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Deusto, also known as Deustu in Basque language and formerly known as San Pedro de Deusto, is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, Spain. It is located on the right side of the Bilbao estuary, in the northwestern part of the city and bordering the estuary itself on the south and the southern hillside of Mount Artxanda and Mount Bandera on the north. Deusto was originally an elizate and also a municipality until 1925 when it was completely annexed by Bilbao in order to expand the free land available to the city. Deusto is known as the university district of the city as it is home to the University of Deusto and the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of the Basque Country.
The first town hall was erected in 1752, replaced by another building in 1888; this latter was demolished during the civil war. The town had the seat number 35 in the Juntas Generales. Traditionally, the municipality was divided into two quarters: Erribera ( riverside) located by the river, which concentrated the commercial and maritime activities of the village, and Goierri ( highland) at the foothills of mount Artxanda, which included most of the farm land. At the end of the 19th century the town enjoyed relative commercial prosperity thanks to the opening the railway line between Bilbao and Getxo, which included a station in Deusto. Using the railway line, many of the agricultural products from Deusto were more easily sold in the Ribera market of Bilbao.
A royal decree signed on 29 October 1924 established the annexation of Deusto to the city of Bilbao, effective on 1 January of the following year. Alongside Deusto, the elizates of Begoña and Erandio were also annexed, although the latter would regain its autonomy in the early 1980s. In the following years a series of urban plans were developed, designed by architect Ricardo Bastida, with the aim of establishing a first urban grid for the district, which at the time still consisted mostly of scattered farmhouses. The rapid industrial development of Bilbao caused a massive migration of workers coming from elsewhere in Spain, and in consequence the creation of decadent shanty towns on the hills of the mount Banderas. These were demolished and replaced by apartment building projects in the decade of 1950, completely depleting the available land in the district.
The Deusto Bridge, a moveable bridge spanning the Bilbao estuary and connecting Deusto with Abando was constructed between 1932 and 1936. During the Francoist Spain it was renamed Bridge of the Generalissimo. Its name was changed back to Deusto in the late 1970s. In 1968 a canal was excavated connecting to the estuary on its northwestern side, with the aim of relieving the vessel traffic on the river. This canal became known as the Deusto Canal, and the newly created peninsula was named Zorrotzaurre. This peninsula would later become an artificial island, following the completion of the Zorrotzaurre Master Plan designed by architect Zaha Hadid. As part of the Plan, the canal was finished and officially opened on 8 October 2018, making the former peninsula become an island.
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| Deustu Doneperiaga-Deustuibarra |
Also in Deusto it is located the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of the Basque Country, located next to the Sarriko park in the Ibarrekolanda quarter. The faculty was founded in 1955 as the Faculty of Economic Sciences and it adopted its current name in 2015. The European campus of the DigiPen Institute of Technology is located in the Zorrotzaurre island.
In Deusto is also located the Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga Music school, the main music academy of the city. The district also houses the municipal Official School of Languages and the British Council. Private religious schools such as the Salesians and La Salle are also located in the district.
The district is served by numerous local Bilbobus lines connecting to elsewhere in the city and particularly to Abando and the city centre. The regional buses BizkaiBus serve several stops across the district, connecting to the main University of the Basque Country campus in Leioa and other cities on the right bank of the estuary. According to the Zorrotzaurre Master Plan, an extension of the Bilbao tram is expected to traverse the new Zorrotzaurre island, with four stations planned.
Lehendakari Aguirre Avenue, named after the first Lehendakari José Antonio Aguirre, is the main avenue traversing the district, connecting the Deusto Bridge area all the way to Elorrieta across Ibarrekolanda and San Ignazio. The regional road BI-604 starts at Deusto, connecting with the Asua valley across mount Artxanda, whereas from Saint Pius X square there are connections to the BI-625 regional road towards east Bilbao and the Artxanda-Ugasco tunnels towards the Bilbao Airport.
The original project intended the canal to connect directly Elorrieta with the Euskalduna shipyards, transforming Zorrotzaurre into an artificial island, however the construction was stopped before completion, leaving Zorrotzaurre as a peninsula instead. Following the Zorrotzaurre Master Plan designed by architect Zaha Hadid, a key element in the configuration of Zorrotzaurre and the Deusto riverside as new residential areas, works to finally complete the canal resumed in 2014 and was completed in 2018.
The Euskalduna Bridge was the second bridge to cross the estuary in Deusto, opened in 1997 and designed by civil engineer Javier Manterola. It is a viaduct connecting the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús square with the Deusto riverside, using the land formerly occupied by Euskalduna shipyards, hence the name. The third bridge constructed is the pedestrian Pedro Arrupe walkway, named after Jesuit priest Pedro Arrupe and connects the modern Abandoibarra area of Abando directly to the University of Deusto campus.
The fourth bridge to be constructed in Deusto is the Frank Gehry Bridge, crossing the Deusto Canal and connecting the Deusto riverside to Zorrotzaurre. It was opened in 2015 and named after architect Frank Gehry, who designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Currently under construction is the San Ignazio-Zorrotzaurre bridge, the second bridge spanning the Deusto Canal and connecting the San Ignazio quarter with the island. It is expected to be finished and open to traffic in 2020 and will be named after a relevant female figure.
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