Church of San Nicolás and the Arenal

Before Bilbao grew this way, this was an arenal, a beach of mud and sand on the riverbank, and outside the town walls lived fishermen and sailors. Their chapel was dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Bari, protector of seafarers.

1A saint for the port

The chapel was founded in the late 15th century, but floods ruined it. The present Baroque church, a Greek-cross plan beneath a dome, opened in 1756 to a design by Ignacio Ibero. The town commissioned its altarpieces from the royal court sculptor Juan Pascual de Mena. It was closed during the Peninsular War and served as a military store and powder magazine in the Carlist Wars; in 1816 it was struck by lightning.

2The lady of the festival

The Arenal is also the stage of Aste Nagusia, Bilbao’s Big Week in August. The festival starts on the Saturday after 15 August with the opening speech from a balcony of the Arriaga Theatre, and at that very moment Marijaia appears, a giant doll with her arms raised. She was designed by the painter Mari Puri Herrero in 1978, and her name roughly means “lady of the festival”.

Marijaia is not an ancient legend: she is a modern tradition that Bilbao made its own in just a few years.

On the last day she is sent off by burning; since 2009 the farewell includes a trip along the river. Since 1997 she has had her own song, “Badator Marijaia”, “Marijaia is coming”.

3What to look for

• The bronze tympanum by Josep Llimona above the door.
• The lions holding the town’s coat of arms on the pediment.
• The bandstand on the Arenal.