 It has an important architectural heritage, including the plateresque main entrancence of the Santo Tomás Church, the work of Felipe Vigarny, numerous palaces, and the old town, which was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1975.Apart from its role as home to many of the great wineries in La Rioja, one of Haro's other claims to fame is that it was the first town in Spain to have electric street lighting.There are several theories about the founding of Haro, though the most realistic theory is that of Domingo Hergueta, who argued that before the town, there was a lighthouse near the village of Cerro de la Mota which illuminated the mouth of the Ebro river.