Guernica - Main Sights

Main Sights

• Parish Church of Santa María. Work on this church, at the top of the town, began in 1418 in a Gothic style, and continued non-stop until 1625, though the finishing touches were not completed until 1715, in the Renaissance period.

• Church of Santa María de la Antigua. Built in 1826-33 by Antonio de Echevarría in the purest Neo-classical style, this building contains within it the Church of Santa María la Antigua, which is presently used as the plenary meeting hall of the General Assemblies of Biscay.
• Park of the Peoples of Europe. This contains examples of all 4 types of woodland found on the Basque coast: beech woods, oak woods, holm-oak woods and riverside brush. It also gathers the H.Moore and Chillida's sculptures and the Humboldt's bronze head.
• "Large Figure in a Shelter" (1986) by the sculptor Henry Moore. This sculpture is typical of the themes and style of this artist, and the most significant example of his "inside/outside" motif. Cast in bronze, it weighs around 20 tonnes.
• Monument to Peace, by the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida. This figure, set up on April 27, 1988, was commissioned by the Basque Government to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica. The title in Basque means "Our Father's House", and the work stands looking towards the Tree (the symbol of Basque traditions and history) as a monument to peace.
• Palacio de Alegría mansion house. This mansion was rebuilt in its entirety in the mid-18th century. All that remains of the earlier building is a loop-hole and one window. It is built in the typical urban Baroque style with an ashlar-work façade, trellised balconies and the coat of arms of the Allende Salazar family. This mansion house now houses the Museum of the Basque Country, whose exhibits highlight physical, political, economic and linguistic features of Basque History and renowned Basque personages.
• Guernica Peace Museum Foundation, a museum of the history of Guernica. The exhibits on show illustrate what Guernica has represented throughout its history for the Basques (democracy, local legal system, freedom) and what it stands for today all over the world (human rights, peace). The Gernika Peace Museum is a theme museum setting out the culture of peace. It was inspired by the tragic bombing of Gernika on 26 April 1937.
• Euskal Herria Museum, housed in the palace of Alegria or Montefuerte, a 1733 baroque reconstruction of an ancient medieval tower. Set in the historical heart of Gernika-Lumo, it survived the 1937 bombing. The Museum is located near the Casa de Juntas (old Assembly House), the Tree of Gernika and surrounded by old gardens now turned into the Parque de los Pueblos de Europa (Park of the European Nations). The Regional Council of Bizkaia acquired the site in 1982 and refurbished it as a Museum with the aim of presenting an exhibition to promote the understanding of the historical, political and cultural meaning of the spiritual community of Euskal Herria.
• Reproduction of Picasso's Guernica. A mosaic of tiles which depicts in puzzle form Picasso's great work Guernica, the original of which is currently on display at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. The inscription beneath this impressive mural expresses the desire of local people for the original canvas to be put on display in the town which inspired its creation: Guernica.