You are at the centre of Zazpi Kaleak, the Seven Streets. That is the name of Bilbao’s oldest core: Somera, Artekale, Tendería, Belostikale, Carnicería Vieja, Barrenkale and Barrenkale Barrena, seven parallel streets running down to the river, linked by narrow alleys called cantones. Calle Ronda, on the outside, was the patrol path along the town wall.

1A church for Saint James

Bilbao’s patron saint is the apostle James, Santiago, because a coastal branch of the Way of Saint James passed through here. There was a church before 1300; a fire destroyed it in 1374, and around 1397 work began on the Gothic building you see, which took more than a century. In 1819 it became a basilica, the first in the Basque Country, and in 1949 a cathedral, when the Diocese of Bilbao was created.

The most eye-catching part, the facade with its tower and spire, is in fact 19th-century: it was entirely rebuilt in the 1880s and 1890s in neo-Gothic style, replacing a Baroque front. It is a small cathedral, designed as the parish church of a merchants’ town.

2The water reached this far

In August 1983 the river burst its banks and flooded the whole Old Town; water poured into the cathedral, and restoration work went on until 2000.

3What to look for

  • The 16th-century side porch, where townspeople took shelter.
  • The Angel’s Door, in flamboyant Gothic, which led to the cloister.
  • The street signs, written in both Spanish and Basque.

Documented

Gothic construction began around 1397 after the fire of 1374; it was the first basilica in the Basque Country (1819) and has been a cathedral since 1949.

Sources and credits

Bilbao Cathedral, Diocese of Bilbao website (bizkeliza.org); Basque Government, Cultural Heritage (national monument since 1931); Basque Country Tourism, Old Town-Seven Streets fact sheet.

Photos:

  • Neo-Gothic facade of Santiago Cathedral in Bilbao with its rose window and pointed spire: Miguel Mendez, CC BY 2.0.

Spotted a mistake? Drop us a line and we’ll look into it.