Gernika
Camino del Norte
Gernika is a name that resonates far beyond the Basque Country. On April 26, 1937 — a Monday, market day — the German Condor Legion and Italian aircraft bombed this undefended town for over three hours. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people, mostly civilians, were in Gernika for the market. Three-quarters of the buildings were destroyed. The Basque government recorded 1,654 dead.
Picasso's massive painting, commissioned by the Spanish Republic to commemorate the atrocity, became one of the most important works of the 20th century. A large mural reproduction greets you as you enter town. The original hangs in the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.
The Museo de la Paz (Peace Museum) is the essential stop — an exhibition that is both frightening and enlightening, placing the bombing in the context of civilian warfare from 1937 to the present. Don't skip it.
The Casa de Juntas, seat of the Basque parliament, survived the bombing and can be toured. In its grounds stands the Tree of Gernika — an oak under which the Lords of Bizkaia met for centuries, and which symbolizes Basque self-governance. The current tree is a descendant of the medieval original, but the tradition is unbroken.
The Iglesia de Santa María de la Antigua is a Basque Gothic church on the way into town. Between it and the Peace Museum, the Museo de Euskal Herria covers broader Basque culture and history.
The town has all services. The layout feels anomalous — a legacy of postwar reconstruction that shoehorned new buildings into the gaps left by bombs. It remains walkable and pedestrian-friendly, large enough to occupy an afternoon.
Beyond Gernika the camino is without any services for 15km, pack accordingly.
Andra Mari y San Roque from the 9th to 18th of August. Monday remains the Market day, as it has for centuries.
The bombing of Gernika on April 26, 1937 was organized by Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen of the Condor Legion, lasting from approximately 4:20 PM to 7:40 PM. The town served as a communications center near the Republican front line, and the stated military objective was to destroy bridges and roads — but the scale of the attack far exceeded any tactical purpose. It was among the first deliberate aerial bombardments of a civilian population in European history.
The Casa de Juntas and the Tree of Gernika were not destroyed — whether by accident or design remains debated. The arms factories on the outskirts were also spared. The town's symbolic importance to Basque identity, as the ancient seat of self-governance, made the attack doubly devastating.
Picasso's painting was exhibited at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. It traveled the world for decades before finally arriving in Spain in 1981, after Franco's death and the restoration of democracy — a condition Picasso himself had set.
Keep going straight after crossing the bridge into Gernika, following the road to where it ends at a large mural recreating Picasso’s famous painting depicting the city under bombardment. Turn left there, uphill and against traffic, passing the Iglesia de Santa María de la Antigua. A few buildings later you will turn right to pass between the park and the Convento de Santa Clara. When this road ends at a larger one, turn left. Further on keep left at the fork in the road, heading downhill to a roundabout.
At this point, you are surrounded by residential buildings on all sides. Go straight through the roundabout to the next one, and turn right when you get to it. Keep straight along this road, and straight again through the park when the road ends in a bend. Past the ermita in the park it is a left turn and a right immediately after, past the last of Gernika’s urban expansion and into the countryside. From here you begin to wind your way steeply up to the Alto de Morga.
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