Echevarri

The anteiglesia of Echévarri or Anteiglesia de San Esteban de Etxebarri (in Basque Etxebarri Doneztebeko Elizatea; officially Etxebarri ), is a municipality in the province of Vizcaya, Basque Country (Spain). Sometimes it is also called Echévarri (Uribe), to differentiate it from the town of Echevarría, which is also usually called Echévarri. Its name means "new house" (etxe = house, neighborhood (also berri) = new).

It is located in the Greater Bilbao region with an area of 3.26 km² and a population of 11,176 inhabitants (2017).

Name

The official name “Etxebarri” is relatively recent. Despite being the name by which the municipality has been commonly known, the name “Etxebarri” has been official since January 13, 2005, when it was published in the Official Gazette of Vizcaya (no. 8). November 30, 2004, in which the General Meetings of Vizcaya definitively approve this change, which until then was that of “Etxebarri, Doneztebeko Elizatea/Etxebarri, Anteiglesia de San Esteban”.

This change sought to rationalize and simplify the use of a name that was not only long in a single language, but also made the use of the two official languages much more difficult: Basque and Spanish.

Until the 1970s, the official name of the municipality was "Echévarri", a term that in the new normative Basque spelling is written "Etxebarri", which comes from the union of the words in Basque "Etxe" (house) and "Barri" / "Berri" (new).

Geography

Integrated into the Greater Bilbao region, it is located 8 kilometers from Bilbao. The municipal area is crossed by the national road N-634 at kilometer 106 and by a local road that connects with Basauri. The relief of the municipality is defined by the meanders of the Nervión River and the elevations of the Gangurengana mountain range to the north, which act as a limit with the Txorierri valley. The altitude ranges between 360 meters in the north and 20 meters on the banks of the Nervión River. The capital of the municipality, Doneztebe, rises 41 meters above sea level.

Northwest: Bilbao	North: Zamudio and Galdacano	Northeast: Galda
West: Bilbao		This: Galda
Southwest: Basauri	South: Basauri	Sureste: Basauri

History

In the s. XI Echévarri depended on Santa María de Ganguren (Galdácano) until 1509 when San Esteban de Echévarri located in Kukuiaga was established as an independent Anteiglesia, separating itself from Bilbao, since at that time Galdácano was part of Bilbao.

Since the 13th century the dominant lineage in Echévarri was that of the Leguizamón. These feudal lords exercised their power from their tower house, ensuring order in the area even if it fell into abuse and arrogance. The flag tower house of Leguizamón is one of the few testimonies of the predominance of this family in the area. The Leguizamón were also present in the newly named town of Bilbao, with their possessions in Begoña and their economic influence. Despite the fact that María Díaz de Haro, lady of Vizcaya, prohibited the use of the Echevarri road through the town charter of Bilbao (June 5, 1348), the Leguizamón continued to maintain great power as demonstrated by their palace (18th century) and the Lezama-Leguizamón mill (18th century). Other existing towers were the Echévarri towers, which controlled the Echévarri road, and the Arbolantxa tower, built halfway up the slope with the intention of defeating the other towers. These were times of fierce flag wars between neighbors to seize power.

Echévarri was sparsely populated: in 1704 it had 20 fire pits and in 1798 they had increased to 23, dedicated to a traditionally rural economy.

Starting in 1950, industrialization led to a subsequent immigration that caused these new neighbors to settle in the mountain area that we know today as San Antonio. The beginning of the XXI century is determined by the completion of large urban planning and internal rehabilitation processes that began in the 1990s. century XX.

Heritage

• Church of St. Stephen. The present parish church of St. Stephen of Etxebarri is not the historical one, but a modern integral reconstruction, of 1907, of Manuel Maria Smith, who applied in it a Neohistoricist style, inspired his tower in the monastery of the Huelgas de Burgos. Special characteristic of this building is that it has funeral crypts for the Amezola and Lezama Leguizamón families that cost, at least in large part, the reconstruction of the old temple of San Esteban.
• Chapel of Santa Ana. Founded in 1740, its first location was in the square, opposite the town hall and near the Amezola house. In 1963, his demolition took place, and in 1990, he reigned alongside the bridge that unites the urban centre of Etxebarri with the Legizamon Polygon. The current hermitage of Santa Ana is a reproduction of the old.
• Leguizamon Palace. Baroque style and dating back to the centuryXVIII, it is situated in the neighborhood of the same name and was owned by the Lezama-Leguizamón family. Currently, it is municipal heritage and in its facilities is located the Restaurant of the same name.
• Molino Zubiondo. It is located next to the bridge of Sabino Arana in the area of Legizamon. In the Fogueration of 1745 -1746 it is the first time that is referred to two mills that are owned by D. Juan Antonio de Lezama Larragoti. It was a flour mill, until, in the centuryXIXIt was converted into a handmade paper factory. It stopped working because of the 1972 floods. The floods of 1983 took a body attached to the building that had five teeth.
• Amezola Palace. It is located opposite Etxebarri Town Hall. It is an architectural set consisting of two buildings, which correspond to a project by Manuel María Smith of 1905.

Politics

Echévarri is a municipality whose political activity develops in a unique way, and little seen in surrounding municipalities. Since 1991, when a political group formed by residents of the San Antonio Neighborhood Association was created, which led to the formation of an independent neighborhood political party, La Voz del Pueblo (LVP), which has been governing the City Council of Etxebarri since 1991.

Election results

Municipal Elections 1987

Population: 6,431
Tables: 7
Census: 4,443
Voters: 3,126
Abstention: 1,317
Valid: 3,077
Void: 49
Targets: 26

Municipal Elections 1991

Population: 6,776
Tables: 7
Census: 4,637
Voters: 3,099
Abstention: 1,538
Valid: 3,060
Void: 39
Targets: 18

Municipal Elections 1995

Population: 6,557
Tables: 7
Census: 5,175
Voters: 3,612
Abstention: 1,563
Valid: 3,589
Void: 23
Targets: 25

Municipal Elections 1999

Population: 6,438
Tables: 12
Census: 5,546
Voters: 3,653
Abstention: 1,893
Valid: 3,629
Void: 24
Targets: 22

Municipal Elections 2003

Population: 7,125
Tables: 12
Census: 6,281
Voters: 4,594
Abstention: 1,687
Valid: 4,421
Void: 173
Targets: 21

Municipal Elections 2007

Population: 8,158
Tables: 12
Census: 6,794
Voters: 4,148
Abstention: 2,646
Valid: 3,947
Void: 201
Whites: 38

Municipal Elections 2011

Population: 10,148
Tables: 15
Census: 8,008
Voters: 5,099
Abstention: 2,909
Valid: 5,058
Void: 41
Targets: 58

Municipal Elections 2015

Population: 10,754
Tables: 12
Census: 8,305
Voters: 5,335
Abstention: 2,970
Valid: 5,248
Void: 32
Targets: 55

Streets

A street in the town is named Fuenlabrada in recognition of the help provided in the floods that the Biscayan town suffered in 1983.

Neighborhoods

The municipality is made up of six well-differentiated neighborhoods, although only three for statistical population purposes:

• Kukullaga, 5740 inhabitants.
• Doneztebe/San Esteban, 4705 inhabitants.
• Leguizamon, 436 inhabitants.

The other three neighborhoods are:

• San Antonio
• Love her.
• Santa Marina