Barakaldo

Barakaldo (Spanish Baracaldo ) is a city with 100 502 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2013) in the Greater Bilbao, in the Spanish Basque Country.

• 4.1 Fair
• 4.2 Public bodies

Geography

Barakaldo is located on the Bilbao estuary, about ten kilometers from Bilbao and five kilometers from the coast of the Gulf of Biscay. The village lies on a hill above the estuary. The area is mountainous with elevations of 400-500 m. In the mountains around Barakaldo ( Montes de Triano ), there are iron ore deposits.

In addition to the Ría de Bilbao rivers Galindo and Cadagua flow through the urban area.

The climate is maritime temperate with summers and mild winters.

History

The exact founding date of Barakaldo is not precisely known. It is probably the year 1000. The first mention made ​​in the year 1051. Urban development has always been associated with the ore mining and iron production and processing.

In the 19th and 20th centuries Barakaldo was an important site of the Spanish steel industry. In the 1990s, the steel mills Altos Hornos de Vizcaya were closed as part of a restructuring, which plunged the whole region into a severe crisis.

Culture and sights

Cityscape

Barakaldo is, like the other places of the left- bank of the Ría de Bilbao Santurtzi, Portugalate Sestao, a strong industrial Town. Nevertheless, the cityscape has changed significantly in recent years by Verschönungsmaßnahmen.

Theater

• Teatro de Barakaldo

Economy

Since the 1990s, Barakaldo is in a process of transition from heavy industry formerly resident at a service center. In Barakaldo are the Maxcenter and the Mega Park, two of the largest shopping centers in the north of Spain.

Fair

Since 2004, the fair Bilbao is established with the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, in Barakaldo Ansio district on the site of a former steelworks.

Public institutions

• Hospital in Cruces District, one of the most important and largest hospitals in Bizkaia with special department for burn injuries

Infrastructure

Barakaldo is located on the A8 motorway Bilbao - Santander. The city is connected by the metro line 2 of the Metro de Bilbao Bilbao. Furthermore ride commuter trains of RENFE, the provincial capital.

The airport of Bilbao, Loiu, located 10 km from Barakaldo away.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Serafín Aedo (1908-1988), football player
• Javier Clemente ( b. 1950 ), football player and coach
• Asier del Horno ( b. 1981 ), football player
• Unai Expósito ( born 1980 ), Spanish footballer
• Héctor González ( born 1986 ), cyclist
• Iñaki Lafuente (born 1976 ), Spanish footballer
• David López ( born 1981 ), cyclist
• Isidro Nozal ( b. 1977 ), cyclist
• Josep Lluís Núñez ( born 1931 ), football functionary and former president of FC Barcelona
• Jacinto Quincoces (1905-1997), football player
• Agustín Sauto Arana (1908-1986), football player
• Edmundo Suárez Trabanco (1916-1978), football player