The Church of Santa Maria de Axpe (Spanish: Iglesia de Santa María; Basque: Andra Maria eliza) is a church located in the Axpe neighborhood of Busturia and serves as a Parish church for the town under the Diocese of Bilbao. It is recognized for its Gothic style and high level of preservation despite its age.
| Church of Santa Maria de Axpe | |
|---|---|
Iglesia de Santa María | |
_-_Iglesia_de_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Axpe_01.jpg) Church in 2015 | |
  Church of Santa Maria de Axpe Location of the church within Basque Country | |
| 43°22′57″N 2°42′01″W / 43.38250°N 2.70028°W | |
| Address | Axpe Auzoa, 2, 48350 Busturi-Axpe, Bizkaia, Spain |
| Country |  Spain |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Late Gothic |
| Completed | 16th century |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Bilbao |
History
editAccording to oral history, in 1051, the Count of Biscay granted the bishop of Álava ownership over the monastery of the local parish,[1] along with its land holdings which now encompass the church, including a nearby manor house that belongs to the church.[2]
The church was rebuilt to be larger at the beginning of the 16th century, in a Basque Gothic style.[3] It has an altarpiece that had been worked on by Pedro Aboítiz, Alejandro de Aguilar and Juan de Bilialdea, completed in 1638.[4]
In 1852, Manuel Antonio de Luzarraga visited his hometown of Mundaka from his residence in Ecuador, and donated a bronze bell to the church. It has an inscription reading:[5]
Spanish: "Fue dorado este Altar y erigido su nuevo presbiterio a expensas de Don Manuel Antonio de Luzárraga."
English (translation): "This altar was and its new presbytery erected at the expense of Don Manuel Antonio de Luzárraga."
Design
editThe church is a stone building in the late Gothic style, with a single nave.[6] It has a flat hevet and a side chapel that protrudes from the building. The outer roof is formed by a gable with a framework of wooden beams. The walls have been built with ashlars and the exterior support is buttressed on the four corners, while the interior support has four half-columns located on the sides of the building, and two in the corners at the presbytery and two at the corbels.[7] There is a tower protruding for the bells in the church.[8]
There are few openings to the church; there are two windows, located at the top of the building, and at the bottom, and two on the sides and two ogives on the sides at the back. This causes interior lighting to be quite poor.
Gallery
edit-
Entrance to the church -
Masonry details of the exterior -
Bells tower
_-_Portada_g%C3%B3tica_de_la_Iglesia_de_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Axpe_4.jpg)
_-_Iglesia_de_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Axpe_10.jpg)
References
edit- ^ Herrán, Fermín (1898). Compendio de la historia de Bizcaya del Dr. Estanislao J. de Labayru (in Spanish). A.P. -Cardenal. pp. 94–96.
- ^ Henao, Gabriel de (1894). Averiguaciones de las antigüedades de Cantabria: enderezadas principalmente a descrubrir las de Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa y Alava ... a honor y gloria de S. Ignacio de Loyola (in Spanish). E. López. p. 301.
- ^ "Church of Santa Maria de Axpe". EUSKADI. 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ Iturrate Sáenz de Lafuente, José; Elustondo, José Agustín; Villarejo Garáizar, Antonio, eds. (2000). Guia para visitar los santuarios marianos de los territorios históricos de Álava, Guipúzcoa y Vizcaya. Maria en los pueblos de España. Madrid: Ed. Encuentro. p. 330. ISBN 978-84-7490-555-7.
- ^ Echeverria-Herreria, Fernando-Antonio. "Contribucion para el Estudio de la Sociedad Colonial de Santiago de Guayaquil - Ecuador Tomo IV". Dirigido, Corregido y Aumentado (in Spanish). IV – via Academia.edu.
- ^ "Church of Santa Maria de Axpe". TOURISM EUS. 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- ^ "Iglesia de Santa María de Axpe (Busturia)" (PDF). Provincial Council of Biscay. Retrieved 2 Sep 2024.
- ^ Zabala, Juan Ramón de Iturriza y (1884). Historia general de Vizcaya: comprobada con autoridades, y copias de escrituras, y privilegios fehacientes ... (in Spanish). Librerias "Paris-Valencia,". p. 138. ISBN 978-84-8339-153-2.