The case of Lutxana is special. One part is in Barakaldo and the other part is in Erandio. There are many anecdotes, but there is one that makes the locals laugh especially. A man went by train to Moscow. When he took the train in Lutxana he asked for a ticket to Moscow at the station and had no problem getting to the Russian capital. While he was there, the time came for him to return home and he went to the train station to get a ticket to Lutxana. The salesman immediately asked: “Lutxana, Barakaldo or Erandio?” In both cases, Lutxana is an emblematic working-class neighbourhood. It may be dirty for some, but it has kept many symbols of industrialization inside it, and no one can deny that it is part of the history of the workers of Bizkaia.

Erandio Superior, the First Seed

Historians say that the village originated from Erandio Superior. It is still a rustic place, and until industrialization came, its inhabitants lived far from the river. They had more to lose by looking at the ground than by looking at the water. Still entering the trails of Erandio Superior, we will see similar surroundings to any small town in the Basque Country. It should be noted that although Barakaldo and Erandio now divide the Lutxana together, in the 16th century it was Barakaldo Erandio. Also to Alonso. But those are things from another time. The appearance of Erandio changed in the 19th century with the arrival of the industry in the Bilbao estuary.

In the neighborhood of Almagaga, on the edge of Ibaizabal, many people began to need it, and it was then that this area became the center of the town. The Astrabudu was later formed. When the contiguous zones of the estuary acquired such importance, the name Erandio Superior was given to what had hitherto been the main popular nucleus of Erandio. From 1924 to 1966, from time to time part of Erandio and for some years all of Erandio were Bilbao. The port of Lutxana was the first to be conquered by Bilbao. The capital also had to respond to the demands of the industry and conquered several areas, but since the 80’s Erandio has been an independent municipality

The Tower of Martiartu, a jewel of the Renaissance

History has left many places to see in Andorra. One of them is the Martiartu Tower. It is located in the neighborhood of the same name, Goierri. It was built in the 16th century, and although it preserves the Renaissance features for the most part, it has a Gothic chair. The tower is eighteen meters high and looks great from the surroundings. The interior is empty, but its walls have preserved vestiges of the 14th and 15th century structure.

The church of Our Lady is also Gothic. It is located in Erandio Superior and dates back to the 12th century. The bell is one of the oldest in Bizkaia, if not the oldest. It is estimated to be around 1520, but there is no exact date.

Traces of the Carlist Wars

If we go to the Astrabudua and arrive at the Goikolarra area, we will not only see the last fields of this neighborhood, but also realize some things. In fact, the word of mouth transmission has left a series of brushstrokes between the Carlists and the Liberals in the Astrabudua neighbourhood of Erandio. There are still some fortresses on Mount Axpe in Goikolarra, such as the one built by the liberals on the grounds of the Azpuru farmhouse. The one who depended on the margins of the Astrabudua had the possibility of controlling the entrance to the port, that is why there was so much fighting in the area.