Museums

  • Bizkaia Museum of Archaeology
    The Archaeology Museum is both a reference point and a channel for publicising the results of archaeological research in Bizkaia. It carries out a number of activities intended to inform the public of local history, encourage archaeological research and ensure that archaeological remains are properly safeguarded, preserved and restored. The permanent exhibition ranges from the beginning of human occupation of the area, more than 100,000 years ago, to more recent historical periods. Bizkaia Museum of Archaeology
  • Santimamiñe Cave
    CLOSED BECAUSE OF ORANGE ALERT. For much of the last century, the Santimamiñe Cave was a favourite sightseeing spot in Bizkaia. Successive generations of local people explored its galleries, admiring the magnificent cave paintings and carvings. Today, after 90 years of visits, this geological, artistic and archaeological treasure requires extensive cleaning and conservation work. However, members of the public can still enjoy a sustainable, responsible visit to the cave by means of a new presentation, part physical and part virtual. Santimamiñe Cave
  • The forest of OMA
    Oma Painted Forest will be closed for maintenance work and the upgrading of access routes The forest of Oma is one of the best known works by Basque artist Agustín Ibarrola and is an example of "land art". This artistic movement developed in the late 1960s and seeks to transfer the art work to natural surroundings, using the landscape as its frame, medium and raw material. As you walk through the forest, different figures emerge before your eyes: sometimes a figure on a single tree may have an entity of itself; in other cases you may need to see several trees together to fully understand the work. Your perception of the figures also varies depending on where you see them from: the figures are transformed. This is a personalised visit, in which the artist turns the visitor into the protagonist of his work The forest of OMA
  • Museum of Txakoli
    Txakolingunea offers a chance to enjoy the town of Bakio and its famed txakoli wine. Bakio is the home of one of the finest txakolis in the province of Bizkaia. Its geographical position, the relief of the valley and the climatic conditions, are all ideal for growing this centuries-old local grape variety, from which some exceptional wines are produced. Museum of Txakoli
  • Forua Historical Monuments
    The Roman village of Forua is located on the top of Elejalde hill (Forua), on the left bank of river Oka, right in the heart of Urdaibai. Created in the Ist century BC over an extension of 6 hectares (c. 15 acres), it developed continuously until the Vth century AD. According to the present name of the town (Forua), we can interpret that the Roman settlement was a forum (market and tribunal) that gathered the population of the surroundings and articulated the influence of Roma over the valley. In the same way, its location beside the river makes it possible to state that the village was an important fluvial port for the entry of manufactured products in Biscay and the exportation of marble from Ereño and iron from the zone to the rest of the Cantabrian area. The site, excavated until 2012, has revealed the existence of fourteen structures of different typologies and purposes, built in sandstone masonry. In addition to the huts and houses, many metallurgical furnaces to smelt iron have been discovered, as well as some foundries to produce tools, weapons and metal rods. Underground the parish church of San Martín de Tours the floors of two superposed arcaded squares dating from the Roman period (Ist century AD) and related with the possible forum and public place have been found during the last decade. Above these remains and inside the Christian temple several mediaeval necropolis have been recovered, as well as the floor of the gothic church that preceded the actual Renaissance church (XVIth century). THE ROMAN VILLAGE OF FORUA
  • Bizkaia Bridge
    The bridge was designed by Alberto de Palacio with collaboration from Ferdinand Arnodin and officially opened on 28 July, 1893. In 1902, to mark the visit by the king and queen of Spain to Bizkaia, the bridge was fitted with electric lighting. The deck was destroyed by the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War and rebuilt in 1941. In 1998, the fifth in a line of gondolas came into service and in 1999 a footbridge was added across the top span to allow the public to admire the structure from above. Both of these alterations carefully respected the outlines of this extraordinary work of engineering. Since 1893, approximately 650 million people have crossed the river in the gondola and it has travelled a distance equivalent to 31 times the circumference of the Earth. On 13 July, 2006 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 160-metre walk, 50 metres up, will make your visit unforgettable. Bizkaia Bridge
  • Oppidum of Arrola
    The Oppidum of Arrola is one of the most important indigenous settlements of the Eastern Cantabrian area. The village was erected on the top of Gastiburu in the IVth century BC, and it rapidly became the centre that articulated the life of Urdaibai until the Ist century AD. The Oppidum, located in Arrola hill, covers an extension of 16 hectares (c. 40 acres) and is now shared between the towns of Arratzu, Nabarniz and Mendata. This kind of fortress, of which Arrola is the best preserved example in all Biscay, was the most common way to occupy the territory during the Iron Age. In addition to its extension, Arrola stands out also for its monumental defences, which include walls, fortified gates and a moat. The northwest gate, that has been excavated and restored, gives access to a labyrinthine corridor that exposed the attacker from all sides. The fortress also has a south entrance, currently under study, and a north gate. The discovery of what life was in the Oppidum de Arrola ends with the visit to the Interpretation Centre of Arrolagune (Arratzu), where we can admire a full-scale recreation of village hut, as well as some of the tools that were used by the inhabitants of Arrola. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} THE L OPPIDUM OF ARROLA
  • Margarita María Museum. from B...
    The Vera Cruz Mercedarian convent has a surprise in store for the visitor. Inside it hosts a museum that will transport you from Berriz to the furthest corners of the earth – a journey of almost 500 years guided by works of art, documents, photographs, films, interactive screens, etc. The museum starts by telling the story of the convent itself, from its creation in 1540. It then goes on to recount the extrordinary life and work of Margarita María López de Maturana, who came to the convent at the end of the nineteenth century and transformed the cloistered order into the Missionary Institute of the Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz. from the outset, this renovating institution was ahead of its time. For almost a century now, through the proclamation of the Gospels, it has helped underprivileged women from different countries to achieve their righful place in society. Visitors to the museum can follow the process of transformation, the involvement of the whole convent, the first missionary expeditions that set off from Berriz and their work in the countries to which they travelled... A third section is devoted to the current work of the MMB, analysing the economic and social situation in each country and explaining what it is doing to address new situations and new needs. Margarita María Museum. from Berriz to the World
  • Hontza Museum, Natural Science...
    The idea for the HONTZA Museum was first developed in 1962 by the malacologist Enrike Huerta, the founder and current chairman of the Hontza Museoa Foundation. Noticing the lack of such museums in the Basque Country, Huerta decided to build a collection of specimens with a view to creating a natural science museum at some point in the future. The museum opened briefly in 1985, only to close its doors again in 1990. In November 2014, it reopened in in Mañaria. Its new home was the Zumelaga building, home of the renowned Basque writer Ebaristo “Kirikiño” Bustinza until his death. During its first phase, 541 specimens from around the world are on exhibition, in 21 different groups, including Botany, Fungi, Geology, Palaeontology, Invertebrates and Vertebrates. The theme of the museum is “SIZES, SHAPES, COLOURS and PATTERNS” showing the great DIVERSITY of our planet in land, river and marine habitats. The museum is guided by a belief that “We cannot defend what we do not love, and we cannot love what we do not know”. Its mission is to teach. Hontza Museum, Natural Science Museum of the Duranguesado area

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