Zorrotzaurre () is an

artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

located within the

Deusto Deusto, also known as Deustu in Basque language, Basque and formerly known as ''San Pedro de Deusto'', is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, Spain. It is located on the right side of the Estuary of Bilbao, Bilbao estuary, in the northwestern p ...

district 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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

History

It was first formed as a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

during the 1950s and the 1960s, when a canal was built to facilitate navigation in the

estuary of Bilbao The Estuary of Bilbao ( Spanish: ''Ría de Bilbao'' / Basque: ''Bilboko Itsasadarra'') lies at the common mouth of the rivers Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua, which drain most of Biscay and part of Alava in the Basque Country, Spain. In this i ...

. The project was stopped in 1968 with 400 meters left to finish, forming the former peninsula. The area reached its heyday during this decade, with many industries moving there. However, during the industrial crisis of the 1980s that struck the city, many industries were forced to shut down or relocate, and only a handful of them survived to this day. A plan was approved in 2012 to renew the neighborhood with residential and business uses, a Master Plan designed by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

. As part of the Plan, the canal was finished and officially opened on 8 October 2018, making the former peninsula become an island. Two bridges link the resulting island to Deusto: Frank Gehry Bridge, inaugurated in 2015, and San Ignacio Bridge, finished in 2020.

References

External links

Comisión Gestora de Zorrotzaurre
Geography of Bilbao Estuary of Bilbao Artificial islands {{Basque-geo-stub