Elizate

The peculiar name derives from the Basque custom where the family heads of a settlement connected to a particular parish would gather after mass at the entrance or portico of the church to make decisions regarding issues affecting their community.

Their medieval history is closely linked to the emergence of the Batzar Nagusiak or "Grand Meetings", especially those of Biscay and Gipuzkoa (Juntas Generales de Vizcaya/Guipúzcoa in Spanish) and the establishment of parochial churches.

In Biscay, during the time of the Lordship of Biscay (Bizkaiko Jaurerria in Basque, Señorío de Vizcaya in Spanish), the territory of all anteiglesias were referred to as Flat Land (Lur Laua in Basque, Tierra Llana in Spanish), as opposed to the more stratified cities.

After centuries of political change, very few elizate remain today, two of the most notable in Iurreta and Derio.

In 1962, in Francoist Spain, the name of the elizates was changed to auzo[citation needed] (neighbourhood, district) and they were merged into municipalities.