The town council of Getxo

The History of Getxo is related to the Middle Age in relation with the Church of Saint Mary . Since that period of time until the ends of the XVII century, its inhabitants were for the most part:  farmers,  stock farmers and fishermen ( who were  located in the port of Algorta).

The area of Las Arenas was born in the XIX  Century and it turned into a tourist place ,  in summer, for the rich and accommodated class thanks to its extensive beach. Nevertheless when the construction of the exterior port of Bilbao forced to raise a wharf on the beach, the tourism moved towards the port of  Algorta and the quarter of Las Arenas was transformed in a residential zone.

The  area of  Neguri  came up  at the beginning of the 20th century as a winter residence of the rich families that were coming , principally,  from Bilbao and Madrid. Later, from the 60s,  the construction of housings increased and families of middle class came to live here.

Getxo has a population of 84.000 inhabitants approximately, of which 85.46 % are 64-year-old minors and 52.13 % are women.  Most of the working population, 63,3 % is employed at the tertiary sector that constitutes the base of its economy and it is also formed by a wide variety of commercial offers as well as a hotel sector of high level.  The industrial activity almost has disappeared. The agriculture and the stockbreeding  have been  located   on the rural zones of Saint’s Mary.  The  fishing , at the port of Algorta,  has disappeared as economic activity and it has turned into a tourist activity.

Finally, Getxo is a modern municipality, a big urban shopping centre, in which there are numerous establishments of Commerce, Catering business and Services that offer different varieties of articles of great quality.  Its inhabitants have a high quality life and all those, who are going to visit this place, have many and different opportunities  to entertain.