Balmaseda (in

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 ...

and officially, in Spanish: ''Valmaseda'') is a town and 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. Balmaseda is the capital city of the comarca of Enkarterri, in western Biscay and serves an important role in the province thanks to its proximity to the capital city of

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 ...

and the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

and

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

Etymology

Its toponomy probably comes from a union of the Spanish word ''val'' (

apocope In phonology, apocope () is the omission (elision) or loss of a sound or sounds at the end of a word. While it most commonly refers to the loss of a final vowel, it can also describe the deletion of final consonants or even entire syllables. ...

of ''valle''), meaning "valley", and the

''mahatseta'', which means "vineyard", ''Val-Mahatseta'' would then mean "valley of vineyards", which would eventually evolve into ''Valmaseda'', currently in use in Spanish, and ''Balmaseda'', following the orthographic rules of the Basque language.

History

The lands in which Balmaseda is located had been inhabited since centuries before its official foundation, with evidence of ancient pastoral activity.''Encartaciones: Balmaseda, Lanestosa y Portugalete''
at Euskomedia.org (in Spanish) In the eastern end of the municipality there is a Roman

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

which belonged to the ''Pisorica''-''Flaviobriga'' road, which connected the present-day cities of Castro Urdiales and Herrera de Pisuerga. This road is believed to have been in use at least since the 1st Century, as the milestone is dated 238. Even though the town's old bridge could have been built simultaneously, there are not any evidences of its existence until some centuries later. The territory in which today is located Balmaseda belonged to the valley of Mena, part of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

. The Castilians occupied it in 1175, moment when the king handed over the territory to Lope Sánchez de Mena, Lord of Bortedo and kin of the Lord of Biscay. Lope Sánchez founded then the village, probably on the same location of a previous settlement, in one of the banks of the river Kadagua, granting the village the

fuero (), (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ...

of Logroño. Among the reasons for the foundation of the village were its protected location between mountains and the existence of a commercial road connecting to Castile and

. The village was incorporated to the lands of the Lord of Biscay when the Lord Lope Díaz II de Haro married the daughter of Alfonso IX, thus obtaining the territories of Balmaseda and Orduña. In 1234, Lope confirmed the

municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

establishing Balmaseda as a town. However, this first union with Biscay would not last much; in 1255 the town was converted back to Castile because of the disputes caused by Diego López III de Haro. In 1274 it was given back to Biscay to be once more handed back to Castile in 1288 after the murder of Lope Díaz III in Alfaro following the orders of Sancho IV. Diego López IV would once more reinstate Balmaseda into Biscay. In 1312, after the disputes between Biscay and Castile, Balmaseda was once more reintegrated into the kingdom. The town would be incorporated again in Biscay in 1388, as it was requested by the village itself. During the Middle Ages, Balmaseda was home to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community until their voluntary departure in 1487. On 5 November 1808 the city was the theatre of the Battle of Valmaseda, part of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, between French and Spanish armies. In May 2016, the return of Valmaseda to the Las Encartaciones Commonwealth, from which it had left in 2001, was agreed. The inclusion was carried out with the votes in favor of PNV, Avant Gordexola and Agrupación Electoral Independiente, three abstentions by EH Bildu and the vote against by Zalla Bai and Karrantza Zabala. The Carranza government team presented a judicial appeal on behalf of the municipal group, on the contrary, the mayor of Zalla, Javier Portillo Berasaluze, presented the judicial appeal against membership on behalf of the Zalla City Council.

Geography

The municipality of Balmaseda is located in very mountainous territory, in southwestern

and 30 kilometers away from the province capital city

. Balmaseda is located in the comarca of Enkarterri and it borders Artzentales, in the west, with Sopuerta in the north and Zalla in the east. In the south Balmaseda borders with the autonomous community of

(

province of Burgos The province of Burgos is a Provinces of Spain, province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia (p ...

). It is surrounded by the Ordunte mountains; Kolitza, Canto, Terreros and La Garbea. Nature park of Valley of Karrantza with Pozalagua Cave situated not far (and accessible by public buses and taxi) from Balmaseda.

Hydrography

The main river of the municipality is the river Kadagua, which forms the narrow valley where the town is located. The river is joined by several minor streams as the Acebo, Coliza, Tueros and Angostura. The river Kadagua has had historical importance for the town and still today has an important symbolism, as it is present on the town's coat of arms.

Social sphere

Amongst city's landmarks are Puente Viejo Roman Bridge (XIII), Ayuntmiento-Town Hall, Cathedral Iglesia de San Severino (XIV), Church of Sagrado Corazón (Klaret Antzokia), Iglesia San Juan, Iglesia de Santa Clara with museum, Palacio Horcasitas, Balmaseda historical museum, La Encartada beret factory museum, modern court of justice. Balmaseda carries Medieval market in March and San Severino festival on 23 October. Balmaseda has Sociedad Deportiva Balmaseda Fútbol Club (since 1914) with home La Baluga camp stadium.

Transport

Balmaseda is connected with the rest of the province of Enkarterri region and the capital city of

by the BI-636 road and by the narrow-gauge railway Feve and by bus
Bizkaibus
route number A0651).

Personalities

Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza (1578–1641), an important Jesuit author of theological and philosophical textbooks.

Twin towns – sister cities

* Tifariti,

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only ...

San Severino Marche San Severino Marche is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about southwest of Macerata. History From prehistory to Roman age The oldest remains of human ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* Balmaceda, Chile

References

External links

BALMASEDA
in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) {{authority control Municipalities in Biscay