Sanctuary of Urkiola information

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The Sanctuary of Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Anthony of Padua of Urkiola is a Catholic temple located in the hill and port of Urkiola, in the Biscayan municipality of Abadiño, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is unknown exactly how old the Sanctuary is, but according to some documents, it could have been between the 8th and 11th centuries,^[1][2] making it one of the oldest of the region. It is located at the heart of the Urkiola Natural Park, next to one of the historical routes linking the Cantabrian coast with the Castilian plateau and surrounded by a lush nature in which the limestone walls of the mountains of Durangaldea stand out as a background, with the Anboto as the highest altitude, where Basque mythology places the main dwelling of its highest deity, Mari (called the "Lady of Anboto").^[3]

The present structure, the third one known to exist, is an unfinished building in neo-medieval style that was begun in 1899 and consecrated in 1933.^[4] This building, together with a small bell tower erected in 1870,^[5] the rectory, the old hospital and the hospice, make up the religious complex, which is complemented by two small old chapels, the Santo Cristo and Santa Polonia, a Stations of the Cross and Calvary built in 1943, and the small cemetery in the rural neighborhood.