The Agorregi Forge is located within the Pagoeta Nature Reserve

Pagoeta Nature Reserve

Pagoeta Nature Reserve is located near the town of Aia in the Basque Province of Gipuzkoa, Spain....

, near the town of Aia

Aia

Aia is a small village situated on the slopes of Mount Pagoeta in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. It is located 30 km to the west of Donostia-San Sebastián and about 10 km inland from the coastal town of Zarautz. Aia is set amongst rolling green hills and lush green forests, and...

, in the Basque

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

 Province of Gipuzkoa, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is one of the best preserved examples of a foundry

Foundry

A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...

 in Gipuzkoa Province. The forge which can be seen today was built in 1754 by the Lord of Laurgain Palace over the ruins of an earlier version. Lying at the bottom of a deep valley near Manterola farmhouse, it used the river's hydraulic energy to power its great bellows

Bellows

A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...

and turn its waterwheels.