Atxondo () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in the province of

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, in the Basque Country, Spain. Atxondo is part of the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of

Durangaldea Durangaldea ( Spanish: ''Duranguesado'') is a comarca of Biscay located in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven ''eskualdeak/comarcas'' or regions that compose the province of Biscay. The capital city of Durangaldea is Durango. ...

and has a population of 1,447 inhabitants as of 2007 according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute. Atxondo was formed by the fusion of the former municipalities of the elizates of Apatamonasterio, Arrazola and Axpe in 1962.

Toponymy

The name ''Atxondo'' comes from the fusion of the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

words ''(h)A(i)tz'', which means "rock", and ''ondo'', which means ''at the side of'', then "at the side of the rock". ''Axpe'' means "under the rock".

History

Until 1962, Achondo was the name for a valley where three different municipalities formed by three elizates where located; Apatamonasterio, Arrazola and Axpe, each of them with history of its own.

Apatamonasterio

The name ''Apatamonasterio'' means "clergy monastery" and was chosen to differentiate the monastery opened here to the one in the elizate of Etxebarria. It took part on the

War of the Bands The War of the Bands (, ) was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country (historical territory), Basque Country, Cantabria, Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the Late Middle A ...

. As a member of the ancient ''merindad'' of Durango, it had voice and right to vote in the Juntas of Guerendiaga, where it occupied the seat number eight. Until 1857 it did not have a church of its own, depending on the one of

Abadiño Abadiño (; ) is a town located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the north of Spain, about 35 km from the provincial capital of Bilbao. The area of the municipality is about and according to the ...

. Historically, its economy has depended on farming.

Arrazola

It also took part on the

and had voice and right to vote in the Juntas of Guerendiaga, where it occupied the seat number eight. In Arrazola was born Esteban de Urizar, governor of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

during the reign of Philip II and Juan Alexandro

Arrazola de Oñate Arrazola de Oñate (also written as ''de Arrazola Oñate'') is a Belgian noble family, stemming from the Arrazola family in the city of Oñate in the Basque Country. Since the 16th century a branch has been living in the Southern Netherlands, l ...

who was Chamberlain of

Archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

Albert and Archduchess

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

. In 1510 the church was built with the approval of the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...

Axpe

As the two others, Axpe also took part on the

. It had voice and right to vote in the Juntas of Guerendiaga, where it occupied the seat number nine. In 1550 the church was built.

Geography

It is located in the southeasternmost part of the province of

and limits at west with

, at east with

Elorrio Elorrio is a town and a municipality located in the eastern part of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain. , it has a population of 7,307 inhabitants. It covers an area of 37.20 square kilometers and it has a population ...

and at south with the province of

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

. The Ibaizabal river forms here, when it joins the Zumalegi river, which itself originates in the

Anboto Anboto () is a limestone mountain of the Western Basque Country, the highest peak of the Urkiola range and not far from the Urkiola mountain pass between Durango and Vitoria-Gasteiz. Description An immense mass of limestone, very compact a ...

mountain. Atxondo may be divided into two zones; the industrial area formed by Apatamonasterio and the farming and residential areas formed by Axpe, Arrazola and the neighborhoods of Marzana and Santiago. It is located 6 km away from

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, capital city of the comarca and 36 km away from

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, capital city of the province. Atxondo rotulado

Transport

Transport by road is the only mean of transportation in the area. The road BI-634 runs through the valley crossing the neighborhood of Apatamonasterio. That road is part of the Durango-Beasain axis, and connects

with Arrasate-Mondragón (in the province of

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

). The BI-634 connects in Durango with the N-634 road and the AP-8 highway which connect

, the capital city of

, with Donostia-San Sebastián, the capital city of Gipuzkoa. In Arrasate-Mondragón the BI-634 road connects with the AP-1 highway, to

Eibar Eibar (, ) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Euskadi. It is the capital of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Debabarrena. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eustat, 2018). Its chief industry is ...

(and from there to Donostia-San Sebastián and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) and to

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

, the capital city of the province of

. Three Bizkaibus lines stop in Atxondo; the A3923 line, which stops only at Apatamonasterio and connects it with the municipalities of Arrasate-Mondragón,

Iurreta Iurreta is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Autonomous Community, northern Spain. Incorporated into the municipality of Durango in 1926, Iurreta regained its independent status in 19 ...

and

; the A3914 line which connects Elorrio with Durango stopping only at Apatamonasterio and the A3913 line that connects Durango with Arrazola with twelve stops in the municipality.Bizkaibus Network
at the BizkaiBus Official Website]

References

External links

ATXONDO in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
{{coord, 43, 07, 45, N, 1, 06, 00, E, display=title, source:eswiki Municipalities in Biscay Durangaldea