A cultural trip to Guernica with the Spanish students

On Tuesday, 4th October, a group of Spanish students from the Instituto Hemingway made a trip to the small town of Guernica . Practically destroyed in a 1937 bombing during the Spanish Civil War, the first use in military history of attacks targeted at civilians, Guernica is now a symbol for peace, a plea that never again must such an event take place.
Guernica is less famous in the wider world for its ancient and important role in Basque politics. The Tree of Guernica has long held great political and cultural importance for the Basque people, as traditional political meetings (Juntas) would take place under its branches. It was with this tree, and the modern Casa de las Juntas, that we began our visit. We were deeply impressed by the Casa de las Juntas with its exquisite stained glass roof and by the ancient tree, and the strange awe that seemed to surround it.
We moved on to the Museo Euskal Herria, or the Museum of the Basque People, which provided a fascinating insight into every aspect of Basque culture. The floors were divided into sections, one for each province of the traditional Basque territory. The Museum itself offered a wide variety of exhibits - interactive, reactive and multimedia – and the time we spent there was both informative and enjoyable.
We concluded our visit with a trip to the famous Peace Museum. It was commented that perhaps “museum” is something of a misnomer; the Peace Museum is more of an exploration of the concept of peace: what is it, how might we achieve it in the world and what does the experience of Guernica teach us about peace.
Guernica is perhaps one of the most striking cultural sites in the Basque Country, and we were pleased to have had the chance to get to know its history.