Arrigorriaga

Arrigorriaga is a town and municipality located in the province of Bizkaia, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. Arrigorriaga is located 7 km south of Bilbao and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. Its official population at the 2019 census was 12,160 inhabitants living on a land area of 16.36 square kilometres (6.32 sq mi).

It is conterminous with Bilbao and Basauri in the north, with Ugao-Miraballes and Zeberio in the south, with Zaratamo in the east and with Arrankudiaga and Alonsotegi in the west.

Arrigorriaga may be translated from Basque language as 'Place of red stones'. "Harri" ('stone'), "gorri" ('red') and the locative suffix "-aga" or also 'Place of naked stones', as "gorri" is a polysemic term that also means "naked, bare, incarnated". There exists a well-known legend that explains the origins of this name as "Place of red stones". This story begins in the 15th century, because it was written for the first time by the Basque chronicler Lope García de Salazar in his book Las Bienandanzas e Fortunas. As the tale says, Arrigorriaga was called Padura in the ancient times (marsh in Basque) and the legendary Battle of Padura in which people from Biscay and people from León fought each other took place. When the battle finished, won by people from Biscay, Padura was renamed as Arrigorriaga, because so much blood was spilled, that the stones were painted red. The story was recovered and used by Sabino Arana in the 19th century as an instrument of Basque people's exaltation. Apart from ^{[clarification needed]} this "romantic" thesis, there exist other, more prosaic theses, that confirm that the name has its origins in the iron mines that were in the locality. According to these theses, the name of the town could have been because of the iron ores that painted red the mount Ollargan or also, to the surface without any vegetation that was surrounded by, because of the mining operations nearby, "Place of naked stones".

Anteiglesia de la Merindad de Uribe, occupied the seat number 39 in the Juntas Generales de Guernica. Until 1876 the Church of Arrigorriaga had great importance in the region, taking on account inside it the municipalities of Arrancudiaga, Basauri, Zarátamo and Alonsótegi. By this year, with the abolition of the jurisdictions and after diverse lawsuits, ended up disengaging. Alonsótegi self constituted as an independent church in the 16th century. Basauri separated from Arrigorriaga in 1510 or, at least, that is the date taken as the most official one, when the parish of San Miguel Arcángel was built, because there does not exist any document to verify that a meeting between two localities' mayors took place that day. Since then, the community was denominated as church of San Miguel of Basauri. The independence of Basauri was unilateral; it didn't have the approval of Arrigorriaga and neither had the permission of the General Juntas of Guernica to take their corresponding seat in them, they didn't manage to achieve it until 1858.

The incoming origins from the legend and the myth, without letting even the name free ("Place of red stones") of this "fable". This legend has many different versions reaffirmed by some and refuted by others. But which is true, is that the myth, legend or story, as you want to call it, of the "Battle of Padura" has produced hundreds of pages in Basque Country's history and literature. The central core of this tale says that by the year 870 or 888 of our age, in that place named Padura (where Arrigorriaga would be located), the armies of the Lord of Biscay, the first according to the history, defeated in a bloody battle the people from León, led by the prince Ordoño, successor to the crown of León and son of the king Alfonso "El Magno". Arrigorriaga would have its origins in the spilt blood that covered the fighting ground.

Other interpretations say that the origin of this term is in the iron veins that could be found in Ollargan mount, and that had given a generic name to the entire municipality. In any case, the first historical news referring to Arrigorriaga are dated in the 12th century, and relate to the incorporation of Arrigorriaga's parish, Santa María Magdalena, to the Monasterio de San Salvador de Oña in 1107 (gathered by the historian Iturriza in his work).

In 1300, mount Ollargan with its iron mines was given to the villa of Bilbao in the town charter granted by D. Diego López de Haro. Few years after, in 1375, the parishioners of this church managed to get from the infant D. Juan, to the Lord of Biscay, the belonging to the jurisdiction of the villa. This measure allowed their inhabitants to be protected from the arbitrariness and abuses of the bigger relatives.

In 1783, led by the mayor José de Arana, the square we know nowadays was inaugurated. In former days, it was located where nowadays Bar padura is located, in front of the town hall. The reason for this placement change was the building of the new Royal Way from Bilbao to Castilla which halved the former public square, preventing, because of its narrowness, the neighbours performing the common unfolding of threshing.