Easter en Biscay

At Easter thousands of vizcainos get in their cars and drive off for a few days’ holiday. Others, however, prefer to stay in the province together with the tourists who visit us to enjoy the numerous activities that Biscay offers at Easter.

Traditional processions and Vía Crucis (Way of the Cross) fill the streets of Bilbao and towns and villages all over the province to delight the most devout.

Good Friday and Passion Saturday

Easter in Bilbao, going back more than four centuries, includes 13 processions and a Vía Crucis in which 4,200 brotherhood members and 34 religious floats participate.

With processions such as the Virgen de los Dolores, Jesus tied to the Column and Nuestra señora de la Amargura, Easter en Bilbao takes place in the heart of the city.

Palm Sunday

One of the best-known and most popular processions in Bilbao is the one on Palm Sunday, when it is common to take the children. It has long been known as the procession of the Borriquito (little donkey), and since 2016 incorporates a new float called ‘Hossana’, the work of the artist from Cordoba Enrique Ruiz Flores.

Easter Monday

The Procesión del Nazareno is another must-see event at Easter in Bilbao. This colourful and emotive processions goes through the high neighbourhoods of the city, reaching its climax in Calle Cortes, where the image of Jesus the Nazarene is greeted with saetas (religious songs) and rounds of applause.

Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday (Day of the Resurrection)

Processions at Easter in Bilbao start on Maundy Thursday with the Procession of the Last Supper and end on Easter Sunday with the ‘Procession of the Light and the Resurrection’, starting from  the Cathedral of Santiago (St James).

A highlight is the Procesión del Santo Entierro on Good Friday; it is the oldest penitential procession in Bilbao and the best in terms of the quality of the images on display.

Other must-sees at Easter in Biscay

BALMASEDA

Easter in Biscay is synonymous with the spectacular passion play in Balmaseda.

The town is the main tourist attraction in the province at this time of year. The townspeople really get involved to represent the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life.

The most important time is on Maundy Thursday at night and Good Friday in the morning, when a live passion play is enacted in the streets and squares of Balmaseda. On these two days there are processions of floats, the Roman Guard, Penitents, the Kolitza Choir and the town’s brass band go through the old part to round off the representations on Good Friday with the ‘Procession of Silence’.

More information available on the town’s website

ARKOTXA

Arkotxa is a small neighbourhood of Zarátamo that is well-known for its Vía Crucis and passion play. More than 100 people take part in the dramatization through the streets of the locality.