Eibar ( eu, Eibar, es, Éibar) is a city 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 ...

within the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

, in the Basque Country of

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 ...

. It is the head town of

Debabarrena Debabarrena (English: ''Lower Deba'') is an '' eskualdea / comarca'' located in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country (Spain). It has an area of 180,3 km². It is north from the comarca of Debagoiena, east from the province of Biscay, and south from th ...

, one of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Gipuzkoa. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eustat, 2018). Its chief industry is metal manufacturing, and has been known since the 16th century for the manufacture of armaments, particularly finely engraved small arms. It was also the home of

Serveta Serveta were a Spanish scooter manufacturer who were in production between 1954 and 1989. History In 1952 a group of Basque businessmen trading as Lambretta Locomociones SA obtained a licence to build Lambretta scooters in Spain. Production began ...

scooters. It is home to the

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in eu, Eibar Kirol Elkartea) is a professional Spanish football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the team currently plays in the Segunda División, the s ...

football team.

Geography

Eibar lies at an altitude of 121m above sea level, in the west of the province of

, right next to

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 ...

. Eibar has an oceanic climate. The town lies in a narrow valley in a mountainous area, the highest mountains are between 700 and 800 metres high. Eibar is traversed by river Ego, which is a tributary of the Deba. Apart from the urban area, the municipality consists of five rural neighbourhoods: Otaola-Kinarraga, Aginaga, Arrate, Mandiola and Gorosta.

History

The city was chartered by Alfonso XI of Castile in 1346, receiving the name of ''Villanueva de San Andrés de Heybar''. The feudal families that dominated the territory engaged in the

War of the Bands The War of the Bands ( eu, Bando gerrak, es, Guerra de los Bandos) was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country, Gascony, and Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The main primary source for the War is '' ...

. Eibar, like the rest of settlements in the valley, had an industry based on

finery forge A finery forge is a forge used to produce wrought iron from pig iron by decarburization in a process called "fining" which involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and removing carbon from the molten cast iron through oxidation. Finery ...

s and the manufacture of arms. In 1766, Eibar got engaged in a social revolt known as the ''Machinada'', and years later, in 1794, it was attacked by the French, who destroyed the town. In the 19th century, industrialisation transformed the production systems in the city and was accompanied by an important social movement. In the Carlist Wars, Eibar sided with the Liberals. Labour movement and socialism became particularly strong in Eibar. In 1931, Eibar was the first city in Spain to proclaim the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

; in recognition it was given the title of ''"Very Exemplary City"''. In the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, Eibar was practically destroyed by Italian bombers aiding the Fascist. The rebuilding brought important industrial development and a demographic increase, as Eibar reached nearly 40,000 inhabitants in a few years. Due to the lack of space for enlargements, several factories moved to

Durangaldea Durangaldea ( Spanish: ''Duranguesado'') is a comarca of Biscay located in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or regions that compose the province of Biscay. The capital city of Durangaldea is Durango. Ge ...

and

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

. The industrial crisis in the 1980s also made Eibar lose a great part of its population. At the beginning of the 21st century, Eibar's economy is based on industry and services.

Main sights

*Church of San Andrés, built during the 16th and 17th centuries, it has a Gothic style with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

and Baroque elements. *Sanctuary of the Virgin of Arrate, from the beginning of the 17th century. *Hermitage of Azitain, it contains an odd 17th-century beardless Christ. *Palace of Unzueta, from the 17th century. *Palace of Aldatze, from the 17th century. *Palace of Markeskua, from the 16th century. *City Hall, built in concrete over the river Ego, designed by architect Ramón Cortázar and inaugurated on 14 September 1901. *Coliseo Theatre, inaugurated in 1947 and refurbished in 2007. Image:Eibar - Iglesia de San Andrés 13.JPG, Church of San Andrés in Eibar. Image:Eibar - Ayuntamiento 01.jpg, City Hall. Image:Arrate.JPG, Sanctuary of Arrate.

Transport

;Road Eibar is traversed by the AP-8 motorway connecting

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

and the French border, and the N-634 road running parallel to it. The AP-1 motorway connects Eibar and

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ), also alternatively spelled as Vittoria in old English-language sources, is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country and of the province of Álava in northern Spain. It holds the autonomous community' ...

. AP-8 and AP-1 meet at the ''Maltzaga'' motorway junction located in the east of Eibar. Regular and frequent bus services under Lurraldebus connect Eibar to neighbouring towns, San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz and

Bilbao Airport Bilbao Airport is a minor international airport located north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay. It is the largest airport in the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 5,469,453 passengers in 2018. It is famous for its new ...

. BizkaiBus provides regular and frequent bus services to and from Bilbao. ALSA runs a daily service to and from Madrid-Barajas Airport and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. Eibar also has an urban bus service called Udalbus. ;Railway Eibar is located on the

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

- San Sebastián narrow gauge railway line. Trains operated by

Euskotren Euskotren, formally known as Basque Railways ( eu, Eusko Trenbideak, es, Ferrocarriles Vascos), is a public railway company controlled by the Basque Government and officially established in 1982 to operate several narrow gauge railways inside ...

run frequently and regularly to Bilbao-Matiko station and Donostia-Amara station. Services are more frequent in the

Ermua Ermua is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. In 2019, Ermua had 15,880 inhabitants. Ermua is a town in the Durangaldea comarca of the province of Biscay in nor ...

-Eibar- Elgoibar section. There are five stations in Eibar, from west to east: Unibertsitatea-Eibar, Amaña-Eibar, Ardantza-Eibar, Eibar and Azitain-Eibar.

Education

The Gipuzkoa Faculty of Engineering of the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initiall ...

has a section in Eibar. The section offers an undergraduate program in renewable energy engineering. The Escuela de Armería, founded in 1913, is the oldest vocational training school in Spain.

Sport

;Football Eibar is home to

, which earned promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

in the 2013-14 season. After seven seasons in the top division, it was relegated to Segunda División in the 2021–21 season. The team plays at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium. The women's section of

was granted promotion to Primera División in the 2019–20 season and plays at the

Unbe Sports Complex The Unbe Sports Complex ( eu, Unbe Kirol Konplexua, es, Complejo Deportivo de Unbe) is a sports complex in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. It is the home venue of the Primera Federación women's football team SD Eibar and used to be the ...

. ;Basque pelota The Astelena fronton, nicknamed the ''Cathedral of Basque Hand-pelota'', is a regular venue of the hand-pelota professional circuit competitions the Bare-handed Pelota First League, the Bare-handed Pelota First League Doubles and the Cuatro y Medio Euskadi Championship. ;Cycling Since 2009, the city hosts an annual stage finish in the

Tour of Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

, usually after the riders have climbed the ''Alto de Arrate''. Before 2009, this was a traditional finish in the

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, it ...

, which originated in Eibar as ''Bicicleta Eibarresa''. The Arrate-finish has also been included in the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, 1974,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Notable people

Francisco de Ibarra Francisco de Ibarra (1539 –June 3, 1575) was a Spanish- Basque explorer, founder of the city of Durango, and governor of the Spanish province of Nueva Vizcaya, in present-day Durango and Chihuahua. Biography Francisco de Ibarra was born a ...

(1539–1575), explorer and conqueror * Martín Ignacio de Loyola (1550–1606), missionary and navigator *

Ignacio de Soroeta Ignacio de Soroeta was a Spanish administrator who was a corregidor in Cuzco and then briefly Governor of Paraguay in 1731. Soroeta's governorship is notable only in that it was in name only; he never ruled nor was accepted as governor within col ...

(?–17??), Governor of Paraguay * Juan Antonio Mogel (1745–1804), writer *

Plácido Zuloaga Plácido Maria Martin Zuloaga y Zuloaga (5 October 18341 July 1910) was a Spanish sculptor and metalworker. He is known for refining damascening, a technique that involves inlaying gold, silver, and other metals into an iron surface, creating an ...

(1834–1910), sculptor and metalworker *

Ignacio Zuloaga Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta (July 26, 1870October 31, 1945) was a Spanish painter, born in Eibar (Guipuzcoa), near the monastery of Loyola. Family He was the son of metalworker and damascener Plácido Zuloaga and grandson of the organizer and ...

(1870–1945), painter * Ciriaco Errasti (1904–1984), footballer * Baltasar Albéniz (1905–1978), football manager * Roberto Etxebarria Arruti (1908–1981), footballer * Víctor Lecumberri (1913–2005) was a Spanish politician *

Miguel Gallastegui Miguel Gallastegui Ariznavarreta (25 February 1918 – 4 January 2019) was a Gipuzkoan pelotari (a Basque pelota player). He debuted on 29 June 1936 and played the sport until 1960.Alicia Iturrioz Alicia Iturrioz Arrizabalaga (31 January 1927 – 9 September 2021) was a Spanish painter and author. She is known for her portraits, she was a portraitist for the Spanish royal family and the European aristocracy. Biography Alicia Iturrioz Ar ...

(1927–2021), painter *

Alberto Ormaetxea Alberto Ormaetxea Ibarlucea (7 April 1939 – 28 October 2005) was a Spanish football defender ( right and left-back) and coach. His career was closely associated to Real Sociedad, as both a player and a manager. He was in charge of the team ...

(1939–2005), footballer and football manager * Luis Aranberri (1945–), politician and journalist *

Javier Aguirresarobe Javier Aguirresarobe Zubía (born 10 October 1948) is a Spanish cinematographer.- Life and career Aguirresarobe was born in Eibar, Guipúzcoa, Basque Country, Spain. He has worked with Spanish directors such as Imanol Uribe, Montxo Armendári ...

(1948–), cinematographer *

Koldo Zuazo Koldo Zuazo ( Eibar, Gipuzkoa, 1956) is a Basque linguist, professor at the University of the Basque Country and specialist in Basque language dialectology and sociolinguistics. The dialects of the Basque language Since 1998, Zuazo's work o ...

(1956–), linguist * Enrique Zuazua (1961–), mathematician * Maite Zúñiga (1964–), athlete * Pedro Horrillo (1974–), cyclist * Patxi Usobiaga (1980–), climber *

Markel Susaeta Markel Susaeta Laskurain (, ; born 14 December 1987) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right winger. He spent almost the entirety of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao after making his debut with the first team in 2007, ...

(1987–), footballer *

Jon Errasti Jon Errasti Zabaleta (born 6 June 1988) is a Spanish retired professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. Club career Born in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Errasti played youth football ...

(1988–), footballer * Markel Alberdi (1991–), swimmer *

Mikel Oyarzabal Mikel Oyarzabal Ugarte (born 21 April 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for La Liga club Real Sociedad and the Spain national team. He has spent his entire professional career with Real Sociedad, ...

(1997–), footballer * Odei Jainaga (1997–), athlete

References

External links

Official website

eibar.org

EIBAR in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eibar Articles containing video clips