Spanish Civil War 1936–1939

Former bullring (Palacio de Congresos) – Badajoz massacre memorial

Repression & memory site

The story

After the city fell, Nationalist troops and Falangists rounded up militiamen, Popular Front supporters and people found with bruised shoulders from rifle recoil. Many were held in the bullring and shot there and elsewhere; bodies were burned and buried at the San Juan cemetery. Reports by Mário Neves, Jay Allen and other foreign journalists made 'Badajoz' known worldwide. The bullring was demolished in 2000 and the Palacio de Congresos 'Manuel Rojas' (2006) was built on the site within the San Roque bastion. After years of controversy a small permanent memorial display, 'Memorial Badajoz 1936', was installed in the lobby in 2021.

What you can see today

A modern congress hall on the site of the ring; in the lobby, information panels, a display case and audiovisual material on the massacre, plus a model of Blanca Muñoz's sculpture 'Eclíptica' that stands outside.

Plan your visit

The lobby is accessible when the building is open for events or office hours; check with the Palacio de Congresos (tel. 924 939 000). Outside, the sculpture can be seen any time.

Sources

• mapcarta.com/Palacio_de_Congresos_de_Badajoz
• es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_de_toros_de_Badajoz
• remedioscreativos.es/memorial-badajoz-1936/
• todoslosnombres.org/la-junta-encarga-un-expositor-sobre-la-matanza-de-badajoz-para-el-palacio-de-congresos/
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badajoz_massacre

Nearby sites

• Puerta de la Trinidad, Badajoz · under 1 km
• Almendralejo – Purificación church tower & memorial · 53 km
• Puente Romano, Mérida (fall of Mérida) · 54 km
• Palacio de los Golfines de Arriba, Cáceres (Franco HQ 1936) · 84 km
• Valle de la Serena – Republican defence line (La Serena pocket) · 103 km
• Campillo de Llerena – Civil War Museum & Italian cemetery · 106 km

All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →