“The Bilbao Effect”, the term describing architecture’s immense power to draw visitors to a city, was born in Bilbao with the Guggenheim Museum. But there is much more to the city. Visitors, including tens of thousands of cruise passengers every year, flock to Bilbao to see the outstanding work of art that Frank Gehry designed, but often they miss out on the other architectural joys of the city. They also miss one of Spain’s most walkable cities.
Thirteenth Century Origins
Bilbao has grown and evolved over more than a millennia. It is the capital city of the Basque province of Biscay (in Basque: Bizkaia) that stretches along the coast of the Bay of Biscay from the French border to just west of the Port of Bilbao, and as far south as the Rioja areas of the province of Alava. When the Romans arrived there were already several tribes living in the area, some along the banks of the Nervió River, which winds through the valley where modern Bilbao sits.
In the 13th century, Don Diego Lopez de Haro, the Lord of Vizcaia (Bizkaia), selected the site for a port and the city has continued to grow ever since. The broad and deep Nervió River, (sometimes referred to as the Bilbao River) flows down from mountains behind the city, whose original section is now called the Casco Viejo. With a broad, deep and protected estuary, the river rapidly became a major port, exporting goods such as wool from Burgos and steel knives and tools made from local iron.
Expansion and Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Growth
The city expanded in the 15th century and in the 19th and 20th centuries prospered from the iron trade. Shipping and industry lined the river as the city spread west across the river. As each of these expansions took place, new neighborhoods were built and new civic structures erected. All these buildings reflected the pride of the community in their new status.
By the late 20th century industrial decay had set in, but civic leaders rose to the occasion. Two major decrepit and abandoned industrial facilities scarred the riverfront, one an immense derelict lumber processing plant and the other a failed shipyard. These two sites were cleared and the Guggenheim Museum, which was seeking a site for a new museum of art, was lured into locating it on the riverfront at Bilbao. Frank O. Gehry, one of the world’s leading architects, designed for the lumber plant site what is now considered a major work of art in its own right, The Guggenheim Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Bilbao.
A Twenty-first Century City of Art
On the site of the former shipyard a modern performance and convention center, the Palacio Eskalduna, was erected. The process of transforming the city still continues with a footbridge and stunning airport by Calatrava and the striking new 40-story Iberdrola tower. With the removal of most port facilities to an expanded port at the mouth of the estuary, stacks of containers that once marred the riverside are now in specially built docks and piers, and a state-of-the-art cruise terminal provides frequent and rapid access to the city.
Changes to Bilbao have refocused it on the river, with new riverfront parks and walks allowing easy and attractive access by foot to all parts of the city. Readily available city maps clearly define neighborhoods. They also make walking through the city easy and rewarding.
Wander around in the Casco Viejo, then walk the river front park from the old city to the Guggenheim. To do this, cross the Puente Arenal into a neighborhood filled with the exuberant height of late-19th-century classicism along the Avenue Lopez de Haro to its flamboyant center at Plaza Moyùa. Turn onto Alameda Recalde and pass almost immediately the Art Nouveau Montero House. Follow that street to its end at the Guggenheim, see the Iberdrola Tower and the Palacio Euscalduna. There are more than eight centuries to walk through in Bilbao.
Stillman Rogers - Travel is an important method of learning about the rest of the world and finding our own place in it. Exposure to other culture enriches ...
