Basque Country – Guernica
Guernica is a village in the Basque region of Spain and is its old capital city. Guernica is famous throughout the world for its unhappy history and for its depiction in one of Pablo Picasso’s most well known works, of the same name. For many years Guernica was a symbol of Basque resistance, but today it stands as a symbol of peace to the world that reminds us of the horrors of war.
During the Spanish Civil War, the Basque people were posing a great challenge to General Franco’s troops as the resistance movement in the region was strong. To counteract this, Franco agreed that the German air force under Hitler’s instruction could test a new war strategy, the aerial bombing of a civilian settlement.
Guernica was selected as the testing ground so that Franco could show the Basque his strength. Also because as there was little destruction of the buildings in the town during the war, the impact of the bombing could be clearly assessed.
What made the attack particularly horrifying was that it took place on a market day when the town was swarming with traders and visitors from outlying areas. The town was utterly destroyed; 1654 ordinary people, many of whom were children, women and the aged were killed outright and 889 more were severely injured, either from the blast or the fire that raged through the town afterwards.
Places to Visit
The Casa de Juntas is one of the few structures left standing after the bombings. It was the seat of the Basque Government, but today serves as a museum, archival repository and houses the Guernica oak tree under which Basque law was written. The Peace Museum or Museo de la Paz contains displays and information about the bombing of Guernica.
For art lovers, the Parque de los pueblos de Europa is a beautiful sculpture garden, home to works by famous sculptors such as Henry Moore and Chilida.
Notable architecture includes three churches, the Gothic structures of the 15th Century Iglesia Santa María and the 13th Century Iglesia Santo Tomás and Iglesia Santa Clara, a more recent church constructed from locally mined marble with a beautiful reddish colour.
The Cuevas de Santimamiñe are lofty caves within walking distance of the town itself, 4 km out of Guernica. There are stalactites hanging from the caves’ ceilings and paintings from the paeolithic era.
Guernica is a fascinating town to visit if you are looking for a little more than a good suntan on your holiday. Its legacy of peace is a message that goes out to the world to this day.
Photo Credit: Pixabay