Ibaiondo

Bilbao (, also US: , Spanish: [bilˈβao]; Basque: Bilbo [bilβo]) is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of 345,141 as of 2015. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552 the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region. Bilbao is located in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres (1,300 ft). Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by Iberian standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude. After its foundation in the early 14th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was one of the commercial hubs of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance in the Crown of Castile. This was due to its thriving port activity based on the export of wool and iron commodities extracted from the Biscayan quarries to all over Europe. Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the center of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind Barcelona. At the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. Nowadays, Bilbao is a vigorous service city that is experiencing an ongoing social, economic, and aesthetic revitalisation process, started by the iconic Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, and continued by infrastructure investments, such as the airport terminal, the rapid transit system, the tram line, the Azkuna Zentroa, and the currently under development Abandoibarra and Zorrozaurre renewal projects.Bilbao is also home to football team Athletic Club, a significant symbol for Basque nationalism due to its promotion of only Basque players and being one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history. On 19 May 2010, the city of Bilbao was recognised with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, awarded by the city state of Singapore, in collaboration with the Swedish Nobel Academy. Considered the Nobel Prize for urbanism, it was handed out on 29 June 2010. On 7 January 2013, its mayor, Iñaki Azkuna, received the 2012 World Mayor Prize awarded every two years by the British foundation The City Mayors Foundation, in recognition of the urban transformation experienced by the Biscayan capital since the 1990s. On 8 November 2017, Bilbao was chosen the Best European City 2018 at The Urbanism Awards 2018, awarded by the international organisation The Academy of Urbanism.

Santiago Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Santiago; Basque: Donejakue Katedrala) is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Bilbao. The temple was originally built during the 14th–15th centuries as Bilbao's main parish church, and was only declared cathedral in 1950 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bilbao was officially created. Its origins probably date to well before the foundation of the city in 1300, when Bilbao was little more than a small enclave of fishermen. The temple is consecrated in honor of the apostle Saint James the Great (Santiago in Spanish), by virtue of being a point of transit for the pilgrims that followed the Northern branch of the Way of Saint James. Architecturally, the present building is a mixture of styles: from the 15th century Gothic of the cloister and the main vault, where of special interest are the cloister and the beautiful portal that gives access Correo street (Puerta del Angel), to the ostentatious Gothic Revival façade and spire. A curious custom is the addition of stone carvings of local merchants along the buttresses of the main vault. It should not be confused with the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. For various reasons, the San Mamés stadium, home of local football team Athletic Bilbao, was referred to as La Catedral several decades prior to the inauguration of Santiago Cathedral. A place of worship is depicted on the club's crest (as in the city coat of arms) but this is the nearby San Antón church and its bridge.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bilbao (Latin: Dioecesis Flaviobrigensis) is a diocese located in the city of Bilbao and Province of Biscay in Northern Spain. It is part of the Ecclesiastical province of Burgos.

Las Siete Calles or Casco Viejo in Spanish or Zazpikaleak or Alde Zaharra in Basque are different names for the medieval neighbourhood of Bilbao, part of the Ibaiondo district. The names mean Seven Streets or Old Town respectively and it used to be the walled part of the town until the end of the 19th century.

The Mercado de la Ribera (Ribera Market) is a market square in Bilbao, the capital of the Basque Province of Viscay in the north of Spain. It is on the right bank of the Nervion River, next to Casco Viejo. Its built area of 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) makes it the biggest covered market in Europe. Inside it, there are stalls that sell different products, mostly fresh produce. There are fish markets, butchers and green grocers. There is also a part of the market for the local farmers' products.

The Basque Museum, with the original name of the Basque Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Museum, is a museum in Bilbao, Spain. It opened its doors in 1921, occupying the ground floor of the baroque cloister of the old Colegio de San Andrés, which belonged to the Jesuits until their expulsion from Spain in 1767; the adjacent church of Santos Juanes, today a regular worship parish, is the church that once belonged to the Jesuit college. From the beginning it had the sponsorship of the Vizcaya Provincial Council and the Bilbao City Council. Little by little, the museum was occupying the annex buildings and increasing its collections, which include the archeology of Vizcaya and the ethnohistory of the Basque Country. The museum is currently undergoing a renovation process both at the museological and museum levels. Since 1962 it has been an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), with the category of National Historic-Artistic Monument.

The Church of San Antón is a Catholic church located in the Old Town neighbourhood of Bilbao, Spain. It is dedicated to Anthony the Great, known as San Antón in Spanish. It is featured, along with the San Antón Bridge, in the city's coat of arms. The estuary of Bilbao flows next to it.

The San Antón Bridge (Spanish: Puente de San Antón, Basque: San Antongo zubia) is an arch bridge in Bilbao, Spain. It spans the Estuary of Bilbao, linking the neighborhoods of Bilbao La Vieja and Casco Viejo. It is the oldest bridge in the city, with the original bridge being opened before 1318. At the time of its opening, and during centuries, it was the only bridge that crossed the river. It is located next to the Church of San Antón. The San Antón Bridge is one of Bilbao's emblems and it is depicted on the city's coat of arms (as well as the crest of the local football club, Athletic Bilbao). Its origin is medieval. This bridge has a great historical importance, as the merchants were forced to use it to carry their products from Biscay to Castile as it was the only bridge that crossed the river.Several floods have pulled down the bridge several times; to solve the problem the city hall decided to build a completely new one by the end of the 19th century. The new bridge was finished in 1880; the opening was delayed after it suffered damage on the Carlist Wars. It had to be reconstructed once more in 1937 after it was demolished on the Spanish Civil War. The 1937 reconstruction was the last one and the current bridge is from that time.

The Plaza Nueva or Plaza Barria (New Square) of Bilbao is a monumental square of Neoclassical style built in 1821. Its name comes from the previously existing Plaza Vieja or Old Square in the place where the Ribera Market was built. The square is enclosed by arcaded buildings and accessed by arches known as cuevas (caves). The main building was the site of the Biscay government, until a new palace was built in 1890. The place is now the site of Euskaltzaindia, the Royal Academy of the Basque Language. The arches host many traditional taverns and restaurants, some of the most ancient and typical of the city, and some gift and souvenir shops. Each Sunday, the square provides space for a traditional flea market where ancient books, coins, stamps, birds and flowers are sold. The square is used often for folk demonstrations, festivals and concerts. The Grand Slam Masters Final, one of the strongest chess tournaments in the world, was held in a glass structure on Plaza Nueva in 2008 and 2009. Since 2008, the City Council acts as a free ISP providing free Internet access via Wi-Fi in the square.

Bilbao La Vieja in Spanish, "Old Bilbao" in English and Bilbo Zaharra in Basque. It is a neighbourhood of Bilbao and part of the 5th district of the city (Ibaiondo).

The Arriaga antzokia in Basque or Teatro Arriaga in Spanish is an opera house in Bilbao, Spain. It was built in Neo-baroque style by architect Joaquín Rucoba in 1890, the same architect that built the city hall. It is named after Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, known in his time as the "Spanish Mozart". The theatre was rebuilt in 1985 after severe flooding in August 1983 destroyed it .

The Reproductions Museum Bilbao, was created in 1927,the purpose of the museum is to compile classic pieces of art for the enjoyment of the local people. Among the works reproduced faithfully from museums like the Louvre, Vatican or British Museum: the Panathenaic Frieze of the Parthenon, the Slaves and the Moses of Michelangelo, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, the Laocoön Group, the Apoxyomenos, Gabies's Diana and Apollo Belvedere, among others.