Salinas de Añana was the first town of Álava to receive a town charter. It was granted by the King of Castile, Alfonso VII on the 12th of January 1140, confirming earlier charters granted by Alfonso I el Batallador in 1126, when he founded Salinas.
However, the origin of the settlement, associated with the obtaining of salt, is much earlier. Aside from the archaeological references from the Iron Age and the possible relation between "Salionica" - which the historian Ptolomy locates in the country of the Autrigones in the 2nd century- and the modern-day Salinas de Añana, there are documents that refer to Salinas as a population centre dedicated to the obtaining of salt from as early as 822. In addition to this, in 865 the fortress of Salinas de Añana is mentioned, in relation to an Arab attack in which it was destroyed.

The medieval layout of the town was born from the need for defence and for surveillance of the salt pans. The layout was adapted to the profile of the hill, on whose summit was the fortress and the original centre formed by two main curving streets, joined by alleyways that follow the slope.

The defensive needs led to the construction of walls, whose existence is vouched for by documentation, but of which only a few remains survive.

Other defining features of the urban layout are the church-fortress of San Cristóbal, dismantled after the War of Independence and the Plaza del Mercado, extramural meeting place.

The expansion of the town, due to both the pacification at the end of the medieval era and the lack of space within the walls, took place to the south-east, the most sheltered and least uneven area.

During the Baroque period an extramural area grew up, with various urban spaces and noble houses.

The domestic architecture of the historical centre is basically medieval in origin, with buildings of three, four and even five floors, with rubblework façades on the lower floor and wooden framework with bricks or adobe on the others. Sun lounges on the upper floors are common, with a lintelled structure taking up the width of the whole façade.
Among the Baroque buildings, the mansion houses of the Ozpinas and the Zambrana - Herrán families are outstanding.
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