From the Middle Ages onwards, the water of the Oria River was used to operate the hydraulic machinery of both the mill and the forge through the building of dams. The last dam, made of stone, was built in the year 1689 and was demolished in 1982 due to the risk of flooding. By removing the dam from the channel, the water of the river grew in strength and cleared away the sediment that had accumulated at the bottom, which led to the appearance of a wooden dam within the mud.
According to some documents, the wooden dam was built in the year 1568. The recovered dam is a huge structure: it is made of large wooden beams and has a width of about 20 metres.
In 2011, the Factoría Marítima Vasca Albaola (Albaola The Sea Factory of the Basques) rebuilt the dam with the recovered wood. It is the only museumised dam on display in Europe and can be seen in one of the rooms of the Igartza Palace.
LA PRESA
15th-16th centuries
Wooden dam. Small dam.
15th-16th centuries
1568
New wooden dam. Main dam. Built in 1568 by Martin Elustondo and Martin Pagadizabal
1687
Stone dam. Built in 1687 by Juan Zabala, Juan Abaria, Gaspar Gaztelu, Juan Astigarraga and Francisco Carrer
1687
12 October 1982
Demolition of the dam
1983
Archaeological excavation
1983
2011
The preserved parts of the dam were rebuilt by Albaola. The dam is a unique testimony to this type of structure, being the only museumised dam on public exhibition in Europe, located in the basement of the Igartza Palace
