Guernica in the Basque Country

As the ancient capital of the Basque country, Guernica was a symbol of resistance and independence for the people of the region and is famed (infamous?) for the bombing of the town by German Luftwaffe aircraft during the Spanish civil war in 1937.

This was the first time that aerial bombing raids over civilian targets had ever occurred and the town was chosen so as to send a message to Franko’s opponents who had shown firm resistance during the war so far.

The bombs were dropped on market day when the streets were at their fullest and the town was defenceless as it was thought at the time that this was a relatively safe area. Over 1,600 townsfolk were killed and almost 900 were left injured during an attack that lasted for hours without mercy. Franko went on to claim that the bombings were the work of the Republican army but it was obvious that this was not true when, the day after, bomb shells with German markings were discovered.

Other Things to See

• Casa de Juntas: Used by the Basque government for meetings, this was one of the few buildings to survive the Guernica bombings. It now houses a museum, the town archives and the symbolic Oak Tree

• Iglesia Santa María: a 15th century church, Gothic style

• Iglesia Santo Tomás: 13th century church, also Basque Gothic

• Iglesia Santa Clara: Modern building with local red marble

• Museo de la Paz (Peace Museum): With exhibits about the bomb raids

• Parque de los pueblos de Europa: A lovely park with open air sculptures by famous artists including Chillida and Henry Moore

• Cuevas de Santimamiñe: Just 4 km. from Guernica, these spacious caves contain paleolithic cave paintings and impressive stalagtites and stalagmites.

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