Historically, there was a
Jewish community in Estella, and its earliest written record dates to the 11th century. Many Jews from
Andalusia immigrated to Estella due to the privileges granted to Jews there. Most notably was
Moses ibn Ezra, a Jewish poet from
Granada. The Jews were expelled from Estella in 1498. The town was long the headquarters of
Don Carlos, who was proclaimed king here in 1833. It was a major headquarters of the
Carlist party in the
Carlist Wars of the mid 19th century, with
Tomás de Zumalacárregui being appointed Commander in Chief in this Estella-Lizarra. In 1872, with the beginning of the
Third Carlist War, Estella became the court of
Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este, called Carlos VII of Spain by his supporters, and virtually the capital of Carlist Spain until the capture of Estella by liberal troops on 16 February 1876, when the Carlists in the town surrendered. Between 1927 and 1967, the town held the terminus of the
Ferrocarril Vasco-Navarro railway extending up to
Bergara. The line was fitted with electrified power supply as of 1938, a provision considered a feat at the time. In 1927,
Club Deportivo Izarra was formed, who currently play in the
Segunda División B. The town regularly hosts the
GP Miguel Induráin. ==Notable residents==