Legazpi: Blacksmithing, Nature and the Urola Greenway

Chillida Lantoki is a former factory converted into a museum that explores the relationship between art and industry through the work of Eduardo Chillida. Chillida Lantoki displays Eduardo Chillida’s paper and blacksmithing workshops. Visits to Chillida Lantoki require a prior appointment.

Culture

The Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción has a basilica-like layout with three naves, Renaissance-style columns, a Gothic vault and a Baroque high altarpiece. The Bikuña Palace is a manor house built at the end of the 17th century; its façade is made of ashlar and brick and features four balconies and a coat of arms, while the forecourt, paved with sandstone slabs, completes the building. The Museo del Hierro Vasco is located in a former foundry in Legazpi.

Santa Cruz de Mirandaola was built in 1952 as an architectural ensemble with the smithy. Palacio Elorregi is a Basque manor house with a double arcade, ashlar masonry and loopholes. San Juan de Telleriarte features a sculpture of John the Baptist created by Julio Beobide. The lintel of San Juan de Telleriarte bears the year 1824.

History and Crafts

The Ferrería de Mirandaola is the only one of the seven smithies that existed in Legazpi in the 15th century to have survived to the present day. San Miguel de Motxorroko is considered the oldest hermitage in the Legazpi Valley. The Ruta Obrera in the San Ignacio neighbourhood and its surroundings reconstructs a 1950s apartment, classroom and chapel.

The Igaralde Bekoa farmhouse houses a 16th-century mill that continues to grind grain using the water power of the Urola River. Igaralde-Rincón del Pan offers visits that include bread baking; a prior appointment is required. The Ecomuseo del Pastoreo shows where and how sheep’s cheese with the protected designation of origin Idiazabal is produced. Día de Mirandaola takes place on the Sunday after 4 May and includes the Santa Cruz procession, a mass and a romería with dancing, music and traditional food.

Nature

Aizkorri-Aratz Natural Park is one of two natural areas of particularly high value in Legazpi. The Lugar de Interés Naturalístico de Korostiaga is also one of two natural areas of particularly high value in Legazpi.

Getting Around

The Urola Greenway is suitable for both pedestrians and cyclists. It begins in Mirandaola Park in Legazpi and runs for 37.5 kilometres, passing through numerous tunnels and over bridges. The Igaralde farmhouse and mill are located near Brinkola station; travel by train is via Brinkola station.

Other places in the same regional area include Deba, Zegama, Zumaia, Errezil, Bergara, Oiartzun, Zestoa and Elduain.

To the overview of the wider travel region: Gipuzkoa.