Legazpi is a city in the

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) 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 department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

province of the

Autonomous Community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of the Basque Country, northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Legazpi is a town of about 9,000 inhabitants located on top of the Urola valley, in Gipuzkoa. Surrounded by mountains, and at the foot of the

Aizkorri Aizkorri or Aitzgorri (, meaning in Basque 'bare stone', literally 'red stone') is a massif, the highest one of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community (Spain) with 1,551 m Above mean sea level, AMSL at its hig ...

mountain range, its predominant economic activity is industrial (manufacturing, metal processing, plastics). The rich industrial tradition of Legazpi goes back to the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, when transformation of iron ore was achieved by means of the ''haizeolak'' ("ironworks moved by wind"). During the 14th century, wind energy came to be replaced by water in the metal processing with the foundation of several "ironworks propelled by water" (''ur'' 'water' and ''ola'' originally 'shack', are the two lexical components of "

Urola The Urola is a river and valley in Gipuzkoa, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. The river is only 55 kilometres in length, and runs from headwaters in the Aizkorri Mountains, near the town of Legazpi to its outflow into the Cantabrian Sea ...

", a river crossing Legazpi). This industrial tradition had its continuity in modern times, and Legazpi became one of the most important metallurgic centres in the industrialised modern Basque Country. Mirandaola Santikutz baseliza

One of the 14th century ironworks (called ''Mirandaola'') has remained in place to date like nowhere else in the Basque Country. It is the heart of a thematic park with an educational and touristy vocation, where traditions and ways of living from the past are shown.

Notable people

Irene Paredes Irene Paredes Hernández (; born 4 July 1991) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga F club FC Barcelona Femení, Barcelona and captains the Spain women's national football team, Spain na ...

(born 1991), footballer for

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and the Spain national team * Pilar Zabala Aguirre (born 1951), researcher, writer, and professor

References

External links

LEGAZPI in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
Municipalities in Gipuzkoa Urola Garaia {{basque-geo-stub