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Recent history

After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Bilbao became the capital of the Basque government, which resided at the Hotel Carlton in the Plaza Elíptica. The Basque country stubbornly resisted the Spanish nationalist rise of Francisco Franco. Consequently, at his behest, Bilbao was bombed by the armies of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. When the nearby Basque province of Álava fell into Fascist hands, Bilbao was equipped with a huge defensive wall called the “Cinturón de Hierro” (iron belt). However, the designer of this wall betrayed the Basques a few months later by giving the construction plans to the Nationalist army, so the city could still be conquered.

During the Civil War, the Basque government secretly established the “Ertzaña”, the forerunner of today’s Basque police body “Ertzaintza”. Their task was to counter Spanish nationalism and take as many opponents hostage as possible. Eventually, the war in Bilbao led to a desperate act, the so-called “Battle of Artxanda”, in which the Basques hopelessly lost to the Spanish troops, simply because they had far fewer men. From then on, the whole Basque country including Bilbao fell under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and a black period of forced isolation and suppression of Basque culture began.

The city faced a lack of space again in the 1960s, but this time to a much greater extent. Much of the Basque population moved (forced or not) from the countryside to the city, where housing blocks without gas, light or water were built at lightning speed. In August 1983, Bilbao was ravaged by severe floods, the reason for the partial diversion of the river Nervión.

After the severe economic crisis the city went through in the 1990s, people decided it was time for a new, more modern direction and for Bilbao to become more liveable. The highlights of this urban renewal were the arrival of the Bilbao metro in 1995 and the Euskotren, the now renowned Guggenheim Museum (in 1997) and the Palacio Euskalduna, a concert and event hall. Outside the centre, efforts are also currently under way to continue this urban renewal, by building more pedestrian paths, parks, underground parking and new sports halls to transform Bilbao’s industrial character into that of a modern city, suitable for tourism and leisure.

For the tourist, the “Casco viejo” or old town is a very pleasant area to wander around. Cosy bars and lots of shops. From the old centre you can also walk straight into the modern shopping area and if you follow the river Nervión you will arrive at the Guggenheim which you can see from afar.