I love Amsterdam (great city... for a lot of reasons I don't need to mention and because of some you only know when you are there) and Berlin (best city in Europe)
And If I wouldn't say my city they would kick me out of it so: Bilbao!
Bilbao ,sometimes refered as
Bilbo (another
Basque variant) in the North of
Spain, is the largest city in the
Basque Country and the capital of the province of
Biscay (Basque:
Bizkaia). The city has over 350,000 inhabitants (2004) and is the most economically and industrially active part of
Gran Bilbao, the zone in which almost half of the Basque Country’s
population lives. Gran Bilbao’s 946,829 inhabitants are spread along the length of the
Nervion River, whose banks are home also to numerous business and factories, which during the
industrial revolution brought heightened prosperity to the region.
Bilbao in 1575.
Bilbao was founded by Don Diego Lopez de Haro on
15 June 1300 in the place of an existing fishing settlement. Don Diego gave the city rights and privileges along with land for growth. At first there were only three streets: Somera, Artekale and Tenderia, and the
Santiago church, surrounded by a city wall. Bilbao was in the northern branch of the
Way of Saint James, thus the name of Santiago (
Saint James') church.
The city grew slowly but steadily. In the 15th century wars between noble families disrupted the city, which had reached a population of almost 3000. Three floods and a fire shook the city, and Santiago Church was almost totally destroyed. But once again the city recovered and it grew beyond the wall.
In
1511 the Consulate of Bilbao was granted to the city by the Spanish Crown, this allowed Bilbao to be the main export port for wool from Castille to the northern European cities, like
Antwerpen. Bilbao became the most important commercial and financial hub of the Spanish north coast during the
Spanish Empire era.
The beautiful
Teatro Arriaga opera house.
Regeneration and renewal
Euskalduna Palace, one of the major developments in the former industrial district of Abandoibarra, which is now characterised by parks, residential buildings and landmarks such as the
Guggenheim Museum.
The city has recently undergone major
urban renewal, in order to move away from the region’s industrial history and instead focus on
tourism and services. The developments are centred around the new
metro system by Sir
Norman Foster (see
Metro Bilbao) and, most of all, the
Guggenheim Bilbao Museum by
Frank Gehry. A new
tram line(
EuskoTran) was introduced in
2002. The
Port of Bilbao, formerly on the river, has been moved and expanded downstream on the
Bay of Biscay, opening a great deal of central real estate on the river that has been the site of most of the new building. Other new landmarks include the
Santiago Calatrava- designed
Zubizuri Bridge and the
Euskalduna Palace, a cultural centre, further downstream. The two points are linked by a new riverside passageway opposite
University of Deusto, which provides an open green space for the city’s inhabitants to relax.
The new Calatrava bridge,
Zubizuri.
Casco viejo, Portal de Zamudio
The market Mercado de la Ribera
The internationally acclaimed Guggenheim Museum.
Fine Arts Museum.
