Biscay, a small province of rolling hills and untamed sea, of thick forests and jutting cliffs, has as its capital the most populated and remarkable city in the Basque Country: Bilbao. Remarkable, yes, because its current landscape is not only the result of slow changes forged over time, but also of a small-scale urban ‘revolution’ that began with the construction of the Guggenheim Museum and, in just a few short years, completely transformed the city.

Although the origins of the city are lost in the mists of time, historians know that Above, Portal de Zamudio, at the crossroads between Tendería, Somera and La Cruz Streets. by the end of the 13th century small This is the site of one of the medieval gateways that once provided access to the Old Town. Below, cafés in Plaza Nueva. Left, Santiago Cathedral. settlements had cropped up on both banks of the Bilbao estuary, at the last ford before the tidal river flows into the sea. The inhabitants of the settlement on the left bank were iron miners, while the settlement on the right bank was predominantly a fishing village. Bilbao’s founding charter was signed by the Lord of Biscay, Diego López de Haro, in 1300. It was granted to the small settlement on the right bank of the river, which is where the city’s Casco Viejo, or Old Town, stands today.

This early Bilbao was comprised of Somera, Artecalle and Tendería Streets, which were surrounded by a stone wall that ran along present-day Ronda Street. Nestled among these streets was a chapel dedicated to St James the Apostle, where pilgrims taking

4 The belfry of San Nicolás Church overlooking they all agree that, before the city of La Ribera Market which juts out over the estuary. Bilbao was granted a charter, there was a Next to the market, the La Ribera footbridge warehouse of sorts on a rock next to the which links the Old Town to Bilbao la Vieja. bridge that linked the two settlements on either side of the estuary. The warehouse was later transformed into a fortress, and the coastal route of the Way of St James the fortress, in turn, was demolished would stop on their way to Santiago de in 1366 to make room for San Antón Compostela. During the 14th century, the Church. The church, designed with a early residents of Bilbao chose this chapel virtually square floor plan, is built in the as the site for what was to become Bilbao’s Gothic style and boasts a Renaissance- cathedral: Santiago Church. Construction style façade and baroque belfry. Next of the church took over a century, which to the church is a bridge of the same is why this primarily Gothic church name, the oldest in Bilbao and, for many incorporates aspects of other architectural centuries, the only bridge joining both styles. The current façade and tower were sides of the river and the main entry point built in the neoclassical style during the into the town. The church and the San 19th century. The architectural gems of the Antón Bridge continue to be emblematic cathedral include its naves and triforia, the symbols for the city, and are both featured Main Door, the Angel’s Door (also called on Bilbao’s coat of arms. the Pilgrims’ Door), the choir, the cloisters (designed in the Decorated Gothic style) The San Antón Bridge links the Old Town and the crypt (built on top of the original and the Atxuri neighbourhood, where chapel). visitors will find a number of architectural gems, including La Encarnación Church, Due to its privileged position as a once a Dominican convent and now strategic centre of maritime trade, Bilbao home to the Diocesan Museum of Sacred developed quickly and its population Art, and Atxuri Station, built in the grew. The three-street city soon welcomed regional Basque style. four more streets, linked together by perpendicular alleys called cantones. Let us return now to San Antón Church. These are the city’s original ‘Seven During the 16th century, a building was Streets’, or Las Siete Calles, as the constructed next to the church to house inhabitants of Bilbao call their Old Town. the City Hall, or Casa Consistorial. Across from these two buildings, wedged between We should note here that some historians the estuary and the defensive stone wall, believe that Bilbao’s Seven Streets were which would later be transformed into a built all at once around the year 1300. continuous arcade, lay the Main Square, Despite these discrepancies, however, or Plaza Mayor. This square served as

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