Zaldibar (in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

and officially, in es, Zaldívar) is an

elizate An (), ( es, anteiglesia) is an early form of local government in the Basque Country which was particularly common in Biscay but also existed in the other provinces. The terms (in Standard Basque) and (in Biscayan) literally translate as "chu ...

, 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 ...

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. ...

, in the Basque Country, Spain. Zaldibar is part of the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

'' of

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 has a population of 3,043 inhabitants as of 2019 and according to the

Spanish National Statistics Institute Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Etymology

''Zaldibar'' can be translated from

as "horse valley", from ''zaldi'' (horse) and ''ibar'' (valley). The coat of arms of the town then includes a horse. ''Zaldívar'' is the name in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. However, the town was named ''Zaldua'' (Basque) or ''Zaldúa'' (Spanish) until 1932. ''Zaldua'' is then translated from Basque to Spanish as "el soto", which might be referred to a ''sotobosque'', Spanish word for

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

. "Valley of the Soto" is then another possible origin of the current name. SanAndresEliza

Currently, ''Zaldua'' is considered an

archaism In language, an archaism (from the grc, ἀρχαϊκός, ''archaïkós'', 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately , ''archaîos'', 'from the beginning, ancient') is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a hi ...

and it is not used, being since 1980 ''Zaldibar'' the official name of the municipality.

History

The

of Zaldua, today Zaldibar, was part of the ancient ''merindad of Durango'' and had voice and right to vote in the ''Juntas of Guerendiaga'', where it occupied the seat number seven. As it is common with the elizates, the original date of founding is unknown. Tradition goes that the Navarre king

Sancho II of Pamplona Sancho Garcés II ( Basque: ''Antso II.a Gartzez'', c. 938 – 994), also known as Sancho II, was King of Pamplona and Count of Aragon from 970 until his death in 994. He was the eldest son of García Sánchez I of Pamplona and Andregoto Galínd ...

(935-994) lived ten years in one of the towers of Zaldibar as a prisoner. The owners of the afore-mentioned tower controlled several territories of what today is Zaldibar. There are historical data that places the construction of the San Andres church (the church of the town) in the 13th century. The church was reconstructed in 1778 from previous damage. Zaldibar harbours an industrial dumping landfill managed by the private company VerterRecycling. In early February 2020, a landslide in the landfill blocked the main Bilbao-San Sebastián motorway, bringing about a major environmental disaster. Two operators remained missing under toxic mud for several weeks.

Geography

The municipality of Zaldibar is located in the southeastern part of the

and the province of

. It borders at south with the municipality of

Elorrio Elorrio is a town and a municipality located in the eastern part of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain. , it has a population of 7,307 inhabitants. It covers an area of 37.20 square kilometers and it has a population ...

, at west with

Berriz Berriz (in Basque and officially, in Spanish: ''Bérriz'') is an elizate, town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Berriz is part of the ''comarca'' of Durangaldea and has a population of 4 ...

, at north with

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 ...

and Ermua and at east with 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 de ...

Hydrography

The main river of the town is the Zaldu or Zalduerreka, which joins the

Ibaizabal The Ibaizabal (''wide river'' in Basque) is a river that drains southeastern Biscay to the Estuary of Bilbao. It is long from its source at Elorrio to the Nervión, and it passes by the towns of Durango and Amorebieta and joins the Nervión rive ...

river in

Abadiño Abadiño ( eu, Abadiño; es, Abadiano) is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the north of Spain, about 35 km from the provincial capital of Bilbao. The area of the municipality is abo ...

. The river is joined by several small streams as the Solozabal and Agirre-Sakona. The oriental part of the municipality is crossed by the Ego river, which joins the Deba river in

Eibar Eibar ( eu, Eibar, es, Éibar) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is the head town of Debabarrena, one of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Gipuzkoa. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eusta ...

Transports

The main road communication of Zaldibar is the N-634 which crosses the town from east to west. The AP-8 highway also crosses the municipality but cannot be accessed from it; the nearest accesses are in

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

and Ermua. Both roads connect Zaldibar with the rest of

(and its capital,

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 province of

(and its capital, Donostia). Zaldibar has a station of the narrow-gauge regional railways,

Euskotren Trena Euskotren Trena, formerly known just as ''Euskotren'' is a commuter, inter-city and urban transit train-operating company that operates local and inter-city passenger services in the provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, S ...

, which connects the town with other major municipalities and cities like

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

Amorebieta-Etxano Amorebieta-Etxano, also known as Zornotza (Spanish, ''Amorebieta-Echano''), is a town and municipality located in Biscay in the Basque Country, an Autonomous Community in northern Spain. At the time of the 2019 census, the population of the muni ...

, Donostia and

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
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 ...

References

External links

ZALDIBAR in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{authority control Municipalities in Biscay