Guernica in 30 seconds
17,033 inhabitants (INE 2024) over 18.4 km², north-east of Bilbao, in the Busturialdea district (comarca), at the heart of the Urdaibai UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Official name: Gernika-Lumo (formed by the union of the chartered town (villa) of Gernika and the rural parish (anteiglesia) of Lumo on 8 January 1882).
A little history
14th–19th centuries: the tradition of swearing oaths under the oak goes back at least to the 14th century; the Lords of Biscay, and later the monarchs of Castile — Ferdinand the Catholic in 1476, Isabella the Catholic in 1483 — swore here to uphold the Fueros of Biscay.
1876: the Fueros are abolished after the Carlist Wars. The end of Basque self-government.
26 April 1937: on a Monday, market day (though the mayor had banned the fair before midday, as the front was close), the town is bombed in the afternoon (air-raid alerts from about 16:00 to 19:30) by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria (Legionary Air Force), fighting for Franco’s side. The Casa de Juntas and the oak are spared. The death toll is disputed: 1,645 dead according to the Basque Government of the time, between about 126 and 300 according to recent studies. Picasso paints his Guernica for the 1937 Paris International Exposition.
1998: the Museo Gernika opens; it becomes the Peace Museum in 2003.
What to see
The Tree of Gernika and the Casa de Juntas
The symbolic monument. The current oak is not a thousand years old — planted on 2 March 2015, it grew from an acorn of its predecessor. The trunk of the ‘old tree’ (1742–1892) has been preserved since 1926 beneath a small circular temple; the oldest documented tree, the ‘father tree’, lived from 1334 to 1811. In 1936 José Antonio Aguirre, the first lehendakari, took his oath here, a custom followed by all his successors. Next door is the Casa de Juntas (Assembly House), where the General Assembly of Biscay (Juntas Generales de Bizkaia) still sits. See the assembly chamber and the large stained-glass ceiling evoking the tree and the early assemblies.
The Peace Museum
Opened in 1998, it became the Peace Museum in 2003: a themed museum devoted to the culture of peace and human rights, the history of Guernica and the 1937 bombing. On Foru Plaza; allow about 1 hr 30 for your visit.
The Chillida and Moore sculptures
Two monumental sculptures by Eduardo Chillida (Basque) and Henry Moore (British), in the Park of the Peoples of Europe (opened in October 1991).
The Monday market
A weekly market every Monday, the biggest in Biscay. In October there are special fairs, including the famous ‘last Monday’.
The Astra factory
A former arms factory converted into a cultural creation hub.
Santimamiñe cave
In Kortezubi, very close by. Magdalenian rock art, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2008). 3D virtual tour (the cave has been closed to the public since 2006).
Around Guernica
- Urdaibai — UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
- Bermeo — fishing port
- Laida and Laga beaches, in the Urdaibai reserve
Local specialities
- Chuletón (thick bone-in rib steak) grilled over charcoal
- Bacalao pil-pil (salt cod in pil-pil sauce)
- Biscay txakoli
Getting there
- Car: from Bilbao
- Train: Euskotren, Bilbao–Bermeo line, Gernika station
1-day itinerary
- Morning: the Peace Museum, then the Tree of Gernika and the Casa de Juntas
- Midday: lunch in town
- Afternoon: the market (if it’s a Monday) or a stroll around town, then Santimamiñe cave (virtual tour)
- Evening: back to Bilbao (or carry on to Bermeo)
Famous people linked to Guernica
- Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) — not from Guernica, but his name is forever tied to it through Guernica (1937), the monumental canvas on display in Madrid (Reina Sofía), painted in response to the bombing of 26 April 1937 by the Condor Legion.
- José Antonio Aguirre — took his oath under the Tree of Gernika in 1936 as the first lehendakari (president) of the Basque Government.
My favourite photo
The Tree of Gernika in its enclosure, late in the afternoon. A hushed, contemplative atmosphere. Or the Casa de Juntas and its stained-glass ceiling evoking the tree.
Sources
- Turismo Euskadi (Basque Government) — Gernika-Lumo (in Spanish)
- Gernika Peace Museum
- Wikipedia (in Spanish): Guernica y Luno (INE 2024 population), Bombing of Guernica, Tree of Gernika, Santimamiñe cave
Ongi etorri Gernikara — Welcome to Guernica.