Lekeitio

Lekeitio
—  Municipality  —
Lequeitio
Coat of arms
Lekeitio Location in Spain
Coordinates: 43°21′44″N 02°29′46″W
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Basque Country
Province	Biscay
Comarca	Lea-Artibai
Government
• Mayor	José María Cazalis Eiguren
Area
• Total	1.90 km2 (0.73 sq mi)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	7,477
• Density	Bad rounding here3,900/km2 (Bad rounding here10,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Lekeitiarra (Spanish: Lequeitianos)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	48280
Website	Official website

Lekeitio (Spanish: Lequeitio) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Basque Country, 53 km (33 mi) northeast from Bilbao. The municipality has 7,293 inhabitants (2005) and is one of the most important fishing ports of the Basque coast. Tourism has an important role during the summer seasons, when the town is a resort with one beach called Isunza and the nearby Carraspio beach in the town of Mendexa.

The most important monument is the church of Santa María, a gothic basilica from the 15th century. Lekeitio is also the birthplace of Resurrección María de Azkue, one of the most important Basque scholars of the 19th century.

Notable people from Lekeitio

• Resurrección María de Azkue (1864–1951): Priest, writer, linguist and culture promoter. One of the creators of Euskaltzaindia and the first Euskaltzailburu, or head of Euskaltzaindia.
• Santiago Brouard (1919–1984): Doctor and politician, member of Herri Batasuna. Member of the Spanish senate and deputy major of Bilbao.

External links

• LEKEITIO in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) (Spanish)
• Lekeitio Town Hall
• Lekeitio Interneten. The first web site of Lekeitio
• Basilic of Lekeitio and also Assumption of Saint Mary
• Basque Country, Without Borders (New York Times Travel)
• Lekitxo Interneten. Web site information of Lekeitio