Ondarroa

Ondarroa ( Castilian Ondárroa ) is a municipality in the province of Bizkaia of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country in Spain. It lies about 40 km east of the provincial capital of Bilbao at the mouth of the river Artibai in the Bay of Biscay.

History

On September 28, 1327 granted María Díaz de Haro, Lady of Biscay, in Estella (Navarra ) the municipal law for Ondarroa. The new place was like the other cities of the Vizcaya Fuero of Logroño. Marías successor Juan Núñez de Lara and his wife María Díaz de Haro II confirmed in 1335 the foundation and provided the funds for the construction of the city wall ready.

King Alfonso XI. mean an end to a little later Rentería de Aramaio and confessed to place the income from the tolls of the wooden bridge over the Artibai to. The bridge was later replaced by the present Puente Viejo.

1351 is united with the place Bilbao, Plencia and Lequeitio in a league against the English, the Bayonne and Biarritz had occupied. The subsequent peace treaty was signed in Hondarribia on December 21, 1353.

Henry IV of Castile granted Ondarroa privileges for services rendered to the crown, and supported the reconstruction after the fire in 1463rd

At the time of King Philip II of trade for the city was so important that they had fifty ships. In addition, the shipbuilding was important industry and remained so until the second half of the twentieth century.

1638 was Ondarroa together with other places successfully to the area enclosed by the French San Sebastián to the side, on the other hand, it suffered in the Pyrenees War 1793-1795 pillaging and plundering by the French army.

Economy

The place was for centuries a center of fishing and whaling, which also testifies the whale represented in the coat of arms. The fishing is still of great importance. Based in Ondarroa fishing fleet consisted of 38 ships in 2007, including 30 for deep sea fishing, and thus after Bermeo the second largest of the Spanish Basque country. Next to the harbor is the beach Arrigorri.

Policy

Ondarroa is considered a stronghold of radical Basque nationalists who seek an independent Basque state. Before the local elections of 2007, the Spanish Supreme Court forbade the election commencement of the Acción Nacionalista Vasca ( ANV ), as several candidates were linked to Batasuna party; these had been banned because of their support of the terrorist group ETA. ANV then called on to boycott the election.

In the election on 27 May 2007 4,833 votes were cast ( 63.84 % of the electorate ). However Among them were 2,195 invalid and 81 blank ballots. The moderate nationalist EAJ - PNV was with 1,720 votes (65.2 % of valid votes cast ) strongest and received 9 of the 13 seats in the municipal council. The remaining seats accounted Eusko Alkartasuna (EA ) (2), Ezker Batua (EB, regional Izquierda Unida section of ) and Partido Popular (PP ) ( 1 each). After threats of radical nationalists who claimed the invalid votes for ANV, renounced most elected councilors going to stand its mandate; the constituent meeting of the council appeared only the PP.

Through the Provincial Administration of Biscay then a Standing Orders Committee ( Comisión Municipal Gestora ) was used under the chairmanship of former mayor Félix Aranbarri Urizarbarrena ( EAJ - PNV ), since the charge of the management of the municipality. Your meetings will be held for security from the public in Bilbao, with the exception of the Chairman, the members live outside the community. The chairman and his family received threats of radical nationalists; his private car was destroyed in an arson attack.