Built in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, the “Iron Belt” also known as the “Defensive Belt of Bilbao” was a defence of fortifications of more than 80 km in length that crossed different localities of the Basque Country.
Will you accompany us on a journey through our past?
History
We go back in time to the year 1936 during the civil war, the troops threatened with their arrival, so at that moment the Basque Government decided to build a large defensive line in the shape of a horseshoe, with the aim of protecting Bilbao and its surroundings. The line erected between 1936 and 1939 consisted of lines of trenches, nests and bunkers.
This line was divided into 5 sectors; the 4th and 5th crossed municipalities of the comarca of Uribe and localities such as Barrika, Berango, Sopela, Urduliz, Laukiz, Gatika, Loiu, Mungia Gamiz-Fika, Lezama, Larrabetzu. It had a bitter end because in 1937 the captain Alejandro Goikoechea then (infrastructure engineer) , went to the opposite side. providing details of the plans to the rebels.
Museum
We invite you to discover the museum dedicated exclusively to military defense located in Berango: The Iron Belt Memorial Museum. You can learn about the history of the Iron Belt as well as the “Agurra” monument due to the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the museum, in memory of the families affected in the middle of the civil war. Inside, you will be surprised by personal items such as helmets, clothes, posters, flags, coins of the time, correspondence, and even a sample of the equipment used by the fighters.
