The Basque Country (pdf, 4,3Mb) - Kultura Saila - Euskadi.net

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Sanctuary of Loiola.
Azkoitia, Gipuzkoa.
Plaza de la Constitución.
Donostia-San Sebastián.
Gothic art came early to Navarre and Iparralde (Cathedral of
Bayonne) and somewhat later (late-fifteenth and early sixteenth
centuries) but intensely to the other areas, accompanying the
founding of the villas. Examples include the hospital-guesthouse
of Orreaga- Roncesvalles, which houses the mausoleum of Sancho
the Strong (1234), and the Cathedral of Santa María in Pamplona-
Iruña, with Romanesque (1127) and Gothic (1394) elements,
which holds the pantheon of Charles III and Leonor.
In Araba there are many religious and civil examples of Gothic
architecture. Of special interest are the eighth-century Cathedral
of Santa María in Vitoria-Gasteiz– presently undergoing restoration
with new technologies – Santa María in Vitoria-Gasteiz, and the
churches of Laguardia, Agurain and Campezo.
In Bizkaia, besides the Cathedral of Santiago in Bilbao, with its
Puerta del Angel and Isabelline Gothic cloister, also worthy of
mention are the Church of San Antón and the late Gothic (sixteenth
century) Virgen de Begoña sanctuary in Bilbao, home of the patron
saint of Bizkaia, “Amatxu de Begoña”. Other Gothic churches
include San Severino in Balmaseda, the well -known Santa María
in Lekeitio– with its splendid altarpiece in the florid Gothic style –
and the churches of Ondarroa, Orduña and Gernika.
Churches worth highlighting in Gipuzkoa are the churches of Santa María
in Deba, San Vicente in Donostia, and Santa María in Hondarribia.
Example of civil architecture include the “New Palace” in Olite, where
Charles III and the Prince of Viana resided, the Luzea Tower in Zarautz,
and the numerous civil Gothic buildings in Araba (the Ayala Complex
in Kexaa-Quejana; the eighth-century Mendoza Tower near Vitoria-
Gasteiz, the city which also contains the Portalón, the Doña Otxanda
Tower (now the Museum of Natural Sciences), the Anda Tower and the
Casa del Cordón Tower). In Bizkaia, the Muñatones de los Salazar Castle
and the different tower-houses, some of which had their tops cut off
at the orders of Henry IV and the Ercilla tower-house, which dominates
the old port of Bermeo and now houses the Fishermenʼs Museum.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, coinciding with an important
generation of stonesmiths, the Plateresque style, with magnificent
examples, came to predominate over late Gothic. There are some very
noteworthy buildings in Gipuzkoa (University of Oñati, dating from
1540, and the San Telmo convent in Donostia-San Sebastian), Bizkaia
(the Colegiata de Ziortza cloister in Bolívar and the façade of the Begoña
Basilica in Bilbao), and Araba (the palaces of Villa Suso, Montehermoso
and Bendaña in Vitoria-Gasteiz) and in Navarre (the Monastery of Iratxe
and the five bastions of the citadel in Pamplona-Iruña).
In the second half of the sixteenth century, the Plateresque style evolved
towards the so-called Basque Renaissance Gothic. Examples include the
Church of San Pedro in Bergara and the Church of Nuestra Señora del
Juncal in Irún. In the continental Basque Country, Gothic and Renaissance
styles were combined, as seen in such place as the Elizabea castle, and
in the curious three-sided bell towers of some churches in Zuberoa
(Gotaine-Gotein) and in the Pamplona-Iruña citadel.
Baroque and Neoclassical architecture
The seventeenth century and much of the eighteenth century are
predominated by the Baroque style, known for its curved lines
and abundance of adornments.
The urbanisation of Pamplona-Iruña and Bayonne took place
during this period. In Iparralde a particular style arose, consisting
of a single nave and three-sided bell tower, as seen in Donibane-
Lohizune (St. Jean de Luz). In Gipuzkoa the splendid Basilica of
Loiola and the Basilica of Santa María del Coro in Donostia-San
Sebastian are the most important. In Bilbao, the churches of Santos
Juanes and San Nicolás de Bari are outstanding; In Araba, the
portico of the Church of San Juan de Agurain, and the altarpiece
of the Church of San Miguel in Vitoria-Gasteiz; in Navarre, the
Chapel of Santa Ana of the Tudela-Tutera Cathedral.
In the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth, there
was a return to classical shapes, where functionality prevailed.
Some important architects visited us and left their mark, including
Ventura Rodríguez (the Noain aqueduct, the façade of the Pamplona
Cathedral) and Silvestre Pérez (Santa María in Bermeo, and the town
council buildings of Donostia-San Sebastian, Durango and Bermeo).
Seventeenth through nineteenth century urban planning was of
high quality. Fine examples of Neoclassical architecture can be
seen at the Plaza Nueva town square in Vitoria-Gasteiz, designed by
Justo Antonio de Olaguibel, as well as the Palacio de la Diputación
(seat of the Provincial Council),
Los Arquillos and Plaza España.
In Donostia-San Sebastian,
examples include the Palacio
de la Diputación and the
Plaza de la Constitución;
in Bilbao, the Plaza Nueva;
in Gernika, the Casa de
Juntas (Assembly house);
and Pamplona-Iruña, the
façade of the Cathedral
of Santa María and the
Palace of Navarre.
Gothic Cathedral of
Vitoria-Gasteiz designed
“Open for Construction,” a
plan featuring state-of-therestoration
techniques and
guided tours open to the
public.