DZ CHARLIE

Spanish Civil War 1936–1939

Valle de Cuelgamuros (former Valle de los Caídos)

San Lorenzo de El Escorial · Repression & memory site

GuideSpanish Civil War 1936–1939
AreaMadrid & the Centre
TypeRepression & memory site
When1940–1959; exhumations 2019, 2023
Time to allow2 h
LocationExact spot known
GPS40.64190, -4.15520
Open the free field guideDirections (Google Maps)

The story

Franco ordered this basilica cut into the granite of the Guadarrama, crowned by a 150 m cross, as a monument to his victory. Work lasted from 1940 to 1959; the workforce included political prisoners who redeemed sentence by labour. Remains of tens of thousands of dead from both sides were brought here, many Republicans moved from mass graves without their families' consent. Franco himself was buried here in 1975 and exhumed in 2019; José Antonio Primo de Rivera was removed in 2023. The Democratic Memory Law (Ley 20/2022) changed the official name from Valle de los Caídos to Valle de Cuelgamuros, made it a Place of Democratic Memory and plans its re-signification; forensic exhumations in the crypts continue.

What you can see today

The monumental esplanade, the rock-cut basilica and the 150 m cross (the funicular up to the cross is closed indefinitely), with the Benedictine abbey behind.

Plan your visit

Paid entry; closed Mondays and some holidays. Opening days and prices change, so check the Patrimonio Nacional website just before you go. Access by car via the M-600 from El Escorial; allow half a day with El Escorial. Dress respectfully: it is an active church.

Open
Closed Mondays. Apr–Sep closes 17:30, Oct–Mar 16:30 (Tue, Thu–Sat); Wed & Sun close 14:30
Price
€9 adults; €4 reduced (5–16, 65+, students under 25); free for EU residents on set Wed/Sun from 15:00
Notice
Closed 1 & 6 Jan, 1 May, 13 Sep, 24, 25 & 31 Dec 2026, and for official events

Checked September 2026 from official sources: tickets.patrimonionacional.es. Things change, so check before you travel.

Where sources disagree: Numbers vary: around 33,800 people are recorded as interred; how many prisoners worked on the building is disputed (official records of a few hundred convicts at a time, against estimates of up to 20,000 over the whole project).

Sources

Nearby sites

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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