Bilbao. Palace of the Council of the province of Biscay (Palacio de la Diputación Foral de Vizcaya)

The building of the Chamber of deputies of the province of Biscay (on the map) was built in 1897-1900 in a style called "eclecticism of the era of Alfonso XIII".

In the second half of the 19th century, the provincial Parliament was located in one of the buildings surrounding the New square (Plaza Nueva). The room was rather cramped, so in 1883 the question of building a separate building was raised.

The decision was made and in order to find a suitable site for construction, a competition was announced, the results of which were published in 1885. The site that won the competition was located in the old quarter, but construction never started, and two years later this proposal was rejected because it did not provide enough space for the new Council house.

In 1889, a second competition was announced, in which the proposal to build a building on Gran via won. One of the arguments was a seven-century-old oak tree, which was believed to have witnessed the founding of the city in the 14th century. Unfortunately, the tree died in 1882 and has not been preserved to this day.

Работать над проектом Дворца был приглашен знаменитый архитектор из Сан-Себастьяна Луис Аларден (Luis Aladrén).

Архитектор работал над своим творением почти 10 лет, но состояние здоровья не позволило ему участвовать в заключительном этапе строительства. С 1999 года проект завершал главный архитектор провинции Антонио Карлеварис (Antonio Carlevaris).

Архитектурной основой является монументализм, богатый декор же можно отнести к необарокко.

В 2001 году здание прошло полную реставрацию.

Не меньший интерес представляют интерьеры здания.

You can visit the Palace on working days, tour groups are formed in the following order 10:30 11:30 12:30 17:00 17:45, in July-August, excursions are only in the morning.

In front of the main portal, you can see two wonderful cast-iron lanterns made in the form of eagles holding lamps in their beaks.