WHAT TO SEE
Francisca Labroche – Route past the Chapel of Santa Ana
Photograph on loan from Getxoko Liburutegiak - Getxo Municipal Libraries
Francisca Labroche was much more than just the widow of Máximo Aguirre, the politician and visionary businessman who laid out the plan to convert the salt marshes that covered the Santa Ana and Las Arenas area into developable property. After Aguirre’s death, together with her sons Eduardo and Ezequiel, she converted those lands into the holiday city for Bilbao’s 19th century bourgeoisie.
The Francisca Labroche route commences at the square adjacent to Bizkaia Bridge; the latter was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. It is a symbolic starting point because it was here, in this square, that the summer holidaymakers arrived from Bilbao.
Let Francisca guide you through the Santa Ana district, where you will discover the importance of its first building, to Romo. This district housed the town’s first small industrial facilities: The oil, seed and pin factories … Matías Romo’s cutlery and religious artefacts factory.
FRANCISCA LABROCHE (1804-1867)
Her father was from San Sebastian, but she was born in Bilbao, in the very early years of the 19th century. Like her three sisters, María Ramona, Leonarda Ignacia Cesárea and María Beatriz, she was christened in the Church of San Pedro Apóstol in the Bilbao district of Deusto.
Twenty-one years later, this church would also witness her marriage to Máximo Aguirre, who would later carry out a development operation on the lands we today call Las Arenas.
Upon Máximo Aguirre’s death in 1863, Francisca Labroche, together with her sons Eduardo and Ezequiel, continued selling the lands through the family company (Viuda e Hijos de Máximo Aguirre), of which Francisca was the majority partner (54.6 %). Her daughter Dolores, alternatively, would also be involved in this Company, but via her husband Eduardo Coste, Marquis of Lamiako.
Francisca Labroche, a shrewd businesswoman with a great wanderlust, bought in Paris the image of the patron saint of the Santa Ana Chapel – the building that would become the centre of property development in the area.
A family saga, that of the Aguirre-Labroche-Coste’s, that revolutionised town planning expansion in Getxo, to the point of even fostering development of the railway.
1. Tomás Olabarri Quay
Parallel to the estuary, we walk along the quay that pays tribute to Tomás Olabarri, the first great player from the Real Sociedad de Golf de Neguri. Indeed, it was in the Olabarri family home, where, in 1932, the Spanish Royal Golf Federation was founded.
2. Homenaje a la industria [Tribute to Industry] sculpture (2011)
In the words of its artist from Madrid, José Ramón Carrera, “the work has a lauburu structure viewed from above, because it is a highly energetic form, and in the centre there is a hollow in the shape of a dove, a symbol of peace [...]”.
3. Santa Ana district (19th century).
What is today the residential Santa Ana district, was originally a leisure area for Bilbao’s 19th century bourgeoisie. It was here, moreover, where the urban development process associated with the tourist drive in Getxo all began.
4. Santa Ana Chapel (1864)
Its construction is attributed to Modesto Echániz and it was undertaken thanks to funding from Francisca Labroche. It was likewise a reference for organising the grid-style segmentation of the entire district.
5. Santa Ana Church (2007)
This church, a work by Eduardo Escuriaza and an+el architects, occupies the site of the old San Agustín School, reconverted into the new parish centre. The church stands outside on the space belonging to the former sports pitch.
6. Mercedes house (1916)
The house is a work of domestic architecture by Manuel Camarón, built in 1916 and reformed and extended in around 1950. It has been used for different purposes (household residence, maternity hospital, music school).
7. Villa María Teresa mansion (1928)
A work by the politician and architect Luis Arana Goiri, this landscaped single-family home is a typical example of Neo-Basque architecture.
8. Harino Panadera building (1933)
This factory is a meritorious adaptation of an industrial building in a garden city. To do so, the machinery was placed at the bottom of the plot and opposite the baker’s home and bread shop. In 2007, it was granted monument status in the General Inventory of Basque Cultural Heritage.
9. Villa Merche mansion
This landscaped single-family home, a work signed by Manuel I. Galindez, is one of the most interesting, best-conserved and most highly respected examples of Neo-Basque regionalism in Getxo. It is currently the Ondarretako batzokia, seat of the Basque Nationalist Party.
10. Double villa (1920)
This villa-house is a work by Manuel Camarón and it simultaneously combines motifs of both Basque and English inspiration. It is a construction with a very simple composition and is architecturally inferior to the wealthy residences in the area.
11. Single-family house (1888)
This is one of the oldest houses in the district and was a property development headed by Víctor Chávarri and Eduardo Aguirre Labroche. It is the only survivor of the five, British-inspired, terraced homes.
12. Romo district (20th century)
Romo emerged after the installation of Getxo’s first industrial facilities on these lands. At the same time, the arrival of the railway enabled merchandise and workers to be carried to and from nearby towns.
13. Casa baratas (Working Man’s Home) (1925)
The Casas baratas [Economy Housing] were built at the initiative of labourers and employees of the Bilbao-Las Arenas railway and some metal industries. Their objective was to provide the working classes with an attractive and comfortable home. The project was carried out by Ángel Líbano.
14. Romo Kultur Etxea-RKE (2018)
This municipal building, designed by the architects Aitor Elorduy and Gabriel Chapa, occupies over 4,000 m2 and is used for housing different cultural events. The formal idea of the shell of the building is an allegory of the Punta Galea cliffs.
15. Church of San José Obrero (1956)
The church, on a rectangular ground plan, a work by Emiliano Amann and Celestino Martínez, has a spectacular 32-metre-high bell tower. Due to its careful design, the church is considered the best piece of post-war religious architecture.
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