Uribe Sondika

Routes

Leisure

HISTORY

The town of Sondika extends from the damp plains shaped by the river Asua to the peaks of Artxanda and forms part of the Txorierri Valley, running parallel to and edging the Nervión-Ibaizabal Valley. Due to its proximity, the city of Bilbao has had a great influence on the history of this municipality, whose fortunes have been intimately linked to the economic life of the capital for centuries.

Over the ages, Sondika was typical of many rural communities. This way of life underwent major transformation as of the fifties, due to the rapid industrial growth of Greater Bilbao. Like other municipalities in the Txorierri Valley, Sondika soon became an area of industrial and residential expansion of the nearby city.

The current urban centre of Sondika is articulated around the hamlets of San Juan, Goiri and Lehendakari Agirre. Over recent years, this modern and highly developed urban layout has undergone a process of rapid transformation, requiring the development of new areas. Most of the municipal installations and services are placed around La Campa de Gorondagne, circled by numerous green areas. The industrial activity of the municipality is concentrated in the Berreteaga and Sangroniz industrial estates.

Today, Sondika finds itself in the process of rapid demographic and economic expansion, favoured by the creation of industrial centres and the construction of new residential areas.

Larrabarrena Park, located next to the town centre, is an extensive, fully-equipped recreational park (playing area, picnic facilities). The other major area of expansion and recreation in Sondika is Artxanda, an area that, today, thanks to its location and multiple resources, is the “lung” and leisure centre for neighbouring high-density urban areas. A feature of this area is the chapel of San Roke, a church set in a beautiful landscape offering splendid views of the neighbouring countryside and the Artxanda Windmill, one the few examples of windmills in Bizkaia and witness to the Battle of Artxanda, one of the most decisive combats of the Civil War in Bizkaia.

Today, the hamlets that make up this municipality still maintain their rural character in a landscape dotted with meadows and market gardens. It is well worth your while to visit other villages in the area such as Izarza, which features a number of traditional farmhouses or the little Sangroniz bridge, near the place where the commercial port of Asúa was located. Several restaurants located nearby provide travellers with the opportunity of rounding off their visit with a good meal.