Guernica - Cultural Heart of the Basque Region - Spain 2024

Guernica, officially Gernika in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo, whose population is 16,224.

The village is situated in the region of Busturialdea, in the valley of the Oka river. The river ends in an estuary that gives its name to the village of Guernika.

The town of Guernica was founded by Tello Alfonso, Lord of Biscay, on April 28, 1366. The strategic importance of the site was increased by the fact that it lay on a major river estuary, where vessels could dock at the port of Suso.

On a small hillock in the town, stands the Meeting House and the Tree of Gernika. By ancient tradition, Basques, and indeed other peoples in Medieval Europe, held assemblies under a tree, usually an oak, to discuss matters affecting the community.
In Biscay, each administrative district (known as a merindad) had its appointed tree, but over the centuries, the Tree of Guernica acquired particular importance. It stood in the parish of Lumo, on a site known as Gernikazarra, beside a small shrine.

On April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, Guernica was the scene of a massive aerial bombing attack by the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria. According to official Basque figures, 1,654 civilians were killed, but German sources report a round figure of 300 civilians killed in the bombing.

The raid was requested by Francisco Franco to aid in his overthrowing the Basque Government and the Spanish Republican government. The town was devastated, though the Biscayan assembly and the Oak of Guernica survived. The Bombing of Guernica, which went on continuously for three hours, is considered the beginning of the Luftwaffe doctrine of terror bombing civilian targets in order to demoralize the enemy.

Pablo Picasso painted his Guernica painting to commemorate the horrors of the bombing and René Iché made a violent sculpture the day after the bombing.

The town has been rebuilt since then but the memory of the event will not be forgotten by the Basque people.

The town and area is amazing. It is worth a visit for anyone that wants to experience a more traditional community.

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