Discover the Monastery of Zenarruza in Ziortza-Bolibar

The Monastery of Zenarruza — also known as Santa María de Zenarruza — stands in Ziortza-Bolibar, on the slopes of Mount Oiz in Bizkaia. Declared a National Monument of the Basque Country in 1948, the complex is laid out as an enclosed precinct with two medieval gateways bearing the coat of arms of the Mújica-Butrón families, who played a key role in its development. Inside, the fifteenth-century church, the eighteenth-century buildings and the hospice built in 1997 are all arranged around a central courtyard. A visit to the complex takes in the church, the cloister, the portico and the medieval entrance arches. One of the most distinctive elements, however, lies just before the gates: the cobbled path climbing from the village of Ziortza-Bolibar, built in the medieval period, is the only surviving stretch of cobbled road on the Camino de Santiago in Bizkaia. It is flanked by a sixteenth-century stone Way of the Cross, with a particularly notable Crucifixion stone carved with the instruments of the Passion. For pilgrims walking the Coastal Camino de Santiago, Zenarruza is a key stopping point, with accommodation available in the monastery's hospice.