In this form of the game of pelota the leather ball is struck directly with the hand. Players strap up their hands with protective tape and fabric. Basque pelota is a ball game that enjoys a long tradition in the Basque Country. With it, the Basques have managed to...

On the first Sunday in October a somewhat unusual festivitytakes place in Elorrio under the name of Errebonbilloak. In 1571 the Christian fleet defeated the Turks at the battle of Lepanto, thus cutting short the expansion of Islam across the western Mediterranean. It...

Elvira was the town midwife in Elorrio, and she helped bring more than 2400 children into the world. She was born in Barcelona, where her family had moved to work, in 1895. After living in various locations around Spain she eventually married in Donostia-San...

One of the designers of the Talgo train and became known as the “betrayer of the Iron Ring”.Born in Elorrio on 23 March 1895. He was the engineer in charge of the construction of the fortified defences in the hills surrounding Bilbao known as the Iron Ring, which were...

Saint of Elorrio and sub Saint of Bizkaia    He was born on 14 February 1827 in the Biscayan town of Elorrio. At the age of 15 he told his father that he wanted to be a priest, but the family economy was not at all good and he had to stay and work in the...

The creator of the Well-Spring of Love and Elorrio’s biggest patron. Manuel Plácido de Berriozabalbeitia (Elorrio 1775 - Madrid 1850) was born on the Berriozabalbeitia farmstead in the hamlet of Berriozabaleta. On completing his schooling he obtained a place in the...

When he granted Elorrio its town charter in 1356 Don Tello, Lord of Bizkaia, had two purposes in mind: to provide a defensive bastion and to strengthen trade.  In the newly founded town agriculture was important but it was not the main way of making a living:...

The Aviazione Legendaria Italiana planes that left Soria on 31st March 1937 and entered Duranguesado bombed Elorrio and Durango at around 8:30 a.m., destroying both towns. The aim of the bombing was to destroy the main roads leading to Arrasate and Elgeta....