Basque Country

Separate pages for San Sebastián, Pasai Donibane and Hondarribia.

Here Ondarroa, Butron Castle, Mañaria, Elorrio, Durango with photos from Kurt Hielscher and from from some other laces like Motrico and Gaztelugatxhe because there's a story to that or I just liked them. Still need to come back for the one to rephotograph in Bilbao.

Ondarroa --> meer fotos bij

Mutriku

Butron Castle

p.277, Castillo de Butrón (Vizcaya), Spain, 1914-'19 vs. the 27th of July 2019This post I would like to dedicate to mr. Juan Agustín Núñez Guarde because of his excellent work capturing almost all of the photos Kurt Hielscher did 100 years ago. In his 1991 photobook only few are missing; some patio's (I could not find either) and this one. I don't know the reason, but today it is quite easy to find this place with google maps. This summer we stopped by on our way to another beautiful place San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It was a clouded day with showers from time to time and the weather contributed to this mystical even ominous feeling this abandoned, not accessible castle gives. One can stroll around wondering what it is like inside, but that is all left to the imagination. I added more photos to give an impression.Here my previous post about the book of Mr.Núñez: https://www.facebook.com/inthefoots.../posts/438787240081598Saludos,Casper 

Bilbao

Mañaria

Mañaria, Bizkaia/ Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain, 1914-'19 vs. 1987-1991 vs. the 7th of August 2022Photos: Kurt Hielscher (1881-1948), Mr. J.Agustín Núñez & meComing from Durango in the north to Parque Natural de Urkiola one will pass the village of Mañaria. With just over 500 inhabitants it is an easy to miss village at the entrance of the park. What wíll get your attention when entering the village is the huge building of the concrete factory and an excavated mountain behind it. I can imagine that that sight make people to not want to stop in this village, but inside there's some pleasant places to find. Kurt Hielscher did make a stop here 100 years ago, as did we. There'some decay but a lot has been preserved, though houses like the three on the photo underwent some remarkable changes overtime: check the doors, the windows, the balconies, the benches (and the people on it with Kim on the photo I made) and even the height and number of the floors. Around the corner is a square with quite old buildings, a bar, some art, an exhibition "Stories form Urkiola" about people from the region and their role in its history, and a playground with a parking lot next to it where we could park our van.Kurt Hielscher probably made his photo from the middle of the street, but it is the main road through the village and cars hardly slow down on the BI-623 so I stayed on the sidewalk assuming it was good enough, but now, afterwards, I realize that from the middle of the street and with some more distance, probably it would have been a little better.The second photo is made by Mr. J.Agustín Núñez who already rephotographed most of Kurt Hielscher's "Das Unbekannte Spanien" during the 2nd part of the '80s. More about his work: https://www.facebook.com/inthefoots.../posts/438787240081598 I put some more photos in the comment section below for a little more context

Elorrio

With the photobooks of German photographer Kurt Hielscher (1881-1948) I travel around several European countries including Spain. Then I try to capture his photos again.Here the Nécropolis de Argiñeta near Elorrio, Vizcaya, Basque Country over a hundred years ago photographed by Kurt Hielscher and again by melast summer.Twenty kilometers from the coast and 45 kilometers from Bilbao we found these ancient tombstones on a grey and rainy day. It felt really in the middle of nowhere though it is actually a short drive from Elorrio and not so hard to find since it is marked on Google Maps and Kurt Hielscher noted under his photo the subscription "Cemetery with stone sepulchres near Elorrio" over a hundred years ago. We were taken by surprise to notice that upright standing stones were made from hard plastic and filled with styrofoam only to find out later that the originals, 13 in total, were placed inside the building that was closed for visitors when we were there, unfortunately. Five of such copies from Stelae are to be found outside. These disc-shaped Stelae date back to the 7th or 8th Century but those with inscriptions probably to the 9th AD and are decorated with former astral symbols. Some inscriptions here are thought to be the oldest Christian in Vizcaya and perhaps in the whole of the Basque Country.To be alone in such a place, in the rain, taking the time to investigate the tombs, made it a special experience for us. For sure we wouldn't have been here without knowing about Kurt Hielscher's photo. When it suddenly started to rain really really hard, we fled back to the car for a drive back to the coast, to Donostia/San Sebastián, where we spent the evening with fireworks still in the rain, but the next morning we were already welcomed again by the sun and went up with the funiculair to Mt. Igueldo.

Nécropolis de Argiñeta near Elorrio, Vizcaya, Basque Country, Spain, 1914-'19 vs. 18th of August 2022Photos: Kurt Hielscher (1881-1948) & meTwenty kilometers from the coast and 45 kilometers from Bilbao we found these ancient tombstones on a grey and rainy day. It felt really in the middle of nowhere though it is actually a short drive from Elorrio and not so hard to find since it is marked on Google Maps and Kurt Hielscher noted under his photo the subscription "Cemetery with stone sepulchres near Elorrio" over a hundred years ago. We were taken by surprise to notice that upright standing stones were made from hard plastic and filled with styrofoam only to find out later that the originals, 13 in total, were placed inside the building that was closed for visitors when we were there, unfortunately. Five of such copies from Stelae are to be found outside. These disc-shaped Stelae date back to the 7th or 8th Century but those with inscriptions probably to the 9th AD and are decorated with former astral symbols. Some inscriptions here are thought to be the oldest Christian in Vizcaya and perhaps in the whole of the Basque Country. To be alone in such a place, in the rain, taking the time to investigate the tombs, made it a special experience for us. For sure we wouldn't have been here without knowing about Kurt Hielscher's photo. When it suddenly started to rain really really hard, we fled back to the car for a drive back to the coast, to Donostia/San Sebastián, where we spent the evening with fireworks still in the rain, but the next morning we were already welcomed again by the sun.

Durango

Gaztelugatxhe

Below: Gaztelugatxe