Otxandio
Otxandio (in Basque and officially, in Spanish "Ochandiano") is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Basque autonomous community, Spain. Otxandio is part of the "comarca" of Durangaldea and has a population of 1,269 inhabitants as of 2010 according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute. Toponymy. The name of the town is documented for the first time in the 12th century. However, it would not be considered a town until the 18th century. The name in Spanish, "Ochandiano" is an anthroponym formed by a name and the "-ano" suffix, of Latin origin, probably from  the evolution of the suffix "-anum". The origin of the word seems to come from the Basque words "Ochoa Handia", that may be translated as "big wolf". The name in Basque, "Otxandio" comes from the phonetic evolution of the Spanish variation, Ochandiano, given due to the loss of the intervocalic "n"; from "Ochandiano" to "Ochandiao" and then "Ochandio". Then, the adaptation to the Basque orthographic rules changes "Ochandio" to "Otxandio". Since 1984, the official name of the municipality is Otxandio. History. Spanish Civil War. Early in the Spanish Civil War, on 22 July 1936, Otxandio was bombed by two Nationalist  Breguet XIX bombers, which attacked the main square during the celebration of the "fiestas de Santa María" killing 57-61 people, almost all of them civilians. Geography. Otxandio serves during centuries as the port of entry of Biscay from Álava. It is located at the southernmost part of the province and limits with Abadiño at north, Dima at north and west, Ubide at southwest and the province of Álava at south.