Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Palacio de la Isla, Burgos (Franco HQ)
City site
The story
Burgos was the political capital of Nationalist Spain: the Junta de Defensa Nacional sat here from July 1936, and on 1 October 1936 Franco was invested as head of state at the city's Capitanía General. From August 1937 until October 1939 this early-20th-century mansion on the Paseo de la Isla served as his residence and headquarters. His first government was formed in Burgos in January 1938, and here on 1 April 1939 he signed the final war communiqué: 'the war has ended'. The palace now houses the Instituto Castellano y Leonés de la Lengua.
What you can see today
A neo-Renaissance mansion set in gardens on the Paseo de la Isla, west of the old town, beside the Arlanzón riverside walk.
Plan your visit
Exterior and gardens from the street; the council lists weekday visiting hours for the interior. 15 minutes' walk from the cathedral; combine with the Capitanía General building on Plaza de Alonso Martínez.
- Open
- Visits Mon–Fri 12:00–14:00 and 18:00–20:00
Checked September 2026 from official sources: aytoburgos.es, ilcyl.com. Things change, so check before you travel.
Sources
Nearby sites
- San Pedro de Cardeña monastery (International Brigades camp) · 9 km
- Valdenoceda prison memorial · 58 km
- Miranda de Ebro concentration camp (historic site) · 75 km
- Puerto del Escudo – Italian memorial · 79 km
- La Barranca cemetery memorial, Lardero (La Rioja) · 102 km
- Otxandio – Andikona bombing memorial · 116 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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