Basque ethnography at a glance

Saint Roch’s Day in Pagasarri. Source: Jose Arruabarrena.

The toponym Pagasarri comes from the Basque words pago (beech) and sarri (often/many) meaning, “place with many beech trees.” It is an ancient toponym, as it appears in the Charter of Foundation of the City of Bilbao, issued by Diego López Haro in 1300, written as Fagasarri.

Mount Pagasarri, 673 meters high, is located in the Pagasarri-Ganekogorta mountain range and is one of Bilbao’s most emblematic and green spaces. This mountain is closely linked to the city’s economic and social history; its natural resources have been intensively exploited for a long time, and it was also severely affected by wars. Although it is located in a highly industrialized and urbanized region, it is, nevertheless, the area with the greatest natural value in the municipality.

Hikers head out on weekends to explore its trails, venture into its fields and forests, and enjoy its unparalleled nature and views. However, on certain days, many people are inspired to hike the mountain. From 1991 to 2021, the now defunct Pagasarri March was organized every December by the BBK Foundation, becoming one of the most popular events of its kind around the city. Today, the largest crowds gather on December 31st and January 1st, due to the increasingly popular tradition of greeting or starting the New Year from a mountaintop.

As with all mountains, there are several routes to reach the summit; among them, the “Pagasarriko bidea” (Pagasarri route) stands out, starting from the location officially marked on Bilbao’s street map. This route runs along the mountain’s northern slope and features three elements of particular ethnographic and cultural value.

View of Bilbao from Mount Pagasarri. Source: Zuriñe Goitia.

• THE HERMITAGE OF SAINT ROCH was built by order of the Abando Town Council in 1575. At that time, a severe cholera epidemic was ravaging Bizkaia. The Abando Town Council, in a state of agitation, solemnly voted to build a chapel on Pagasarri, dedicated to Saint Roch, patron saint of the sick, dogs, and pilgrims, and promised to come to the site every year in procession if the epidemic subsided. According to chronicles, the saint worked diligently, and the disease quickly receded until it disappeared. Since then, on August 16, Saint Roch’s Day, a traditional pilgrimage is celebrated at the site, with the celebration of a mass as its central event.

• THE SNOW WELLS OF PAGASARRI. A snow well is a solid structure used to convert snow into ice and preserve it. Regarding Pagasarri, according to documents, there was a snow well that served Bilbao, located in the Igartu area, near the Hermitage of Saint Roch. It was operational by 1618, and buildings were gradually added. It disappeared (although some remains still exist), but two others are still standing. The “Pagasarri I” snow well is the oldest; built in 1648, “in response to the growing demand for water in the city,” according to Teófilo Gulard.

• SPRING OF TARIN. On October 28, 1913, the following chronicle was published in the newspaper “Euzkadi”: “Last Sunday, without prior notice and without counting all the hikers heading to the summit of Pagasarri, numerous groups of mountain enthusiasts gathered around the abundant spring. Suddenly, a voice was heard saying: ‘Among those who quench their thirst in this spring, we must pay the expenses to build a fountain. Let’s open a subscription for it, and let each of us contribute one real (coin).” They proposed naming this future fountain “Tarin,” in honour of the popular name for the real at the time (a quarter of a peseta, 25 cents), and it was decided that each shareholder would contribute to its construction. The campaign was very well received, and a thousand “Tarin” memberships were quickly signed, with the incentive of a raffle for a real tarin coin—which would be set in a silver ring—and, simultaneously, a raffle for a camera loaned by the Lux company.

Zuriñe Goitia — Anthropologist