Ermua is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, in the autonomous community of

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 2019, Ermua had 15,880 inhabitants. Ermua is a town in the Durangaldea comarca of the province of Biscay in northern Spain. It is situated in a steep-sided valley beside the Río Ego, a tributary of the

Deba River The Deba River ( eu, Deba ibaia; es, río Deva) is a river in the Basque Country, Spain. It rises in Arlaban, into Araba province lands, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean, in the Bay of Biscay, in Deba Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzco ...

. Because of the steep, irregular terrain, building space is limited, and Ermua is one of the most densely populated towns in the Basque country. To the north of Ermua lies the municipality of

Mallabia Mallabia (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Mallavia'') is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Mallabia is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population o ...

, to the east lies Eibar and to the south lies

Zaldibar Zaldibar (in Basque and officially, in es, Zaldívar) is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. Zaldibar is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 3,043 inhabita ...

. Eibar is a larger town which lies just across the provincial border, in the province of

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

, the two towns forming a single urban area. Ermua has grown greatly in size during the 1960s and 1970s and acts as a dormitory town to Eibar, both of them being industrial towns. Ermua and Eibar are linked by the N-634 and share a common exit from the

Autopista AP-8 The Autopista AP-8 is a highway ( autopista) in the north of Spain and crosses the Basque Country from east to west. It is known as the Autopista del Cantábrico (highway of the Cantabrian) and connects the French border with Bilbao. This tol ...

(AP-8), the toll road that crosses the Basque Country, and connects

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

with the French border. Ermua and Eibar are also connected by the narrow gauge railway that runs from Bilbao to

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

. Historic buildings in Ermua include the Church of Santiago Apóstol, an unusual

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

building with a fine

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Valdespina Palace, which is now the Town Hall, and the sixteenth century Lobiano Palace.

Foro de Ermua

On 10 July 1997,

Miguel Ángel Blanco Miguel Ángel Blanco Garrido (13 May 1968 – 13 July 1997) was a Spanish politician who was a councillor in Ermua in the Basque Country for the People's Party (PP). He was kidnapped and subsequently murdered by the separatist group ETA. Biog ...

, a town councillor in Ermua, was kidnapped by

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

, the Basque separatist organization. ETA demanded that the Spanish government transfer members of the organization imprisoned outside the Basque Country to prisons in the Basque Country, and when the Spanish government did not accede to their demands, their hostage was executed. His kidnapping and death had a great impact on both Spanish and Basque society and sparked the formation of an anti-terrorism organisation, a peace movement known as " Foro de Ermua". It aimed to promote political and civil liberties but was limited in popular appeal, being handicapped by being supported by the Basque elite and Spanish nationalists.

References

External links

ERMUA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa – Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)

ERMUA. Football championship

– Ermua Libertario (Information from Ermua)
{{authority control Municipalities in Biscay Recipients of the Order of Constitutional Merit