A Drive Through Bilbao

Bilbao, the industrial and financial capital of the Basque Country, is situated between two ranges of hills on both sides of the River Nervion. The iron ore mines near the city were discovered by the Romans, who paved the way for the numerous foundries later built on both banks of the river. This seven-hundred-year-old city is a setting for numerous town planning and architectural transformations where factories and port installation are being renovated into spectacular urban projects. The new Bilbao is best symbolized by the striking Guggenheim Museum, a work of Frank O. Gehry, a unique representation of the new generation of buildings to be built in Bilbao in the future. In the same area, the building of the Congress and Music Center Palacio Euskalduna revives the old tradition of the building in the form of ships along the river. Other important architectural works of art include the Zubizuri Bridge, works of Santiago Calatrava and the stations and entrances to the metro, and works of Norman Foster.