Ortuella 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 eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

of Basque Country, northern Spain. Nowadays part of

Greater Bilbao Greater Bilbao (Basque: ''Bilboaldea'', Spanish: ''Gran Bilbao'') is an administrative division of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven comarcas of Biscay and the most populated one. The capital city of Gr ...

region, until the beginning of the 19th century it was integrated in the

Valley of Somorrostro A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

of the

Encartaciones Enkarterri ( Spanish: ''Las Encartaciones'') is a comarca of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or districts that make up the province of Biscay. Its administrative centre is Balma ...

next to the

Santurtzi Santurtzi ( es, Santurce; eu, Santurtzi ) is a port town in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, Spain. It is located in the Bilbao Abra bay, near the mouth of the Nervión river, on its left bank, 14 km dow ...

. In 1901 the locality segregated from the Council of the Santurtzi, those days happening to denominate the Santurce-Ortuella. This segregation was motivated by an increase of population due to the mining height of end of the 19th century, being the district of Ortuella the one of greater population in the council. In the 1980s, and by means of the resolution of March 27, 1981, the name of the municipality definitively lost the term "Santurce", simply being "Ortuella", which was the usual name used by their citizens. Ortuella was the site of a deadly explosion at the Marcelino Ugalde Primary School on October 23, 1980, that killed 50 schoolchildren and 14 adults, and injured killed and injured an additional 128. The

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Ortuella is Saint

Felix of Cantalica Felix of Cantalice, O.F.M. Cap. ( it, Felice da Cantalice; 18 May 1515 – 18 May 1587) was an Italian Capuchin friar of the 16th century. Canonized by Pope Clement XI in 1712, he was the first Capuchin friar to be named a saint. Life Felix was ...

(May 18), name of the main church of the municipality.

Neighborhoods

Ortuella is administratively divided into 6 neighborhoods or wards: * Cadegal (Pop. 46) * Orconera (Pop. 39) * Nocedal (Pop. 204) * Ortuella (Pop. 7.475) * Triano (Pop. 10) * Urioste (Pop. 803)

Demography

References

External links

ORTUELLA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
* Municipalities in Biscay {{basqueCountry-geo-stub