The Mirandaola Ironworks (Can be visited)

The audio-visual installation set up in one of the buildings inside Mirandaola Park itself takes us through the evolution of iron and steel in the Urola-Garaia Region. From the archaeological remains in the mountains to modern industry, the transformation of iron has been and continues to be the core of our region.

• General
• Map
• Link of interest

The Mirandaola Ironworks, standing inside Mirandaola Park, in Legazpi, which functioned at least from the 15th until the 19th century, has now been restored, with its canal, sluice, wheels, bellows, anvil, hammer... The application of hydraulic energy in the Late Middle Ages meant extraordinary technical and economic progress, to the extent that a specific ironworks charter placed their right to water, wood and mineral among others before agricultural and stockbreeding interests. The combination of iron, wood for charcoal, abundant amounts of water and seaports made the Atlantic part of the Basque Country into one of the great exporters of iron. This said, not having adapted to the new techniques developing in Europe plunged the Basque ironworks into a crisis which led to a closure lasting throughout the 19th century. Only after the II Carlist War did the industrial revolution reconvert iron into the driving power behind the Basque economy. 

For further information and the booking of guided tours:

UROLA-GARAIA Regional Tourist Office
Parque de Mirandaola, Telleriarte s/n
20230 LEGAZPI
Tel.: 943 730 428
Fax: 943 733 163
e-mail: mirandaola@lenbur.com
Prices and Reservations