Elgeta was founded in the fields of Maya, and it was governed by the charter of Vitoria. The City Charter also provided for a number of priviledges only to be enjoyed by those who intended to settle the City of Elgeta.
At the beginning, the inhabitants of Elgeta found some difficulties with the implementation of the City Charter, therefore on the 20th August of 1338 the King Alfonso XI, had to create another document specifying Elgeta`s boundaries: Larrasole, Sel de Asurtza, Agua de Arreta, Mojones de Iraegui, Mojon de Arroloroz, Mojon de Idoizarraga, Egoarribia de Uso, Sel de Ansola, Ego river up until Berengarate, Ganeremendia and Agua epela (Epelerreka).
This new document ordered the Merino Mayor of Gipuzkoa, Mr Ladrón de Guevara, to mark out the boundaries of the city, so that its inhabitants could settle down there, keep the cattle, work the fields, etc. On the 26th August of 1339, the mayor of Elgeta, Juan Garcia de Galarraga, achieved the implementation of this document before the Public Scrivener of Arrasate, Juan Ibañez.
Even so, some people rejected the set boundaries, and it was King Enrique II, who in the legislative assembly of Toro of the 15th of September of 1371 gave out a Royal Warrant, ordering all the inhabitants of the juridisction to respect the boundaries. On 16th of June 1348 the neighbourhood of Oxirondo, close toBergara, decided to separate from Elgeta and join together with Bergara.
Elgeta took active part in the clan fights. The lords of Elgeta, first line members (Parientes Mayores)of the Gamboino side, took part in the raids with their army, usually against towns supporting the Oñacino faction close to its territory. In 1446 the Lord of Elgeta, Garcia de Elgeta, died in one of these wars. Two years later, that is, on June 23rd 1448, Mondragon was burnt down. Many people from Elgeta took part in this action. At that time, two families from Mondragon were fighting to be in charge of the town. One of these family was supported by the "Gamboino" and the other one by the "Oñacinos".
On June 23rd, 1448 the Gamboinos could not win to the Oñacinos, therefore they decided to burn the town. As a consequence to this burn, in 1456, the King ordered to demolish the Pariente Mayores` Tower Houses, exiling them.
In 1476 the people from Elgeta fought with King "Fernando el Católico" against Luis XI of France, who had invaded Gipuzkoa and joined to Portugal, in war against Spain. At the end of the 15th century, Elgeta had a very important legal dispute with Eibar because of some land boundaries.
Some years later, they argued again on the position their own representatives should hold in the "juntas Provinciales" (the government of Gipuzkoa) and the order for vote issuing. Eventually it was decided that Eibar would sit to the left of the Mayor, and Elgeta to the right, being the first to vote the representative from Eibar.
Elgeta had to suffer the consequences of the war called "Guerra de la convencion" (1793-1795); mainly economic, because they had to pay all the expenses caused by the war selling communal lands. Elgeta took part in the Independece War against France (1808 - 1814) and they had to mortgage the silver of the Church and sell part of their common assets to pay the expenses of this war.
The Carlist wars during the 19th century deepened the financial crisi of Elgeta. If in the 1st Carlist War Elgeta saw the last speech of Don Carlos before he left towards France, in the second one, this town saw the last attempt to beat teh liberal army between the mountain of Intxorta and San Esteban Chapel.
In 1927 the neighbourhoods of Ubera and Anguiozar passed to belong to Bergara. On May 18th 1924 a very important event took place in Elgeta: the foundation of the "Basque-Navarre Mountaineering Federation", being its first president Antxon Bandres. Since then, Elgeta is very much associated to the Basque mountaineering history.
The Civil War of 1936 brought awful consequences, because the war front was set in Elgeta's mountains for 7 months. During that period, most of the buildings were destroyed by the aviation and national army's artillery, suffering, as well, serious loses. The following yeras after the war were very hard for the economy and industry of Elgeta, but along the years, Elgeta has managed to overcome them.
In the 40's the industrial activity had an important increase, which still goes on not only in the industrial sector but also in the social area and urban development.