During an event called the "Night of Cultural Brands," which took place on Thursday evening in Berlin, the European Cultural Brand of the Year 2017 recognition was awarded to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
The 38-member jury of the Cultural Brand Awards chose to honor the museum for the fact that it had positively affected the entire city of Bilbao and its culture. The top-class museum has become a leading cultural brand on the European market, the jury argued.
Revitalizing Bilbao within 20 years
Bilbao has good reasons to be proud. For 20 years now, the Basque capital has housed one of the world's most famous museums.
The Guggenheim Museum, with its splendid architecture built by Canadian-born architect Frank O. Gehry, has instilled new wealth into an industrial city that had previously been on the decline. By now, the museum attracts roughly one million tourists per year.
Read more: The museum that changed a whole city: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao turns 20
The museum's 20th anniversary was celebrated throughout the year. The show "Reflections," a highlight of the celebratory program, was an event held over four nights held in October, during which the building's glass and titan facades were illuminated by a light installation. Star architect Frank Gehry was fascinated by the idea: "The arbitrarily drawn curves of the buildings have been created with the intention of catching light," he said.
How the Guggenheim saved Bilbao's economy
From the 19th century until the 1970s, Bilbao was the most significant industrial port city of the Basque region. With its strategic access to the ocean, Bilbao's economy — based on shipbuilding, as well as coal and steel production — was booming.
However, industries didn't adapt quickly enough to changing technical standards. The outdated dockyards and factories had to close. Factory buildings and ironworks were abandoned.
Bilbao's revival would only come in the early 1990s, when the European offshoot of the Guggenheim museum opened right by the city's river.
Four years later, the entire Nervión region was revived, with its biggest attraction being the Guggenheim Museum. The economic revitalization of the region occurred through culture, a phenomenon described since as the "Bilbao Effect" or "Guggenheim Effect."
The Aurica stands for cultural excellence
Honoring excellence in the business of culture
Created in 2006, the Cultural Brand Awards' statue, called the Aurica, stands for the excellence, attractiveness and diversity of the European culture market.
Prizes are awarded in seven categories, including for the best marketing strategies deployed by cultural providers, for the most creative culture sponsoring investments into culture, the most innovative education programs and the most dedicated culture managers of the year.
Read more: Cultural Brand Awards 2016
This year, a total of 104 applications came in for the prestigious prize of which 22 were shortlisted.
Along with the Guggenheim Museum, Hamburg's Kulturfabrik Kampnagel and Austria's broadcaster ORF 1 were nominated in the European Cultural Brand of the Year category.
Among the other prize winners are Frances Morris, director of London's Tate Modern, in the category European Culture Manager of the Year 2017, as well as Dr. Gereon Sievernich, director of the Martin Gropius Building in Berlin, who received a special award for his lifetime achievement.
The winner in the category European Cultural Tourism Region of the Year 2017 is the organization NRW e.V. with its project #urbanana, which offers a discovery trip to the hidden cultural treasures of North Rhine-Westphalia.
DW is a media partner of the Cultural Brand Awards.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
A museum as a driving force
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao opened in 1997. The titanium, sandstone and glass building on the banks of the Nervión River, designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry, has become a landmark in the Basque capital. It soon became an attraction for more than just architecture and art lovers. To date, 20 million visitors have brought new wealth to a city in decline.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Arriving at the station
Abando Indalecio Prieto, Bilbao's main railway station, welcomes travelers with a stunning stained glass mural: 250 square meters of scenes from Basque history. At the left in the picture is the bust of Indalecio Prieto, a prominent politician and socialist who had to flee to exile in Mexico in 1939 during the Spanish Civil War.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Onwards with the metro
Tubular glass tunnels lead to the metro, which connects the city center with the outer districts. The tunnels are called "fosteritos" ("little Fosters"), after Norman Foster, the British architect who designed the metro stations. The metro from San Mamés station near the airport takes you into the city. To visit the Guggenheim Museum it's best to get out at Moyua Station.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Art on the plaza
A steel sculpture by the Basque sculptor Jorge Oteiza has stood on the square in front of the town hall since 2002. Its Spanish name, "Variante Ovoide de la Desocupación de la Esfera," translates as "Oval-shaped Variant of the Sphere's Idleness." Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003) is considered a pioneer of abstract art in Spain and a philosopher who delved into the Basque soul.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Urban renewal
Bilbao, founded in the 13th century, was a commercial hub on the Nervión River, which flows into the Bay of Biscay. It became an industrial city in the 19th century, and was long seen as the ugly sister of the seaside resort of Donostia (San Sebastián). But Bilbao's image has been transformed. One sign of that is the city's tallest building, the Torre Iberdrola (in the center of the picture).
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Bridge building
The White Bridge, "Zubizuri" in Basque, was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It was built exclusively for pedestrians in 1997 and is considered by many to be Bilbao's most beautiful bridge. Its glass surface had to be covered with a synthetic laminate to keep it from being slippery in the rain. In the background stand the twin towers designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Like a polished black diamond
This building by the Spanish architectural firm Coll-Barreu also reflects the city's rapid transformation. The glass façade of the Basque Health Department headquarters, which absorbs noise and uses solar energy, has been a favorite photographic subject since 2008. It is located in the Ensanche area, Bilbao's main shopping district.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Music festival
Since 2006, the indie, pop and rock festival Bilbao BBK Live has developed into one of the biggest festivals in Europe. This year Depeche Mode, Justice and the Killers were among the bands that made appearances. In July 2018, tens of thousands of people will again gather to party and dance on Kobetamendi Hill, high above the city.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
More than just a beret
In the Basque Country, wearing a beret is a political act. It's said that a citizen from Bilbao wears a hat at home, but puts on a Basque beret in Madrid. And it's claimed, as a little dig at its rival city, Donostia (San Sebastián), that there Basques wear berets only at home and hats in Madrid.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Aste Nagusia festival
"The Great Week" in Bilbao is devoted to Basque traditions. For nine days, people dance, eat and drink on the streets and squares. Giant puppets like its official symbol Marijaia make appearances. Next year the festival begins on August 18th when the traditional rocket, the txupinazo, is set off in front of the Arriaga Theatre.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
National park
Picos de Europa (literally "peaks of Europe") National Park stretches inland from Bilbao. It was founded in 1918 as Spain's first national park. Some 200 peaks over 2000 meters in height offer an impressive panorama for hikers and pilgrims. The famous Way of St. James, which people from around the world follow to Santiago de Compostela, runs through northern Spain here.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Atlantic coast
The Atlantic coast about 30 kilometers northeast of Bilbao offers a study in contrasts. Here there are rocky cliffs and quiet bays, deeply cut fjords and kilometer-long beaches. A spectacular stone causeway and more than 200 steps lead to the maritime chapel on the islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
Island stories
Once a hermitage, the islet is now a place of pilgrimage for seafarers and fishermen. Legend has it that John the Baptist left his footprints at the end of the steps. Traditionally, visitors ring the chapel bell three times and make a wish. And as the location of Dragonstone Castle in the seventh season of Game of Thrones, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is now a must for fans of the series.
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Travel tips for Bilbao
And in the evening, light shows
From the beaches on the coast, Line 1 on the Metro Bilbao (stations: Areeta, Gobela, Bidezabal or Plentzia) takes you back into the city center in about 30 minutes. After that, it's well worth taking a stroll along the riverbank. At nightfall structures such as the Guggenheim Museum and the White Bridge are transformed into magical light sculptures.
Author: Ille Simon (ms)
