Bilbao
Bilbo (Basque) | |
|---|---|
 From top left: view of the city; Guggenheim Museum; Azkuna Zentroa; Church of San Antón; Puppy; Arriaga Theatre; Iberdrola Tower; San Mamés Stadium; Uribarri station of the Bilbao metro; fireworks in the Aste Nagusia; fosterito; Miguel de Unamuno Square in the Casco Viejo; La Salve; and Bilbao-Abando railway station | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: "The Hole" (Spanish: El Botxo) | |
 Interactive map outlining Bilbao | |
.png)  Bilbao Location within the Basque Country  Bilbao Location within Spain  Bilbao Location within Europe | |
| Coordinates: 43°15′25″N 2°55′25″W / 43.25694°N 2.92361°W | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community | Basque Country |
| Province | Biscay |
| Comarca | Greater Bilbao |
| Founded | 15 June 1300 |
| Founded by | Diego López V de Haro |
| Government | |
| • Type | Ayuntamiento |
| • Body | Bilboko Udala |
| • Mayor | Juan María Aburto (PNV) |
| Area | |
| 41.50 km2 (16.02 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 18.22 km2 (7.03 sq mi) |
| • Rural | 23.30 km2 (9.00 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 19 m (62 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 689 m (2,260 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2018)[3] | |
| 345,821 | |
| • Density | 8,300/km2 (22,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 775,000[2] |
| • Metro | 1,037,847[1] |
| Demonyms | Bilbaine[citation needed] Basque: bilbotarra Spanish: bilbaíno, bilbaína |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | €32.891 billion (2020) |
| • Per capita | €28,801 (2020) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 48001–48015 |
| Dialing code | +34 94 |
| Official language(s) | Basque Spanish |
| Website | Official website |
Bilbao[a] is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of more than 347,000 as of 2023.[9] The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants,[10][11][12] making it the most populous metropolitan area in northern Spain; with a population of 875,552,[13] the comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region.
Bilbao is located in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres (1,300 ft).[14] Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by Iberian standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude.
After its foundation in the late 13th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was one of the commercial hubs of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance in the Crown of Castile. This was due to its thriving port activity based on the export of wool and iron commodities extracted from the Biscayan quarries to all over Europe.
Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the centre of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind Barcelona.[15][16] At the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. Nowadays, Bilbao is a vigorous service city that is experiencing an ongoing social, economic, and aesthetic revitalisation process, started by the iconic Bilbao Guggenheim Museum,[15][17][18][19] and continued by infrastructure investments, such as the airport terminal, the rapid transit system, the tram line, the Azkuna Zentroa, and the currently under development Abandoibarra and Zorrozaurre renewal projects.[20]
Bilbao is also home to football team Athletic Club, a significant symbol for Basque nationalism[21] due to its promotion of only Basque players and being one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history.
On 19 May 2010, the city of Bilbao was recognised with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, awarded by the city state of Singapore.[22] Considered the Nobel Prize for urbanism, it was handed out on 29 June 2010. On 7 January 2013, its mayor, Iñaki Azkuna, received the 2012 World Mayor Prize awarded every two years by the British foundation The City Mayors Foundation, in recognition of the urban transformation experienced by the Biscayan capital since the 1990s.[23][24] On 8 November 2017, Bilbao was chosen the Best European City 2018 at The Urbanism Awards 2018, awarded by the international organisation The Academy of Urbanism.[25]
- ^ "Population on 1 January by age groups and sex – functional urban areas". Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ Demographia: World Urban Areas, 2022
- ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
- ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
- ^ "Average annual population to calculate regional GDP data by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
- ^ "Bilbao". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Bilbao" Archived 29 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine (US) and "Bilbao". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Bilbao". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Bilbao, Spain Metro Area Population 1950-2023". www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ "Urban zones in Spain. World Gazetteer". Population-statistics.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Functional area. Bilbao Metropolitan Area" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ Proyecto Audes Archived 22 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Population by province and sex". Basque Statistics Office. 31 December 2008. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ^ Quiroga 2001: 17
- ^ a b De La Puerta Rueda 1998: 73
- ^ Gómez Piñeiro 1979: 169
- ^ "From Pintxos to Modern Art: Why Bilbao Should Be on Your Travel List – Europe Guidebook". 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ Iglesias, Lucía (September 1998). "Bilbao: The Guggenheim effect" (PDF). The UNESCO Courier. UNESCO: 41. ISSN 0041-5278. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ^ "Europe needs to multiply 'Guggenheim effect' to stay attractive, Hübner tells World Investment Conference in La Baule". Europa (web portal). 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ^ "Proyectos de Bilbao". El Correo. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "El nacionalismo vasco en la historia del Athletic Club de Bilbao". Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ^ "Bilbao, un ejemplo urbanístico para el mundo". 30 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ "Azkuna: "El premio no es para mí, sino para los bilbaínos"". Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ Tann vom Hove (8 January 2013). "Iñaki Azkuna, Mayor of Bilbao, Spain awarded the 2012 World Mayor Prize". World Mayor. The 2012 Project. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "Bilbao, elegida Mejor Ciudad Europea 2018". Eitb. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
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