Plaza Nueva

Walk in through any of its arches and notice the sense of order: continuous arcades, identical facades, balconies all at the same height. Plaza Nueva, Plaza Barria in Basque, is the Neoclassical version of the Castilian main square, and it was called “new” to tell it apart from the Old Square by San Antón.

1An Enlightenment idea

In the late 18th century, Bilbao’s enlightened elite wanted to replace the cramped medieval centre with a space that was comfortable, healthy and beautiful. The project got going in 1786, but red tape dragged it out endlessly. Silvestre Pérez drew the plans in 1821; Antonio de Echevarría ran the works from 1825, and Avelino de Goicoechea finished them in 1851. Sixty-five years in all between the idea and the last stone, in the middle of the Carlist Wars.

2The home of Basque

The clock building was the seat of the Provincial Council of Biscay until 1900. Today it houses Euskaltzaindia, the Royal Academy of the Basque Language, founded in 1919, which looks after Euskara, a language that has never been linked with certainty to any other. Its motto, “Ekin eta jarrai”, roughly means “undertake and persevere”.

The square is also one of the great stages of txikiteo, the ritual of going from bar to bar with a small glass of wine and a pintxo. On 21 December, Saint Thomas’s Day, it fills with stalls of farm produce.

3What to look for

• The pediment and clock of the former Provincial Council palace.
• The Euskaltzaindia plaque on the facade.
• The entrance arches, which close the square like an open-air hall.