Pages

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Llodio, an historic town in the Basque Country

Llodio is an historic town in the north of Spain (it is also Hubby's hometown!). It belongs to the Basque Country and falls in the region of Alava, of which the capital is Vitoria, even though it is much closer to, and influenced largely by, the city of Bilbao. It is one of the oldest towns in the region and, although the historical origins are not clear, it is believed to have been founded during the 10th century. There are manuscripts written in Latin which are believed to refer to the town.

Bridge over the river Nervion
Church of San Pedro de Lamuza
The town today is a mixture of historical buidlings surrounded by modern apartment buildings, typical pedestrian shopping streets and busy industrial areas. The town is fairly large with around 20 000 inhabitants but there is still a feeling of community. It is difficult to walk down the street without recognising neighbours or friends. There is a strong sense of tradition in the town and the Basque language, Euskera, is spoken and taught in schools. Spanish is the main language but all the road signs and public notices are also written in Euskera.

The town hall
The train station
It's not a town that would appear on any tourist route but the people are friendly and welcoming and there are places to visit. If not, there is always the choice of sitting at a table on one of the many terraces, having a cool drink and watching the world go by!

Hasta pronto!

4 comments:

  1. If the town is not on any tourist route then I would love it there! On holiday, I enjoy nothing more than sitting with a cold drink and people watching. What century does the church date back to?
    Thank you for your comments on my post... much appreciated! I am now following your blog. The last few visits I made, your followers had disappeared (mine come and go all the time!).
    Abby

    ReplyDelete
  2. your photos are fantastic and make me want to travel!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Abby, thanks for joining the nomadic community! The church was rebuilt during the XVI century on the foundations of an XI century church - although the reconstruction took them until the XVIII century to complete!
    I'm very pleased my photos make you want to travel SoapyMermaid - I like to share the places I find interesting and hope that others will too.
    Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very nice, I like the bridge and river in the first photo, the church is also very beautiful it’s a very nice looking place.
    Regards
    Edward

    ReplyDelete