The Basque Country & Northern Spain

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. It is one of the largest museums in Spain, and houses modern and contemporary art. The museum was inaugurated on October 18, 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain with an exhibition of 250 contemporary works of art. Built alongside the Nervion River it is one of several museums of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists.

The building itself is a work of art, with it’s limestone and steel frame structure covered with thin sheets of titanium.

In 1991, the Basque government suggested to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation that it would fund a Guggenheim museum to be built in Bilbao's decrepit port area. The Basque government agreed to cover the $100 million construction cost, to create a $50 million acquisitions fund, to pay a one-time $20 million fee to the Guggenheim Foundation and to subsidize the museum's $12 million annual budget. In exchange, the Foundation agreed to manage the institution, rotate parts of its permanent collection through the Bilbao museum and organize temporary exhibitions.

Locals call the revitalization of the city after the museum was built the "Guggenheim Effect”.