Museo de Alfarería Vasca

About the museum

The Museo de Alfarería Vasca, known as Ollerias, occupies a former pottery workshop in the Ollerías district of Elosu, in a rural enclave between the Urkiola and Gorbea natural parks and on the shores of the Álava reservoirs. The building, dating from 1711, was the workshop of several generations of the Ortiz de Zárate family. In 1958, when the works on the Urrúnaga reservoir were completed, the lands from which the potters dug their clay were flooded, and they were forced to give up the activity.

Next to the building is the old kiln, a square-plan structure nine metres high, in which thousands of pieces were fired for centuries until 1958. Since 1993 it has been included as a monument in the General Inventory of the Basque Cultural Heritage.

The museum was restored and opened to the public in 1993 on the initiative of Blanka Gómez de Segura, with the support of the Diputación Foral de Álava, which contributes to its upkeep under an agreement. Its aim is to preserve the age-old craft of the potter and to make Basque popular pottery known. The guided visit includes the permanent collection, a monographic exhibition, the old kiln and the workshops, and allows visitors to watch the potters at work in the production workshop.

Highlights

• Former pottery workshop from 1711, restored as a museum
• Nine-metre-high old kiln, a monument of Basque cultural heritage
• Production workshop where visitors can watch the potters at work
• Collection of Basque popular pottery
• Shop selling handmade pottery

Permanent exhibition

• Colección permanente de cerámica popular vasca – Basque popular pottery pieces for everyday use, now valued for their ethnographic, cultural and decorative interest, along with the old kiln and the workshop.

Founded

1993

Operated by

Ollerias (proyecto privado con apoyo de la Diputación Foral de Álava)

Director

Blanka Gómez de Segura

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the N-240 road, between the villages of Ubidea and Legutiano. From Vitoria-Gasteiz it is about 20 minutes along the N-240 towards Barazar, and from Bilbao about an hour's journey.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Shop selling pottery made by hand in the workshop itself.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit