Combined Spanish courses and cultural activities: a visit to the historical town of Guernica

This Thursday, 16th February, our Spanish students explored one of the Basque Country’s most important historical sites: the little town of Guernica. This visit was one of the free cultural activities that Instituto Hemingway offers its students, so that they might complement their studies of the Spanish language with knowledge of the Spanish culture.

Guernica is situated in the province of Vizcaya, a half hour’s train ride away from Bilbao. Guernica is most famous for the bombing that it suffered in 1937, in which it was almost completely destroyed by the Nazi Luftwaffe. This was the first attack targeted specifically against civilians in military history. Since that day, Guernica has become a symbol for peace, in the hope that such an atrocity might never be repeated.

We began our visit with a trip to the “Casa de las Juntas”, where the Lord of Vizcaya would hold gatherings of his people. We were very impressed by the building, and especially by its beautiful stained glass ceiling, with its delicate designs picked out in brightly coloured glass. The most important aspect of the Casa de las Juntas is the Tree of Guernica, which can be found protected by railings in the grounds. The current tree is in fact a cutting of the original, and was planted in 2005 because the original tree was dying. The ancient tree survived the 1937 bombing and can now be found enthroned in Greek columns, a symbol of the town’s perseverance and its reconstruction.

Afterwards, we continued through the town to see the tiled reproduction of Picasso’s famous “Guernica”, and then escaped the rain with a trip to the Peace Museum Tucked away in the centre of Guernica, the museum boasts a very modern and innovative interior with many interactive exhibits. The Peace Museum is much more than a museum, but a place which seeks to explore the concept of peace itself, and search for means to achieve it in the world.

We very much enjoyed our day of discovery in the company of other Spanish students.