Bilbao sirgueras

the Iron Maidens of Bilbao's Riverside 

If you ever go sightseeing on the riverside of this famous port, the Bilbao sirgueras have pride of place. The prominence of iron, and metal in general, in the psyche of the people of Bilbao and the city's culture will jump out at you. Iron demonstrates a local pride in their industrial working history, and gives the northern Iberian port a rugged flavour. You will find an impressive display of metallic sculpture throughout the city and especially on its riverside walks. And pride of place goes to the sirgueras.  

If you stroll along the riverside of Bilbao from the Guggenheim art museum towards the old town in Bilbao, you will pass a group of four tall statues by the Basque sculptor Dora Salazar depicting working women, known as sirgueras, intertwined by rope.

Historically, a sirguera was a woman who towed river boats to land. The employment of women to do this in the port city of Bilbao, important for its iron industry, became very common in the 19th Century during the Spanish Carlist Wars of succession. As the men were away fighting, it was up to the women to do such heavy jobs. The employment of women was also cheaper than the hiring of oxen.

The statues of the Bilbao sirgueras were unveiled in April 2021 and for many, they symbolise the march towards gender equality, not yet fully realised for women. The statues form part of the look of Bilbao's riverside, with a range of museums, sculptures, walkways, playgrounds, bars and restaurants dotting the area. The sculptures on the riverside are there to make sure that we do not easily forget the working people's history.

All iron

The sirguera statues are but only one part of Bilbao's celebration of its industrial history and the significance of iron in the local economy. Part of the city's charm is that it celebrates not only its ancient past but also less conventional historical aspects like industry. This is something you might not expect to be so popular with travellers or tourists looking for culture.

Metalworking

Metallic sculpture, especially iron, permeates the city so much it even has significance in the chronicles of the football club. Iron ore has its own special place with the great Athletic Bilbao. The story goes that whenever miners found iron ore, an English engineer would write ALL IRON on the rock face. This would identify the find. The miners, reading this phonetically in Spanish as Alirón (/aal-eeh-RON/), would realise they were getting free tickets for a match. English migrant workers are significant in Athletic's history as being the inspiration for the original surge in interest in football.  You can read more about Athletic Bilbao at this link.  

Reworking

The various sculptures and monuments around the city are not the only landmarks to include iron. The various designers and artists who have helped refashion the urban area have repurposed various metal structures and machinery from the city's bygone industrial age. The streetlights along the riverside leading up to the titanium-plated Guggenheim Museum from the direction of the Maritime Museum, which sits just downriver in the shadows of Euskalduna Bridge and San Mamés stadium, are a good example of repurposed post-industrial hardware. These were quayside cranes used in the old shipyard during the 20th Century and left derelict until the area was revamped. With the addition of some glass and electricity, designers transformed them into alternative-style lamp posts, illuminating the area's walkway at night. 

Riverside activities

Considering all the possible things to do in Bilbao, a stroll or jog along the Ribera is quite a pleasant activity for anyone living there, or a visitor. The history dotting the riverside makes it all the more interesting. Designers have hewn the city's story in the mineral which made the port city important and prosperous.

You can enjoy the Ribera as a family with kids as there are various playgrounds and activities along the way. There is cycle hire along the riverside with plenty of bicycle lanes, known as bidegorriak in Basque. Bidegorri literally means 'red lane' in English, so these are very clear to see. You can also check out this link for bicycle hire on the riverside. For culture vultures, the prominent Guggenheim and Maritime museums are on the riverside with the Fine Arts (Museo de Bellas Artes) museum nearby too. There are also various bars and restaurants along the way if you fancy a drink and bite to eat.

Stretching on

The riverside walkways are getting longer as they now stretch on the east side to San Inazio neighbourhood. Sculpture culture inhabits these walkways, though other metals such as bronze are also used to record Basque history. This new part of the Ribera runs alongside the island neighbourhood of Zorrotzaurre. Zorrotzaurre was an artificial peninsula during the industrial age but has since been cut off from the mainland. There are new bridges at each end for easier access. It is getting its own, quite slow, makeover though hopefully, not all will end up transformed into expensive apartments.

Zorrotzaurre has a ton of alternative activities, like arts centres such as ZAWP, which you can learn more about at this link and also here. There is also a Sunday market in a derelict cookie factory which small traders can set up in for free. You can read more about the Ganbara and Espacio Open here. 

As you stroll along any part of the Ribera de Bilbao, whether it is the post-industrial Zorrotzaurre, the now highly-polished areas around the museums or the residential river banks of Deusto, the presence of heavy metals creates a reflection of the people of Bilbao's pride in their ancestors' attitude to hard work and pulling their sleeves up to earn a living. The concept of telling the town's history through the reworking of disused buildings and machinery is unique. It presents a people's history in stages from the here and now, recalling days of struggle and toil of maidens with the determination and will of iron. The Bilbao sirgueras will be especially remembered for many years to come.