Visit to Guernica: Another free activity for our students

As part of Instituto Hemingway’s free, afternoon cultural activities we visited the historic Basque town of Guernica. Just a 50-minute train journey from Bilbao, Guernica is best known around the world for being the scene of a horrific bombing attack carried out during the Spanish Civil War and inspiring perhaps Picasso’s most famous masterpiece named after the town itself.

After a morning of worthwhile and enjoyable Spanish classes, we spent the entire afternoon exploring this fascinating town. As soon as we arrived we visited the mural of Picasso’s masterpiece “Guernica”, which portrays the horrors of the bombings in his own unique and thought provoking way. While he was famous for his abstract techniques, he states with reference to the painting: “I make the painting for the painting. I paint the objects for what they are”. Widely considered one of the most significant anti-war images in history, Picasso portrays a scene of immense suffering and chaos.

We then wandered around the town’s pretty park basking in the late September sunshine and had a coffee and some pintxos in the beautiful old plaza.

Fully replenished, we moved on to the Museo de la Paz (Peace Museum). An incredibly thought provoking place that promotes peace, here we learnt more about the bombings that almost entirely destroyed this tranquil Basque town. Taking place on 26th April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the bombings were carried out by Nazi German and Fascist Italian aircrafts under orders from Franco’s Nationalist faction. Although the town was being used as a communications centre for the Republicans, the bombings are considered an overly aggressive and unjust attack on a civilian population. 1,654 people are thought to have been killed.

After the incredibly interesting and free visit to the museum, we finished our trip by going to see Casa de Juntas. A meeting house for the Lords of Biscay for almost 200 years, Casa de Juntas is a beautiful, historic building containing an incredible stain-glass ceiling that shows the image of a meeting taking place around Gernikako Arbola (the Tree of Guernika), a sacred symbol of freedom for the Basque people. It is under this exact tree where the Lords of Biscay have sworn to protect and respect the Biscayan liberties for hundreds of years.

If you would like to partake in our free, daily afternoon activities then do not hesitate to join us at Instituto Hemingway. Here we offer morning Spanish classes designed to rapidly improve your Spanish in a relaxed and enjoyable environment no matter your current level. After the classes you will have the chance to partake in free afternoon activities ranging from trips to Spanish cooking classes. If this appeals to you then please email us at info@institutohemingway.com where we will answer any of your questions and sign you up directly.

We hope to see you soon!