonry has not emerged, but in Asturias, the structural complexity of the hórreos (raised granaries) has given rise to the figure of the "maestro horrero" or "maestru horreru," a term coined by heritage associations to name these specialists.
In Asturias it is estimated that A few dozen artisans are currently dedicated to the construction and restoration of granaries.Many of them are relatively young (between 30 and 50 years old), which gives the craft some continuity. In Cantabria and León, however, the artisan tradition had largely been lost, so restoration projects have frequently turned to Asturian professionals, even when dealing with different types of structures, as happened with the Cotillo granary in Cantabria.
One problematic aspect is the strong masculinization of these tradesThere is hardly any female presence in the practice or in the transmission of technical knowledge, a challenge that must be taken into account when designing inclusive safeguards that are in line with current social reality.
In the realm of oral culture, granaries appear in songs, sayings, proverbs, stories, legends, and customary regulationsMany of these expressions establish behaviors, transmit advice on rural life, or serve to educate in community values. The hórreo (raised granary) occupies a central place in this collective imagination because it is directly associated with food security, collective effort, and the continuity of the household.
The space beneath the granary has historically been a true "social hall" in the rural world. It was there that gatherings were held esfoyazas or foliadas to shell the cornThe pig was slaughtered and the cuts salted, handicrafts were made, informal classes were given by itinerant teachers, wedding feasts, dances, open neighborhood meetings, or impromptu gatherings were organized. Even today, many granaries are used as notice boards for municipal announcements, festivals, obituaries, and job offers.
The granary as a symbol of identity and a community that carries it
Taken together, the granaries have become powerful icons of cultural tradition of their territories. They come from the past, give meaning to the present, and help project certainties toward the future. In fact, the language used to speak of them is revealing: they are called icons, totems, temples, chests, relics, treasures, or jewels; and phrases such as "sign of identity," "our DNA," "storehouses of identity," or "altars of the wind" are common.
Legislation on intangible heritage speaks of “carrier communities”That is, the groups that own, maintain, and legitimately use the property. In the case of hórreos (traditional granaries), this notion necessarily expands to include not only hórreo owners and those who build or restore them, but also cultural associations, public and private institutions, researchers, artisans who reproduce their image, companies that use them as a logo, artists who are inspired by them, and citizens who, even without owning a hórreo, feel that it forms part of their identity.
The symbolic power of the hórreo became especially visible from the end of the 19th century onwards, with the great migratory processes. On the one hand, the arrival of people from other regions to industrial AsturiasOn the one hand, there was the mass emigration of Galicians and Asturians to America. In both movements, a shared feeling of uprootedness, loss of roots, and a need to reinforce their original identity emerged. In this context, installing hórreos (traditional Asturian granaries) in Asturian and Galician centers abroad (Havana, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Mallorca, León, Barakaldo, etc.) became a powerful form of symbolic re-anchoring.
At the same time, awards such as the “Golden Granary” from various entities, and an avalanche of souvenirs that saturate tourist souvenir shops in Galicia and Asturias: t-shirts, mugs, keychains, magnets, miniatures, earrings, thimbles, bags, etc. The image of the hórreo also appears in shop names, product labels, posters and urban decorations.
In recent years, a process of miniaturization and aestheticization of the granary: reduced-scale replicas are built as sculptures for private gardens, they are reinterpreted with modern materials (brick, cement block, fiber cement, treated pine), avant-garde proposals are designed that sometimes clash with heritage regulations, and their presence is multiplied in Christmas lighting, street furniture, grills, waste bins or mailboxes.
All of this shows the extent to which granaries have exceeded their original function as rural storage facilities for permeate the cultural life of the northern peninsulaThe intensity of this phenomenon varies according to the density of preserved granaries, but together they constitute a unit of meaning that helps to understand processes of construction of local and regional identities.
Density of granaries and social movements in each territory
From a territorial perspective, two main groups can be distinguished. On the one hand, The Basque Country, Navarre, Cantabria and León have very low densities of granaries.with figures ranging from approximately 0,001 to 0,02 specimens per square kilometer. This scarcity makes it difficult for them to form part of the everyday “mental landscape” of the population, which has diminished their symbolic weight for much of the 20th century.
However, in recent years these territories have seen a reactivation of social and identity interest around the granary. In the Navarrese valley of Aezkoa, for example, 68% of Navarre's granaries are concentrated, which has allowed them to function as a key element in shaping the region's identity. In Cantabria, with barely 21 granaries scattered throughout the region, the creation of the Association of Friends of the Cantabrian Granary in 2021 has been a clear indicator of social mobilization.
In León, the founding in 2023 of the Friends of León's Granaries association has consolidated a process of revaluation of the granary as an expression of native culture, reinforcing previous, more discreet initiatives that already pointed to this renewed interest in these tall buildings.
On the other hand, Asturias and Galicia form the group of communities with a high density of granarieswith approximate values of 2,83 and 3,38 examples per km², respectively. In these cases, the hórreo is an immediate visual marker of the landscape and a very strong emblem of identity, which explains the dynamism of its symbolic use and the large number of new or restored hórreos that continue to appear.
This difference in density influences the intensity but not the nature of the phenomenon: even in territories with few granaries, when cultural, associative or tourism projects are activated around themThey quickly become effective vehicles for expressing belonging and strengthening social cohesion.
International dimension of elevated granaries
Although we focus here on the north of the Iberian Peninsula, it is important to remember that Raised barns are not a phenomenon exclusive to this areaIn Western Europe, in areas of Scandinavia, Germany, or the Netherlands, there are similar structures that have often been preserved thanks to their inclusion in open-air museums and heritage programs.
The Asia-Pacific region likely has the greatest diversity of elevated camera solutions, due to the combination of high temperatures and humidityThere, the idea of raising the house or warehouse on pillars has developed in very varied ways, with a huge range of shapes, materials and decorations, largely favored by the island realities and the need to adapt to very different environments.
In Africa there are also many high storage structures, sometimes small in size, which allow access the interior by removing the coverThese structures, although sometimes discreet, respond to the same functional logic as the granaries of the northern peninsula: to protect the grain from moisture, animals and deterioration.
In the Americas, the following stand out: cuexcomates or coscomates of pre-Columbian origin from MexicoEspecially in the state of Morelos, where they remained in use well into the 20th century and have now been transformed into handicrafts and exhibition pieces. Elevated granary solutions are also documented in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador.
This international character has inspired initiatives such as the International Horrea Network, promoted by the Asturian Granary Association. It involves groups and individuals linked to the cultural heritage of Spain, Portugal, and Turkey, with the aim of building networks, sharing experiences, identifying common problems, and exploring the diversity of forms, knowledge, and meanings surrounding the world's raised granaries.
Heritage processes and protection plans
The scientific recognition and institutionalization of hórreos (traditional Asturian granaries) as heritage sites have gone hand in hand since the second half of the 20th century. Several autonomous communities have approved specific protection regulations which, although with nuances, share the intention of preserving the physical-material value of these architectures, cataloging examples, regulating interventions and granting different forms of protection.
However, until recently, the intangible dimension of the granary—understood as a symbolic reference point for identity, a living heritage, and a space for current social practices—had barely been explicitly incorporated into these regulations. The state file for Representative Demonstration comes precisely to fill that gapaligning the protection of granaries with UNESCO guidelines and with a broader approach to what cultural heritage is.
In this context, the following is particularly significant: Plan for the Horru of Asturias (2023), a planning instrument that integrates measures not only for material conservation, but also for safeguarding intangible content: support for traditional trades, encouragement of research, educational dissemination, promotion of uses compatible with its heritage value and strengthening of the role of communities in decision-making.
In addition to regulations, the administrations have promoted grants and aid programs for conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of granaries, as well as cultural routes and specific interpretation centers. The Ethnographic Bus of the José Cardín Fernández Foundation in Villaviciosa, the Granary Route of Casomera, the Granary Route of the Aezkoa Valley, or the centers of Sietes and Bueño in Asturias are examples of how efforts are being made to create a safeguard that combines knowledge, cultural tourism and social participation.
In parallel, ethnographic recording initiatives have been launched, such as the work carried out in Navarre on the beechwood tablet technique Since 2006, this has been accompanied by non-formal vocational training courses to ensure the generational renewal of these trades. And since 2021, the Horru Asturianu Awards have recognized the work of individuals and groups who have contributed to the knowledge and conservation of hórreos (traditional Asturian granaries) at the local, national, and international levels.
This entire network of laws, plans, associations, and projects demonstrates that the future of the granaries in northern Spain lies not only in consolidating stones and beams, but also in also take care of emotional bonds, knowledge, practices and identities that revolve around them. Their conservation will only make sense if they continue to be an active part of the lives of the communities that carry them.
The recognition of the granaries of northern Iberia as a Representative Manifestation of Intangible Cultural Heritage marks a milestone that elevates these structures from the mere category of "ancient granary" to that of living symbols that connect past, present and futureThe combination of typological diversity, technical richness, density of meanings and strong social involvement makes the hórreos a unique heritage, capable of continuing to generate identity, cohesion and creativity in the communities of the northern peninsula and of engaging in dialogue, at the same time, with other elevated granaries of the world.
