Fishing villages have always lived scanning the sea, day and night. To do so, they used natural promontories called atalayas (vantage points) from which they had broad views over the Abra bay and the estuary. The atalayero or watchman was the person in charge of scanning the horizon and reporting everything that happened within eyesight, playing an important role both for fishing activities and for commercial traffic and rescuing shipwreck victims.
The natural vantage point for the Old Port is Erriberamune, which lies at the top of the steps going up to the centre of the district and which is today identified with a sculpture of a fisherman and a woman sardine seller.
Over the centuries, these natural vantage points were supplemented with buildings and infrastructures which extended their original function and they often became defensive bastions for the military.
The need for defence, firstly by the Feudal Estate of Vizcaya and later on by the Kingdom of Castile, fostered the building of gun batteries and forts around the Old Port, which were largely paid for and built with money from the Seafaring Brotherhood of San Nicolás.
Obvious examples of these defensive fortifications would be the Arrigunaga parapet, the battery in Usategi, Begoña Point Fort and lastly the “Castillo del Príncipe” [The Prince’s Castle] or the Galea Point main fort. Why don’t you come and discover them for yourselves!