The first documented record referring to Santurtzi dates back to the year 1075. To be exact, it relates to the monastery of Saint Georgis - (St. George’s Church), which gave the town its name.
Of Romanesque origin, only the tympanum of the façade remains, the only semicircular tympanum remaining in Bizkaia, stored in the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art in Bilbao. However, we can see a replica of the original in front of the church. Another outstanding element is its tower, built by Lorenzo Muñiz in 1844.
Inside of the church, there is a remarkable romantic organ from 1904. It was built by the great organ builder Emile Schaeffer for the company Henri Didier and company in Epinal (France). The expert organ builder of the house, Ferdinand Prince, was in charge of the assembly and the harmonization. It has 2 keyboards and 13 sets or registers, the current length of the keyboards and the pedalling being 56 and 30, respectively. It was last restored in 2017.
Other highlights include the historicist stained glass window of the maritime procession of Our Lady of Carmen built by the Maumejean House and restored after the fire of 1932 under the oversight of Don Jenaro Oraá, parish priest who was also promoter of the proclamation as canonical patroness of Santurtzi granted by Pope Pius X in 1907. The rowers at that time were all students of the Nautical School and the bowman was Bernardo Palle.
In addition to the guided tours that are periodically scheduled, you can visit the church virtually through this link: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=eUb9csYg7i3