Museum of the Sea | 'Agurtza' Fishing Boat

The Fisherman’s Guild has been traditionally used for all the activities related to the sea and the people who worked there. The building was built in 1916 and rebuilt in 2012, when the maritime museum Santurtzi Itsasoa Museoa opened its doors in the old basement that was once used as a warehouse.

The museum is dedicated to the local history and its connection with the sea, showing the importance of the sea in Santurtzi: Professionally, socially (not forgetting that much of the maritime heritage lies in the people), culturally and recreationally.

The first third of the 20th century brought major changes. The construction of the breakwater and the beginning of work on the outer port towards the end of the 19th century had a major influence on the transformation of Santurtzi and the Abra Bay. Santurtzi Itsasoa Museoa is a unique space, where you get a comprehensive view of this evolution and transformation of the maritime area of ​​the Abra, gateway to the main river artery of Bilbao and Biscay: the Ibaizabal-Nervión estuary. Lemanes, corsairs, sardine sellers, fishermen and numerous characters dedicated to the sea will join visitors on a tour.

'Agurtza' fishing boat (Paseo Reina Victoria)
Santurtzi once had one of the largest off shore fishing fleets in Biscay, up to 50 vessels and 200 fishermen. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Trainera, a traditional boat propelled by oars, was an essential tool in this activity; it was replaced by vessels propelled by steam or internal combustion engines, which enabled greater loads and less manpower, and subsequently by motor-powered vessels.

The Agurtza is an example of this vessel. Built in 1968 it is one of the last of the traditional wooden fishing vessels left on our coasts, forming part of our heritage. In this guided tour we will visit a fishing ship from the inside, know about the hard life of the arrantzales (fishermen), and learn about the different fishing techniques used in the Cantabrian sea.