Getxo (formerly spelt Guecho) was a parish (elizatea, anteiglesia'), originally a rural area, including a large beach at the mouth of the Estuary of Bilbao, centered on the little fishing village of Algorta.

[citation needed] The town's coat of arms has an oak with two cauldrons chained to its branches and the motto Kaltea Dagianak Bizarra Lepoan (Basque for "Who makes evil, the beard at the back").

[citation needed] The village of Algorta grew around the church of Saint Nicholas (San Nicolás) and the canalisation of the firth, provided for the colonisation of the beach, where a district called Areeta in Basque and Las Arenas (Spanish for "The Sands") was built.

[citation needed] Getxo, as well as the surrounding area known as Uribe-Kosta, grew rapidly in the last decades of the 20th century.

[citation needed] Getxo was hit by the Basque Conflict several times, with the town being the location of many ETA attacks.

It borders in the north with Sopelana, in the east with Berango and Leioa, in the south with Portugalete and in the west with the Bay of the Cove.

The municipality officially encompasses the neighborhoods of Las Arenas, Algorta, Romo, Neguri, and Santa María de Getxo.

Las Arenas and Neguri arose in the late nineteenth century as residential areas for the Basque industrial bourgeoisie.

The name of Neguri was coined by Resurrección María de Azkue, since previously it was called Aretxetaurre (before Aretxete).

The greatest expansion was in the 70s when middle-class families decided to find a more comfortable place to live rather than in the neighborhoods of the left bank of the Nervion.

Romo neighborhood was built in the beginning to house the working class, formerly separated by the train barriers from Las Arenas.

This fort also was named "Prince´s Castle"; it is an interesting example of fortification, being a unique model of military construction in Biscay.

[citation needed] By order of the Agirre family the chapel was built by Modesto de Echániz y Zavalla in 1864.

[9] Located in Las Arenas it is the oldest bridge of its kind and it was designed by the architect Alberto Palacios y Elissague.

And while it's not open to the public, free one-hour guided visits in Basque and Spanish are offered throughout the year, with some English-language tours in August.

They were commissioned by Horacio Echevarrieta, a renowned businessman, and their main function was complete the containing wall holding back the cliff below Atxekolandeta, the area on which the mansion of Echavarrieta family stood (this English-style mansion designed by architect Gregorio lbarreche in 1910, is no longer standing).

Getxo's office of mayor has been continuously in the hands of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV) since democracy was restored in 1978 (Local Elections).

A dynamic, semi-autonomous Department of Culture organises many events on a regular basis, including several international music festivals given over to jazz, the blues and folk.

The Old Harbour district of Algorta and several parks with views across to the bay called the Bilbao Abra are also worth a visit.

Some of them are fiestas patronales (patronage festivals, held in the days around the date dedicated to the patron saints under whose advocation churches and hermits are).

Getxo also has other clubs for golf, Basque traditional sports, Basque pelota, skating, hitch-hiking, cycling, sailing, basketball, surfing, fishing, athletics, triathlon, rhythmic gymnastics, handball, futsal, chess, tennis, paddle tennis, horse riding, hockey, boxing, and other sports.