The "Abadetxea" has blossomed
After being closed for 14 years the doors of this historical building have been reopened for the town to use it
Irati Areitio Sopelana
Photo by: Iurreta Plazaratu (A general view of the building)
As a result of a fire in 2006, the doors of the Iurreta abbey have been closed ever since. On the 10th of October, thanks to the Iurreta Plazaratu dynamic, the doors were reopened so that the town could use it whenever they wanted.
The Abadetxea, which means abbey in basque, is a historical building placed in the town centre of a little town called Iurreta. According to the historians, this building was built by the inhabitants of this town, the priest to live in. But not only for that, as the building is divided in three parts, one of them was for the priest and the rest were used by the town. To meet their needs. Nobody knows exactly when this building was built, but it is known that it was more that 300 years ago.
In fact, according to some investigators, the first legal document of the building is from about 280 years ago. This time, the Town Hall of Iurreta yielded to the Bishopric of Bilbao the priesthood. Since then, the building is no longer the town’s property. But, this event didn’t make a big change, as the citizens could still use the building.
Since then, lots of priests used to live there and the town used it as a place to hang out with friends, for meetings, as a place to celebrate, as a storehouse… And even as a place young people to meet in, also called gaztetxe in basque.
Among all the priests, there was one called Julen Kaltzada, who was then tried in the Burgos process. During the trial, he said a sentence, which now is written in the wall next to the door of the building. The sentence says: “That house is not mine, but the town’s, because they gave it to me. That is why it is always open for the people to use whenever they need it.
Photo by: Iurreta Plazaratu (the sentence in basque painted on the wall)
But the night between the 30th and the 31st of December of 2006, the roof of the building caught fire. As the building was old, the whole structure was made of wood, so the next morning everything was burned. The roof was completely ruined.
As a consequence, the Bishopric of Bilbao was very mad. They let some citizens go inside to collect their belongings, those which were not burned. But that was the last time someone was inside the building. During some years, the building was completely abandoned, until the town hall forced the bishopric to fix the building, so that at least it doesn't collapse. And they did it, in 2012.
But even if the building was fixed, it was completely abandoned, as nobody used it. The town wanted to use it, but the Bishopric said that they won't be able to use it unless they buy it.
Under these circumstances in 2018 a dynamic called Iurreta Plazaratu was created. The aim of this dynamic was to revitalize the main square and make the town aware of the need for the abadetxea. A building that had been closed for 14 years and that should belong to the town. During three years, there have been lots of activities in the main square, organized by Iurreta Plazaratu. All of them around this historical building.
At the beginning of 2020 they took a step forward. They started to collect signatures in favor of getting back the building. They collected more than 500 signatures and they have the support of 25 organizations. With this support, they wrote a letter to the legal owner of the building, asking them for a meeting to talk about the town being able to use it again. The letter was sent in June, but there was no answer. They also talked to the local priest, asking him to talk to the Bishopric, in order to have a meeting. But there was no answer.
So in October, Iurreta Plazaratu decided to open the door. Lots of citizens were there to see the building opened after 14 years. Children, young people, parents, old people… no matter what age, everyone wanted to be there. Because there is only one step from dream to reality.
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