Bilbao

Bilbao (bēlbä`ō), city (1990 pop. 383,798), capital of Vizcaya prov., N Spain, in the Basque Country, on both banks of the Nervión River, near the Bay of Biscay. A leading Spanish port and commercial center since the 19th cent., it is at the heart of an important industrial area with iron mines nearby. Its banks make it a financial center. Steel, chemicals, and ships are the chief manufactures, though they have declined. Bilbao is also a center for high technology firms. It has a subway, an opera house, and several museums, including the Museum of Fine Art; the Basque Archaeological, Ethnographical, and Historical Museum; and the spectacular Guggenheim Museum (1997). Founded c.1300 on the site of an ancient settlement, Bilbao flourished because of a wool export trade in the 15th and 16th cent. In the 19th cent. it was besieged by the Carlists three times. In the Spanish civil war, Bilbao was the seat of the Basque autonomous government from 1936 until its capture (1937) by the Nationalists.

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Bilbao

Port city (pop., 2001: city, 349,972; metro. area, 947,334), northern Spain. It is located 7 mi (11 km) inland from the Bay of Biscay. The largest city in the Basque Country, it originated as a settlement of mariners and ironworkers and was chartered in 1300. In the 18th century it prospered through trade with Spain's New World colonies. The city was sacked by French troops in the Peninsular War (1808) and besieged during the Carlist Wars (see Carlism). It is a chief port in Spain and a centre of the metallurgical industries, shipbuilding, and banking. Landmarks include the 14th-century Cathedral of Santiago and the 20th-century Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

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Bilbao

a port in N Spain, on the Bay of Biscay: the largest city in the Basque Provinces: famous since medieval times for the production of iron and steel goods: modern buildings include the Guggenheim Art Museum (1997). Pop.: 353 567 (2003 est.)