The many vestiges of the past in Barakaldo make it the ideal location for interpreting the history of the industrialisation of Biscay. These traces of the industrial era permeate many buildings and sites, which remain as symbols of a difficult but also hugely important time that has since been left behind. A rich industrial heritage, which has been catalogued and protected, together with other places of interest, can be visited on this urban industrial route. From the Munoa Estate and Palace, commissioned by Rafael Echevarria and Amailia Echevarrieta to the architect Ricardo Bastida in 1916, declared a Monumental Ensemble, to the workers’ housing and the old abattoir, passing through the Monumental Ensemble of the iron ore quay and loading docks, and the Franco-Belgian, Orconera Iron Ore and Sefanitro loading bays. An evocative walk through the industrial history of Barakaldo, with many fascinating sights to see, far removed from the usual tourist routes.
Route: 2,75 Km
Access: Gurutzeta/Cruces
Cruces station (Llano exit)
ROUTE
01 Gasolino Barakaldo-Erandio (Quay)
02 Franco-Belgian Loading Bay
03 Sefanitro Loading Bay
04 Orconera Iron Ore Loading Bay
05 Former La Robla Station
06 Orconera Iron Ore Warehouse
07 Munoa Estate and Palace
01- Gasolino Barakaldo-Erandio (Quay)
In 1830, Don José María Jado bought several plots of land in Erandio, taking over ownership of the ticket office and management of the river ferry. At the end of 1940, diesel engines were installed to make the passage between banks faster and safer and it became known as the “gasolino”.
02- Franco-Belgian Loading Bay (1886)
Recovered and restored in 2002, this loading bay, which belonged to the Franco-Belgian mining company, is now a unique viewpoint over the estuary.
03- Sefanitro Loading Bay (1941)
This reinforced concrete loading bay belonging to the Sefanitro company, with its rationalist expressionist architecture, provided loading at an elevated level above the quay.
04- Orconera Iron Ore Loading
Bay (1877)
Of the dozens of ore loading bays that flanked the estuary, one of the few that remain is this one, which belonged to the Orconera Iron Ore company. It is one of the few surviving examples in the world with a structure made entirely of wood.
05- Former La Robla Station
In 1900, the new railway line between Balmaseda and Lutxana was completed. Lutxana station was built in accordance with a project by Francisco Henrich and Manuel Oráa. The arrival of the railway from La Robla to Barakaldo made it possible to diversify the supply of coal, a fundamental raw material for Altos Hornos de Vizcaya.
06- Visitable Warehouse
These two warehouses are of undoubted historical value, as they were originally the railway maintenance workshop for the Orconera Iron Ore Company Limited (the most important mining company in Biscay between 1871 and 1876). It currently houses the Basque Country’s collection of movable industrial heritage.
07 – Munoa Estate and Palace (1916)
A magnificent palace in the style of the French Second Empire, surrounded by a huge and elegant English garden. It is an important example of contemporary Basque and European bourgeois architecture. It was the residence of Horacio Echevarrieta, an important representative of the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie of Biscay in the 19th and 20th centuries.
