Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Castell de Sant Ferran, Figueres (last Cortes)
City site
The story
As Catalonia collapsed, the Republican government withdrew to Figueres. On 1 February 1939 Prime Minister Juan Negrín held the last session of the Republican Cortes on Spanish soil in the stables of this huge 18th-century fortress, proposing peace conditions that Franco ignored. The castle and places nearby also sheltered art evacuated from the Prado and other collections before it was sent to Geneva. Days later the government crossed into France and Nationalist troops reached the border on 10 February. From 1940 to 1942 the Franco regime used the castle as a concentration camp for Republicans returned from France.
What you can see today
One of the largest bastioned fortresses in Europe: the stables where the Cortes met, the parade ground, bastions and underground cisterns.
Plan your visit
On the edge of Figueres, 20 minutes' walk from the Dalí Museum; check seasonal hours. Guided visits to the underground cisterns (by boat) and the moat (by electric vehicle) must be booked.
- Open
- Jul–Aug & Easter daily 10:00–20:00; Apr–Jun & Sep–Oct Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00; Nov–Mar Tue–Sun 10:00–16:00; closed 25–26 Dec, 1–6 Jan
- Booking
- Self-guided visit needs no booking; guided, cistern (boat) and moat tours booked via ticketing.cat
Checked September 2026 from official sources: castelldesantferran.cat, castelldesantferran.cat, ticketing.cat. Things change, so check before you travel.
Sources
Nearby sites
- MUME – Museu Memorial de l'Exili, La Jonquera · 17 km
- La Vajol & Coll de Lli – exile crossing · 19 km
- Portbou – Walter Benjamin memorial 'Passatges' · 25 km
- Bunquers de Martinet (Línea P) · 104 km
- Camp de la Bóta memorial (Fraternitat) · 113 km
- Turó de la Rovira anti-aircraft battery (Bunkers del Carmel) · 115 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The battlefields, trenches, ruined villages, shelters, museums and memorials of the Spanish Civil War across the whole of Spain, told fairly from both sides.
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