| The provincial capital,
Bilbao,
is a dynamic city of 360,000 inhabitants. It forms the hub of the Greater
Bilbao metropolitan area, which is home to close on one million people
living in the Lower Nervión river valley, along both banks of an
estuary that remains the life and soul of both capital and province. Bilbao
is the Basque Country’s financial and cultural centre. Linked to the rest
of Spain and Europe by a sophisticated highway network, it is the permanent
venue of the International Samples Trade Fair and the site of the most
important international airport on the Cantabrian seaboard, work of Santiago
Calatrava.
Bilbao is a city surrounded
by mountains and crossed by the river Nervion, from which the name botxo
derives, by which it is known familiarly.
It dates from 1300 when
it was founded by Diego Lopez de Haro, Lord of Vizcaya.
At that time it was a small
village of fishermen and peasants. Due to its privileged position, in the
course of time it grew rapidly and was forced to carry out a series of
enlargements to make the city bigger. The nearby mountains caused the urban
layout to be irregular.
The oldest part of the city
is the Old City (A), which has been under protection since 1972 as of interest
to history and is also known as the Seven Streets. It includes the most
important shops of the city, and has an endless series of bars and restaurants
which give the 0ld City a special atmosphere and life.
The oldest sight is Santiago
Cathedral in the very heart of the Seven Streets. It is Gothic and has
a beautiful neo-Classical retable inside. It is catalogued as a sight of
interest to the history of art and architecture on a national scale.
From the cathedral La Ribera
Market, which was totally, renovated after the 1983 floods, is reached
by way of Belosticalle St.
Next to the market, there
are San Anton’s, another sight of interest to the history of art and architecture,
and its popular bridge across the ria, with the devices of the Bilbao coat
of arms. The 15C church was built on the rocks of the former Bilbao AIcazar
or fortress.
Somera St. leads to La Cruz
St. with the Museum of Vizcaya History and Archaeology which houses a rich
collection of the ways of life of Basque men and women.
From La Cruz St Sombreria
St is reached with Nueva Sq beyond, a 19C neo-Classical construction, where
a traditional street market selling all kinds of objects is regularly held
every Sunday. Nueva Sq is also the stage of the popular Santo Tomas market
on December 21st.
From Nueva Sq Correo St
leads to Arenal, a park where the Municipal Band plays every Sunday morning.
The Arenal is also the place
where the Arriaga Theatre stands, a theatre which used to be a landmark
of cultural life in the city for a long time and which has recently been
refurbished carefully and luxuriously. It is the scene of all kinds of
cultural events, such as plays, operas, Spanish operettas, known as zarzuela,
and concerts. It also has theatre companies of its own which prepare performances
for the theatre itself as well as for other Spanish and foreign theatres.
On the way to the City Hall,
there is San Nicolas de Bari Church, an example of Vizcaya Baroque. An
outstanding feature of the City Hall is its enormous exterior, staircase.
The whole building is neo-classical of the 19C, where the Salon Arabe,
the Arab Hall, is especially noteworthy.
From the right bank of the
ria, the left bank is reached by way of El Ayuntamiento Bridge with the
Primer Ensanche, the first enlargement, beyond.
The first sight immediately
alter walking up Buenos Aires St is Espana Sq, where the statue of the
founder of the City stands. It is also the point of departure of the Gran
Via, the main street of the city, which crosses Federico Moyua Sq. also
called Plaza Eliptica, and reaches as far as El Sagrado Corazon Sq.
Near Espana Sq, there is
Navarra St with the building of the Sociedad Bilbaina, an example of 19C
architecture. In the vicinity of this building, there are the typical cafes
of Bilbao, where bohemians and intellectuals have met in conversation for
as long as one can think and which have preserved all their splendour and
atmosphere of the past even today.
Following the Gran Via and
turning right at Alameda Mazarredo, one comes to the Albia Gardens, where
San Vicente’s stands, a late-Gothic church with a Renaissance portal.
If one continues along the
Gran Via there are many impressive buildings, among them especially El
Palacio de la Diputacion del Senorio de Vizcaya, the palace of the regional
government in the centre of the Gran Via. Its style is eclectic and inside
it has magnificent paintings.
On Federico Moyua or Eliptica
Sq, which has a fountain with one pipe surrounded by gardens, there is
Chavarri Palace, a 19C building, where the different types and colours
of the marble used to cover the facade are especially eye-catching.
At the end of the Gran Via,
there are the football grounds of the Athletic de Bilbao Club, known as
the Cathedral of football among the fans of the Club. Facing it there are
the fair grounds, which are among the most important in Spain and where
especially industrial fairs are held.
Next to the Sagrado Corazon,
between the Gran Via and the Ria, there is the beginning of Dona Casilda
Iturrizar Park. Its layout is English and it is the largest green area
in Bilbao. Its arbour or pergola is the stage of many plays and concerts.
The Fine Arts Museum near Deusto bridge at the end of the park is one of
the best Spanish art galleries because it has important collections of
Dutch, Flemish and Italian paintings. It also has Spanish masters, such
as El Greco, Velazquez, Zurbaran, Ribera, Goya, Picasso, etc. Its modern
arts section in an annex, on the other hand, is also one, of the most complete
and has an important collection of Basque paintings: Losada, Los Arrue,
Arteta, Regoyos, Zuloaga, etc. In addition, there are sculptures by Quintin
de la Torre, Nemesio Mogrovejo, Chillida, etc.
Bilbao has a great Fine
Arts tradition which explains why there are so many other art galleries,
where remarkable paintings can be seen and bought.
If one leaves the centre
of Bilbao and climbs a hill overlooking the City, there is the Gothic Begona
Basilica built in 1588. Its eye-catching main portal, however, is Renaissance.
It is the place of worship of the Amatxo of Begona, the patron saint of
Vizcaya, and the scene of a colourful, cheerful romeria, a festive-religious
excursion, on August 15th.
Also worth one's while is
taking the funicular railway to Artxanda, one of the mountains around Bilbao,
from where one has a lovely view of the city.
If one leaves Bilbao by
way of the Deusto bridge, on one's right there is Deusto University, founded
by the Jesuits in 1864. |
