TOURISM AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES> Architecture         Click here for more information on the Neo-Romanesque Church in Zaldibar Click here for more information on the San Andrés church and the Zaldibar chapels Town Hall Built in 1972. Basque architecture by Esteban Argarate Uría, in the area where the first extension work was carried out in the town. The main facade overlooks a square with gardens, and the entire unit is triangular. Parish church The San Andrés Apóstol church was built in the 13th century using the remains of the San Juan Evangelista church in Berriz, and was rebuilt during the 16th and 17th centuries. The church tower was badly damaged when it was struck by a bolt of lightning in 1768, and was rebuilt 10 years later. At the end of the 18th century there were 55 sepulchres in the church, and subsequently the cemetery was built outside. The building has two portals to the north and west. Gothic stone sculpture One of the municipality’s few works of art is to be found inside the parish church. It is a sandstone sculpture with Gothic decoration, the centrepiece of which is the cross of St. Andrew, bordered with cord and foliage and a crucifix beneath a small canopy, with two angels at the sides, one of them holding a chalice with a phylactery, flowers and miscellaneous decoration. On both sides, protected by two canopies, there is a naked human figure, with a head garment and the hands praying, and a bearded man with a long habit, also with a head garment, holding two objects. It is rather difficult to make out what these are, but they could be a flower and a palm. Here we also see Santiago on a horse and in a boat. This was sculpted at the end of the 15th century. Pilgrims used to pass through Zaldibar on a secondary routing of the Camino de Santiago route from Gipuzkoa, which led to the coastal route next to Bilbao. The hospital chapel The chapel was built in honour of the Milagrosa between 1923 and 1925 to a neo-Romanesque design by the architect Diego de Basterra Beróstegui. It most salient features are the slender appearance of the outer facade and the rich murals inside by the famous painter Juan de Aranoa, who worked in the area around 1925 and 1926 Carmelite monasteries The monastery chapel was built in honour of the Virgen del Carmen and San José between 1964 and 1967 at the old convent site in Artia, where three nuns were drowned in the floods of 23 September 1963. Country chapels At present the municipality has six chapels at the following locations: -San Martín, in the town centre, restored in 1977. -Santa Marina, in the Goierri district. -San Lorenzo, in Urizar (Gazaga). -Santiago, in Gazaga, restored in 1985. -San Pedro, in the Eitzaga district, restored between 1985 and 1986. -San Lorenzo, in Sallabente (Eitzaga), restored in 1955. Garitaondia Tower The tower was built at the beginning of the 17th century, and it has been well preserved. A new building added during this century accounts for most of the main facade, while inside the building we have the door and the tower´s coat-of-arms sculpted around the frame. The inscription on both sides is: “This construction was built by Pº de Onanda and his wife Madalina de Çuricaray in the year 1612”. Zaldua tower The tower was built at some point during the 15th century. It is now arranged on three levels; the ground floor is built in stone, with a semicircular arch door on the main facade, a roughly hewn coat-of-arms at the top and a crenel on the southern facade. The structure has a small window beautifully sculpted in stone on the central facade of the second floor. Zaldua coat-of-arms This is found next to the wall of the Eitzagabekoa mill, close to the Eitzaga tower. Eitzaga tower This tower may also have been built during the 15th century. It is a stone construction, with ashlar doors and windows, and the rest of the structure is rough ashlar and masonry. One curious feature is the circular coat-of-arms on the side facade – a band with a crescent moon at the top and three five-pointed stars below, bestowed by King Juan de Labrit (Juan III of Navarra) on Hernando Basco when he changed Basco´s name to Iriarte at the end of the 15th century. Stations of the cross This is located on the way to Goierri near the Garita farmhouse, at the junction of the roads to Santa Marina and Solozabal. The unit is composed of three classical features: the centre cross and the two Tau side crosses, all in sandstone. The central cross is a most interesting feature, built over the plinth with a finish in mouldings. It has a quadrangle section, and at the back we find the passion of Jesus carved into the stone. This is an important piece of cultural heritage dating back to the 17th century. There area a number of constructions which the Basque Government has set aside as archaeological sites in Bizkaia: the Santa Marina chapel, the Gatika farmhouse, the Zaldibar tower, the San Martín chapel, the San Andrés Apóstol church, the Zaldua tower, the Eitzaga tower, the Eitzaga Barrenengua farmhouse, the Olaetxea forge and the Olarreaga forge.