Gaztelugatxe

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / area missing

Gaztelugatxe is one of the Spanish Basque Country ( province of Biscay ) belonging island in the Bay of Biscay, which is immediately before the rocky coastline of the Costa Vasca between the towns Bakio and Bermeo.

The island is about 270 meters long and up to 80 meters wide. It is connected with a small stone bridge with the mainland about 200 meters away. At the highest point of the island ( 50 meters above sea level ) is the former monastery of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe ( in Basque Gaztelugatxeko Doniene ), to which a still from the Parish now St. Pelagius used in Bakio small church belongs. To get to the Hermitage, one must, after crossing the causeway today like standing under bridge, climb up 237 steps of a rock-hewn stairs until you reach the church. The rocky island is crossed by several underground passages and has numerous, partly -developed caves.

The church was founded in 1053 and the plant was used in the 12th and 13th centuries, probably to the Knights Templar retreat. The later inhabited by hermit monastery was raided and plundered in 1593 by English privateers under the command of Francis Drake. A year later, the base of Huguenots from La Rochelle was attacked again and after the guards and only island residents, a hermit who had been killed, looted and burned. The little church of the abandoned hermitage served in later years as the sailors chapel. 1978 was the system a set of unknowns fire victim. The chapel was consecrated two years later.

Gaztelugatxe has become a popular destination and tourist attraction in recent times because of its enchanted and romantic location. The rocky beaches of the island with its numerous projections, underwater caves and gate-like rock formations are like frequented by divers.

Gallery

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Gaztelugatxe