Caption: old train station and railway used by the loading and unloading crane, still visible in the harbour area

 

• Harbour Station of the Urola River Railway:

Visible remains: train station building

Building features: three-floor building, on a rectangular plan. Concrete structure. The load-bearing walls are made of brick, while ashlar veneering is used in the basement and the angle chains. The third floor imitates timber framed work. Each angle of the building is crowned by a pinnacle. The building is covered by a dual pitched roof and has a gable-shaped main façade. Four arched doors pierce each of the main façades: two basket-handle arches in the centre and one round arch on each side. It was built in 1926, according to the project drawn by the architect Ramón Cortázar.

Once the ancient haven of the trading port of Zumaia was filled, the area was conditioned in order to improve the navigability of the estuary and the access to the harbour. Afterwards, a new commercial dock was built along the left bank of the Narrondo River.

In the third decade of the 20th century, the construction of the new dock on the left bank of the Urola River, directly served by the Urola Railway, resulted in a big remodelling of the facilities of the harbour. This new commercial dock was built so as to satisfy the needs of the growing economy of the Urola valley. In fact, the new harbour and its railway junction provided the inland and its production with a direct access to the sea. Therefore, the new infrastructures contributed not only to the reactivation of the economy of Zumaia, but to the commercial success of its whole hinterland as well.