EUSKAL MUSEOA (BASQUE MUSEUM)

Located on Plaza Miguel de Unamuno, the Euskal Museoa (Basque Museum) has a lively and carefully designed scenography, which makes it very pleasant to discover the history and daily life of the Basque people. Originally, when it was founded in 1921, it occupied the halls of the Baroque cloister of the former San Andrés College, formerly run by the Jesuits. Over time, it has grown in the annexed buildings to form an extensive collection dedicated to the archaeology of Bizkaia and the ethnography of the Basque Country. The ground floor, dedicated to funerary monuments, also houses temporary exhibition rooms. Of particular note is a reproduction of the Calvary of Kurutziaga, a superb Gothic cross from the 15th century, the original of which is in Durango. The first floor, dedicated to ethnography, displays objects related to traditional Basque activities (fishing, ceramics, linen weaving) and a collection of weapons from the Civil War and the Carlist Wars. The second floor is dedicated to the collections of ceramics and ironwork, with superb pieces of popular ceramics and Basque porcelain. Finally, on the third floor, dedicated to the history of the region, the huge model of Bizkaia and the rooms of the Consulate, where you can admire their superb original furniture. In the centre of the cloister is a rare piece: Mikeldi's idol, which represents an animal holding a disc between its paws and dates from the Iron Age.