The town of Guernica was founded byTello Alfonso, Lord of Biscay, on April 28, 1366, at the intersection of the road fromBermeo toDurango with the road fromBilbao toElantxobe andLekeitio. The strategic importance of the site was increased by the fact that it lay on a major river estuary, where vessels could dock at the port of Suso.
In time, it took on the typical shape of aBasque town, comprising a series of parallel streets (Goienkale, Azokekale, Artekale and Barrenkale; respectively: ‘upper, market, between, lower roads’) and a transverse street called Santa María, with a church at each end of the built-up area.
Life in the town became rigidly structured, with the aim being to preserve the privileges of the dominant middle classes. This pattern continued practically unaltered until the late 17th century.
On a smallhillock in the town, stands the Meeting House and theTree of Gernika. By ancient tradition,Basques, and indeed other peoples in medieval Europe, held assemblies under a tree, usually an oak, to discuss matters affecting the community.
In Biscay, each administrative district (known as amerindad) had its appointed tree, but over the centuries, the Tree of Guernica acquired particular importance. It stood in the parish of Lumo, on a site known as Gernikazarra, beside a small shrine.
The laws of Biscay continued to be drawn up under this tree until 1876, with each town and village in the province sending two representatives to the sessions, known asGeneral Assemblies. This early form of democracy was recorded by the philosopherRousseau, by the poetWilliam Wordsworth, by the dramatistTirso de Molina and by the composer Iparragirre, who wrote the piece calledGernikako Arbola ("The Tree of Gernika" in Basque).
When the Domain of Biscay was incorporated into thekingdom of Castile, theking of Castile visited Guernica and swore an oath under the Tree promising to uphold thefueros or local laws of Biscay. The oath ofKing Ferdinand, known as the "Catholic Monarch", on June 30, 1476, is depicted in a painting byFrancisco de Mendieta [es] popularly known as "El besamanos" ("The Royal audience"). On July 3, 1875, during theCarlist Wars, the pretender to the throne,Don Carlos, also visited Guernica and swore the oath. Throughout the 19th century, there were frequent meetings under the Tree, including both General Assemblies and other political events.
By the 18th century, there was a square at the centre of the town, flanked by the town hall, a publicgaol housing prisoners from all over theLordship of Biscay, a hospital and a poor-house for local people. Day-to-day life comprised agriculture (growing of cereals, vegetable and fruit), crafts (menders, tailors, cobblers, flax manufacturers) and trade (transportation and sale of goods and produce).
This was also a time of continual conflicts with the neighbouring parish of Lumo over disputed land. These disputes were not finally settled until 1882, when the two parishes joined to form Gernika-Lumo.
The first industrial factories were set up in the early years of the 20th century. This encouraged population growth, and the town grew from 4,500 inhabitants in 1920 to 6,000 in 1936.[citation needed]
On April 26, 1937, during theSpanish Civil War, Guernica was the scene of a massive aerialbombing attack by theCondor Legion ofNazi Germany'sLuftwaffe and the ItalianAviazione Legionaria.[5] According to official Basque figures, 1,654 civilians were killed.[6][7] The raid was requested byFrancisco Franco to aid in his overthrowing theBasque Government and theSpanish Republican government. The town was devastated, though the Biscayan assembly and the Oak of Guernica survived. The Bombing of Guernica, which went on continuously for three hours, is considered the beginning of the Luftwaffe doctrine ofterror bombing civilian targets in order to demoralize the enemy.[7]
Celebrations were staged in 1966 to mark the 600th anniversary of the founding of the town. As part of these celebrations, a statue ofCount Tello, made by local sculptorAgustín Herranz, was set up in theFueros Square.
As of 2009, Gernika-Lumo had 16,244 inhabitants. It is a town with a prosperous service sector, and is also home to industrial companies, as well as good cultural and educational amenities.
In prior centuries, Lumo had been the meeting place of thetraditional Biscayan assembly,Urduña andchartered towns like Guernica were under the direct authority of theLord of Biscay, andEnkarterri and theDurango area had separate assemblies. All would hold assemblies under local big trees. As time passed, the role of separate assemblies was superseded by the single assembly in Guernica, and by 1512, its oak, known as theGernikako Arbola, became symbolic of the traditional rights of theBasque people as a whole.
The trees are always renewed from their own acorns. One of these trees (the "Old Tree") lived until the 19th century, and may be seen, as a dry stump, near the assembly house. A tree planted in 1860 to replace it died in 2004 and was in turn replaced; the sapling that had been chosen to become the official Oak of Guernica is also sick so the tree will not be replaced until the earth around the site has been restored to health.
Ahermitage was built beside the Gernikako Arbola to double as an assembly place, followed by the current house of assembly (Biltzar Jauregia inBasque), built in 1826.
On April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the town was razed to the ground by German aircraft belonging to theCondor Legion, sent by Hitler to support Franco's troops. For almost four hours bombs rained down on Guernica in an "experiment" for the blitzkrieg tactics and bombing of civilians seen in later wars.
In 1987 the 50th anniversary of the bombing was commemorated as the town hosted the Preliminary Congress of the World Association of Martyr Cities. The full congress was held subsequently in Madrid, bringing together representatives of cities all over the world. Since then, Gernika-Lumo has been a member of this association. 1988 saw the setting up of the monumentGure Aitaren Etxea, by Basque sculptorEduardo Chillida, and in 1990Large Figure in a Shelter, by British sculptorHenry Moore, was erected beside it. These monuments are symbolic of Gernika-Lumo as a city of peace.
As part of the "Symbol for Peace" movement, Gernika has twinned with several towns, includingBerga (Catalonia – 1986),Pforzheim (Germany – 1988) andBoise, Idaho (United States – 1993). The twinning agreements include co-operation in the fields of culture, education and industry.
There is a popular saying in Guernica which runs as follows: "lunes gerniqués, golperik ez". A combination of both local languages (Castillian andBasque) into a single sentence, this translates roughly as "not a stroke of work gets done on Mondays". The Monday market day has for decades been considered as a holiday in the town.
People would flock to Guernica not just from the immediate vicinity, but from all over the province, so that the town was packed. They came not just to buy or sell at the produce market, but also to eat at the town's renowned restaurants and afterwards perhaps to watch a pelota game at the local court. The Monday market has been fulfilling its age-old function of bringing people together since the times when people could not afford to travel far and it provided them with a chance to socialise. The bombing of Guernica byNazi Germany'sLuftwaffe and the ItalianAviazione Legionaria was deliberately chosen to occur on a Monday (April 26, 1937), because it was known that the Basque people who lived outside of Guernica proper would travel into town for the Market Day, thus affording the pilots of the German and Italian aircraft the opportunity to murder as many people as possible.[10]
Jai alai (cesta-punta) is a form ofpelota. The Guernica jai alai court is the biggest operational court of its type in the world. It was designed by Secundino Zuano, one of Spain's leading architects of the 20th century and first opened in 1963. It is acknowledged by players of the game to be the world's finest court.
Bare-handed pelota games are held at the Santanape court. This is the most popular form of the sport.
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