Gernika-Lumo and Peace Museum

Gernika-Lumo (known in Spanish as Guernica-Lumo) is one of the most historically charged towns in the Basque Country — a small market town in the Urdaibai valley in Bizkaia that holds a central place in Basque cultural identity and in modern European history. The town's ancient oak tree, the Gernikako Arbola, has been a symbol of Basque freedoms and self-governance for centuries: Basque lords and later the Spanish crown traditionally took oaths under its boughs to uphold Basque fueros (rights and laws), and a young descendant of the original tree continues to stand in a small ceremonial garden adjacent to the historic Basque Parliament House.

On 26 April 1937, Gernika was subjected to a carpet-bombing raid by Nazi Germany's Condor Legion acting in support of General Franco's Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. The attack — the first deliberate aerial bombardment of a civilian population in European history — killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed most of the historic town. Pablo Picasso responded by creating his monumental painting Guernica, now in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, which became one of the defining anti-war artworks of the 20th century.

The Gernika Peace Museum, housed in a purpose-built building on the central Foru Plaza, opens this history to visitors through permanent exhibitions documenting the bombardment, its aftermath, and Gernika's transformation into a global symbol of peace and reconciliation. The museum presents a nuanced account of the events with original photographs, survivor testimonies, and architectural models of the destroyed town.

Beyond the museum, the Basque Parliament House (Juntas Generales building) adjacent to the ceremonial oak garden can be visited on guided tours, and the traditional Monday market — one of the oldest in the Basque Country — fills the town's streets with local produce and activity every week.