Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to bomb bridges and roads surrounding the town. Soon after, more planes arrived.
Three hours of relentless saturation bombing followed, as the German and Italian
air forces pummeled the city with incendiary firebombs. People running through
the streets or along the green hillsides were strafed with machine-gun fire. As the
sun fell low in the sky and the planes finally left, hundreds—or possibly thou-
sands—had been killed, and many more wounded. (Because Guernica was filled
with refugees from other besieged towns, nobody is sure how many perished.)
Hearing word of the attack in Paris, Pablo Picasso—who had been commis-
sioned to paint a mural for the 1937 world's fair—was devastated at the news of
whathadgoneoninGuernica. Inspired,hepaintedwhatmanyconsiderthegreatest
antiwar work of art, ever.
Why did the bombings happen? Reportedly, Adolf Hitler wanted an opportun-
ity to try out his new saturation-bombing attack strategy. Spanish dictator Francisco
Franco, who was fed up with the independence-minded Basques, offered up their
historic capital as a candidate for the experiment.
There's no doubt that Guernica, a gateway to Bilbao, was strategically located.
And yet, a small munitions factory that supplied anti-Franco forces with pistols
oddly wasn't hit by the bombing. Historians believe most of the targets here were
far from strategic. Why attack so mercilessly, during the daytime, on market day,
when innocent casualties would be maximized? Like the famous silent scream of
Picasso's
Guernica
mother, this question haunts pacifists everywhere to this day.
Cost and Hours:
€3, free on Sat, includes audioguide—except on Sat, open Tue-
Sat 10:00-14:00 & 16:00-19:00, Sun 10:30-14:30, closed Mon, Allendesalazar 5, tel.
946-255-451.
▲▲▲
Gernika Assembly House and Oak Tree
In the Middle Ages, the meeting point for the Basque general assembly was under the old
oak tree on the gentle hillside above Guernica. The tradition continues today, as the tree
stands at the center of a modest but interesting complex celebrating Basque culture and
self-government.
Cost and Hours:
Free, daily 10:00-14:00 & 16:00-18:00, June-Sept until 19:00, on
Allendesalazar, tel. 946-251-138.
Self-Guided Tour:
As you enter the grounds past the guard hut, on the right
you'll see an
old tree trunk
in the small colonnade dating from the 1700s. Basque tra-
