Elorrio
Encyclopedia
Elorrio is a town and municipality
located in the province of Biscay
, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country
, northern Spain
.
, goes on to form the River Ibaizabal
.
The town is situated 39km from the provincial capital of Bilbao
, and its population (as of 2004) is 7,112 inhabitants.
The Argiñeta tombs that today lie just outside the town of Elorrio are both pre-Christian and Christian (the earliest date of the latter is recorded as 893). In 1053, the San Agustín de Etxebarria monastery was founded, which in time was renovated and eventually became present-day church (an example of Gothic architecture
). In 1356, Don Tello, Lord of Biscay
, officially created Elorrio (through a foundational charter) on the land where the monastery stood, as a means of creating a town to defend his borders against invasion from neighboring Gipuzkoa. In 1468 the town was the site of a major battle between warring clan factions in the Basque Country
(the Oñacinos and the Gamboinos). However, incidents of this type decreased, and between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries, the town's fortunes grew, gaining renown for its iron-forges, and especially the production of lances. As a result of this economic expansion, a number of important buildings were constructed (mostly during the sixteenth century) that are today considered monuments of significant historical and architectural importance. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Elorrio, although it remained a predominantly rural town, became a tourist destination, as people visited the locality to attend one of its two well-known spas. After the Spanish Civil War
, Elorrio went through a period of industrialization, with a number of small, family firms and worker cooperative
enterprises emerging. In 1964, the whole town was the first one in Biscay to be declared a Centre of Historical and Artistic Importance. Its population, which grew from 3,500 in 1950 to 8,000 in 1981, currently (2004 records) numbers just over 7,000 people.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the province of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Geography
Elorrio lies in eastern Biscay, in the mountainous terrain of the Durangaldea commonwealth, at the point where the provinces of Biscay, Guipuzkoa, and Araba meet. The town is surrounded by various mountains, such as Intxorta (797m) and Udalatx (1092m), and is traversed by the River Zumelegi that, after joining the River Arrazola in AtxondoAtxondo
Atxondo is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, goes on to form the River Ibaizabal
Ibaizabal
The river Ibaizabal drains southeastern Biscay to the Estuary of Bilbao. It is 43 km long from its source at Elorrio to the Nervion, and it passes by the towns of Durango and Amorebieta and joins the Nervion river at Basauri. Both rivers run then together for a short length until they merge...
.
The town is situated 39km from the provincial capital of Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, and its population (as of 2004) is 7,112 inhabitants.
History
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
). In 1356, Don Tello, Lord of Biscay
Lord of Biscay
Lord of Biscay is a historical title of the head of state of the autonomous territory of Biscay, Basque Country.- History :The first known Lord of Biscay , Íñigo López "Ezkerra" was a lieutenant of the Kingdom of Pamplona , and this was until the Castilian conquest of Gipuzkoa in 1200...
, officially created Elorrio (through a foundational charter) on the land where the monastery stood, as a means of creating a town to defend his borders against invasion from neighboring Gipuzkoa. In 1468 the town was the site of a major battle between warring clan factions in the Basque Country
War of the Bands
The War of the Bands was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country , Gascony, and Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The main primary source for the War is Las Bienandanças e fortunas by Lope García de Salazar, written c.1471...
(the Oñacinos and the Gamboinos). However, incidents of this type decreased, and between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries, the town's fortunes grew, gaining renown for its iron-forges, and especially the production of lances. As a result of this economic expansion, a number of important buildings were constructed (mostly during the sixteenth century) that are today considered monuments of significant historical and architectural importance. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Elorrio, although it remained a predominantly rural town, became a tourist destination, as people visited the locality to attend one of its two well-known spas. After the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, Elorrio went through a period of industrialization, with a number of small, family firms and worker cooperative
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
enterprises emerging. In 1964, the whole town was the first one in Biscay to be declared a Centre of Historical and Artistic Importance. Its population, which grew from 3,500 in 1950 to 8,000 in 1981, currently (2004 records) numbers just over 7,000 people.
Famous people from Elorrio
- Saint Balendin Berrio-Otxoa (Valentín de Berrio-Ochoa in Spanish), one of the Vietnamese MartyrsVietnamese MartyrsThe Vietnamese Martyrs, also known as the Martyrs of Tonkin, Martyrs of Annam , Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions , or Martyrs of Indochina, are saints on the Roman Catholic calendar of saints canonized by Pope John Paul II...
, was born in Elorrio in 1827. Ordained in 1851, he became a DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
and was later sent to ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and TonkinTonkinTonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
as a missionary. At the age of thirty-one, he was named a bishop, but was later killed in Tonkin in 1861. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
- José Antonio Ardanza, born in 1941, was lehendakariLehendakariThe President of the Basque Government , usually known in English as the Basque regional president, is the head of government of Basque Country. The president leads the executive branch of the regional government....
or president of the Basque Autonomous Community, 1985-1999. He is currently the CEO of EuskaltelEuskaltelEuskaltel, S.A. is a telecommunications company based in the Spanish autonomous community Basque Country, with its headquarters in Derio . Its name literally translates into English as "Basque-Tel"...
, a Basque telecommunications company.
- Alejandro Goicoechea, born in 1895, was the engineer who developed with José Luis Oriol the TalgoTalgoTalgo is a Spanish manufacturer of railway vehicles. It is best known for a design of articulated railway passenger cars in which the wheels are mounted in pairs, but not joined by an axle, and being between rather than underneath the individual coaches...
railway vehicle. He died in 1984.
- Anne IgartiburuAnne IgartiburuAnne Igartiburu Verdes is a Spanish Basque television presenter and actress.She studied marketing and started working in the local television of Mondragón. She worked later in Euskal Telebista, Telecinco and TVE. She was married to the ballet dancer Igor Yebra, and she has a daughter.- External...
, born in 1969, is a Spanish TV presenter and actress.
External links
- ELORRIO in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
- Elorrio Official Website In Basque and Spanish