eu, Plentziar , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = , blank_info_sec1 = , timezone =

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST =

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

, utc_offset_DST = +2 , postal_code_type =

Postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

, postal_code = 48620 , area_code_type = Dialing code , area_code = , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Elixabete Uribarri Uriarte , leader_party = , website = , footnotes = Plentzia ( es, Plencia) 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 the Basque Country. The town has 4,331 inhabitants (2019). Plentzia is located 25 km north-east of

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

. It is part of the

Bilbao metropolitan area The Bilbao Metropolitan Area (in Basque: ''Bilbo Handia'', in Spanish: ''Área metropolitana de Bilbao'') is the metropolitan area or continuous urban area based around the city of Bilbao, in the Basque Country, Spain. It comprises the city of B ...

, as well as being the terminus of the first line of the city's

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

. In addition to the Metro, two BizkaiBus bus routes serve the town, with further destinations served from

Urduliz , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = BasqueSpanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the next stop on the Metro. Plentzia is approximately 30 min by car from Bilbao and Bilbao airport. Coming from Bilbao, take the BI-634 from Bilbao to Sopelana and then follow the signposts along the BI-2122 to Plentzia. From the airport, take the BI-631 as far as Mungia, and from there the BI-2120 to Plentzia. Plentzia is a resort town with a large beach beside the Plentzia River

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

, in the round, shell-shaped Bay of Plentzia, shared with neighbouring

Gorliz Gorliz () is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, which lies within the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in northern Spain. The town had 5,664 inhabitants in 2014. Gorliz consists of the following neighborhoods: ...

and

Barrika Barrika is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, Spain, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. It is considered one of the oldest municipalities of Biscay. It was founded by Sancho Vela. As it is placed next to the ...

. The beach is very popular as it is clean and the sea is calm due to the shelter of the bay and the town has many amenities for visitors. Plentzia and its neighbouring municipalities are popular locations for better-off families from Bilbao to buy weekend–holiday homes and during the summer months the town's beach and bars and restaurants become much busier thanks to these residents and other visitors from Bilbao. As in most Basque towns, Plentzia has a number of restaurants and bars ranging from small bars offering '' pintxos'' to restaurants with formal dining. There is also a small Council-run

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

telling the town's history and in particular dealing with its history as a merchant marine port. The town also has an indoor municipal Jai Alai Fronton where the traditional Basque sport of

pelota Pelota (Spanish for ''ball'') can refer to the popular and shortened names for a number of ball games: * Basque pelota * Chaza * Jai alai * Mesoamerican ballgame * Palla * Pelota mixteca * Valencian pilota * Frontenis * Pétanque Pétanqu ...

is played and competitive matches can often be seen.

History

The origins of Plentzia goes back to the beginning of the 13th century, when the Lord of Vizcaya Lope Díaz II of Haro define the maritime term of the district of Gorliz, focused on whale hunting. However, the villa was not founded until the year 1299 by Diego López V of Haro. It stood in the area coastal Gaminiz, belonging to the community of Gorliz, which would separate the whole which would constitute the town of Plentzia. The original name of the new town was Placencia of Butron or Plasencia of Butron, but with the passage of years the use will short it giving rise to the current "Plencia". The “plencianos” were governed by the jurisdiction of Logroño. Subsequent Lords of Vizcaya and Kings of Castile would confirm the privileges of the town.

Image gallery

Image:Gorlizko badia kamaraz.JPG, The Bay of Plentzia and the beach Image:Plentzia1.JPG, The Plentzia River Image:Plentzia2.JPG, The estuary and the town Image:Plentzia3.JPG, The port

References

External links

Plentzia Town Council

PLENTZIA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{authority control Municipalities in Biscay Fishing communities Populated coastal places in Spain