Abanto y Zierbena (Gallarta)

Gallarta is the main settlement of Abanto and Zierbena, a municipality set at the foot of the Triano mountains in the Biscayan comarca of Meatzaldea. Its history is inseparable from iron mining: in the early 20th century, this area became one of the largest mining operations in Europe, and the extraction of ore radically transformed both the landscape and the local community.

The most visible mark of that past is the Mina Concha II, a vast open-cast mine declared a Site of Cultural Interest. Its scale speaks for itself: the original village of Gallarta had to be relocated in the 20th century to allow excavation of the mineral seam that lay beneath its houses. The Basque Country Mining Museum, perched above this striking wound in the earth, helps visitors grasp the human and industrial dimensions of what unfolded here.

The mining boom drew thousands of workers and reshaped the social identity of the area. It was in this context that Dolores Ibarruri — La Pasionaria — was born, one of the defining historical figures of the 20th century. Walking through Gallarta and its surroundings means entering a territory that still carries the echoes of that intense era of labour and social struggle.