Biblioteca Foral Bilbao. An intellectual center with the “Bilbao-effect”.

In the past twenty years, the Basque region in general and Bilbao in particular, have turned into one of Europe’s most progressive regions. The northern area of the Iberian Peninsula, which was long associated mainly with political conflict, has recently moved into the public spotlight in quite another context in a change triggered largely by the so-called “Bilbao effect”. The transition of a city characterized by economic depression and crisis into one of Spain’s most affluent service metropolises has been achieved in exciting fashion and international star architects such as Santiago Calatrava, Sir Norman Foster, Rafael Moneo and not least, Frank O. Gehry have all made major contributions to this process.

The main library of Biscay province, the Biblioteca Foral, is in the heart of Bilbao and along with the Zuri-Zuri Bridge, the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Guggenheim Museum, the Logroño Bodega Alcorta and the Elciego – Bodegas Marqués de Riscál numbers among its architectural highlights.