WHAT TO SEE
Evaristo de Churruca – Route along the quayside in Getxo
Photograph on loan from Getxoko Liburutegiak - Getxo Municipal Libraries
If we look out toward El Abra Bay from the square beside the Vizcaya Bridge, we will find it difficult to imagine the landscape without the ships and buildings that are so characteristic of the seafront here in Getxo. Until well into the 20th century, the bridge and the quayside were among only a handful of constructions in the area.
The mouth of the estuary accumulated sand and sediments that hindered, and even blocked, the movement of ships (this sandbar was referred to as "la barra de Portugalete").
The problem of channelling this stretch of the river estuary was solved as from 1880, thanks to the work supervised by Evaristo de Churruca, who completed the iron wharf – El Muelle de Hierro de Portugalete (1887), the outer harbour in El Abra Bay (work completed in 1904), the Arriluze pier (1903), and the section of the quayside (1880) that bears his name.
This route will be following the quayside named after him, but let’s start with one of the most iconic landmarks of the industrial era in Euskadi-The Basque Country, namely, the Puente Bizkaia-Vizcaya Transporter Bridge!
EVARISTO DE CHURRUCA (1841-1917)
Evaristo de Churruca y Brunet, first Count of Mutriku (Gipuzkoa), was born in Iza (Navarre) but spent most of his life in Bilbao. His was an epic family saga: among other relatives, his great-uncle Cosme Damián de Churruca was a hero at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Evaristo, too, left his mark on history, although in other fields. His meteoric career in engineering followed a number of paths. The outer harbour -El Puerto Exterior del Abra (1904) is his masterpiece.
Churruca was declared an honorary citizen, "Hijo adoptivo de Bilbao", and the old docks of Los Astilleros (which run along the riverside from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao) are named after him. In Getxo, as well as having a quayside named after him, there is a monument dedicated to him that represents the allegory of a man who tamed the raging sea.
1. Puente Bizkaia (1893)
Designed by the architect Alberto de Palacio y Elissague, together with a technician called Ferdinand Arnodin, it was the world’s first transporter bridge with a gondola. It is also referred to as the Puente Colgante, the hanging bridge. Ever since it began operating in 1893, its gondola has been shuttling people and vehicles back and forth between Portugalete and Getxo. Its unique characteristics meant that on 13 July 2006 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site.
2. Alejandro Zubizarreta housing block (1948)
This was one of the last buildings designed by the architect Manuel Mª Smith Ibarra, the protagonist of one of deapie/onfoot’s routes. This imposing construction follows a Historicist design, although it retains echoes of Montañés regionalist architecture. Its importance lies in its position, as Getxo Local Council took it and the one beside it as the stylistic models for the entire square beside the Puente Bizkaia.
3. Carlos Prado housing block (1934, 1937)
Also designed by Manuel Mª Smith, it is his most engaging project according to these stylistic premises. It is one of the most interesting and significant examples of the architecture of that time in Bizkaia, as part of Spain’s Rationalist style, with elevations of markedly horizontal lines.
4. Housing block (1941)
Its architect, Rafael de Garamendi, designed the project following the criteria of Rationalist architecture. Nevertheless, in this case we can see that he maintains certain ornamental details, seeking to conjure up the image of a luxury building.
5. Zubizarreta House (1948)
This is Zubizarreta House, designed by Manuel Mª Smith for Alejandro Zubizarreta, the managing director and board member of the shipping company Naviera Vascongada. The architect sought to highlight the relationship that both the building’s position and its owner had with the sea, emphasising the corner between the quayside and the seafront with a tower crowned with a balustrade, pinnacles and a platform for a telescope, with the appearance of a ship house.
6. Monument to Evaristo de Churruca (1939)
It consists of a garden area with a raised obelisk in an art deco style, designed by the architect Ignacio Mª Smith. The sculpture is by Miguel García de Salazar, with the seated bronze statue corresponding to the figure of Evaristo de Churruca. The group is clearly the allegory of someone who fought against the adversity of the sea.
7. Evaristo de Churruca breakwater (1887)
Popularly referred to as La Mojijonera, referring to the thousands of mussels that clung to the rocks lashed by the waves.
The structure you can see on the other bank is the Iron Wharf - Muelle de Hierro de Portugalete (1880-1887), also by Evaristo de Churruca. Its construction put an end to the problems involved in negotiating the estuary mouth by providing a safe passage over the much-feared sandbar in Portugalete.
8. Las Arenas Beach and Seafront.
During the second half of the 19th century, this was one of the main summer attractions in the area, with a beach stretching almost a kilometre and a half, being the spot chosen by holidaymakers for a swim in the sea. Those days were brought to an end by the work undertaken on modernising the harbour, which altered the currents and led to the almost complete disappearance of Las Arenas Beach. In turn, this seafront was an emergency solution taken to protect the shoreline.
9. Plaza de las Escuelas (1903)
The state schools that give the square its name were built in 1899–1903. It is also popularly referred to as the “Plaza de los Enanos” (of the dwarves) because of the figures that surrounded its former fountain. One of its merits lies in its public use: generations of schoolchildren have enjoyed their playtime in the square (and little ones continue to play here thanks to its swings) or have found shelter under its arches on long rainy days.
Have any of the landmarks on the route conjured up a memory?
Or perhaps a building, a landscape, an image has caught your eye...
Share your #Getxodeapie experience on social media.
¿Ganas de saber más?:
You still have another 13 routes, with the following being the closest:
