Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Spanish Civil War sites in the Basque Country & the North
In 1937 the Nationalists conquered the Republican north. On 26 April Gernika was bombed by aircraft of the German Condor Legion and the Italian air force, an attack remembered around the world through Picasso's painting.
Bilbao, defended by the line of bunkers and trenches called the Iron Belt (Cinturón de Hierro), fell in June 1937; Santander followed in August and Asturias in October. Below are the places from our free Spanish Civil War guide in the Basque Country, Cantabria and Asturias, told fairly from both sides.
The North
Artxanda – Iron Belt trenches & memorial
Trenches & fortifications · 12–19 Jun 1937 · allow 1 h
Mount Artxanda, above Bilbao, was the last defended position before the city fell.
Astra factory air-raid shelter, Gernika
Air-raid shelter · Sep 1936–Apr 1937 · allow 20 min
Gernika's arms industry, which made the famous Astra pistols, was one of the few potentially military targets in the town. In September 1936 the Talleres de Gernika factory built two concrete shelters for its workers.
Casa de Juntas & Tree of Gernika
City site · 26 Apr 1937 · allow 45 min
The Assembly House (Casa de Juntas) and the oak of Gernika are the historic symbols of Biscayan and Basque self-government: the Lords of Biscay swore under the tree to respect local liberties.
Ceares cemetery mass grave, Gijón
Repression & memory site · 1937–1950s · allow 30 min
After Gijón fell on 21 October 1937, thousands of Republicans were imprisoned and many were tried by courts-martial and shot. Victims executed at the wall of the Ceares municipal cemetery were buried in a common grave there.
Durango bombing – Santa María de Uribarri
Memorial · 31 Mar 1937 · allow 1 h
On 31 March 1937, the first day of General Mola's offensive against Biscay, Italian Savoia-Marchetti S.81 bombers with German and Italian escorts attacked Durango, a road and rail junction behind the front.
El Mazuco & Sierra del Cuera
Battlefield · 6–22 Sep 1937 · allow 2 h
After Santander fell, the Nationalists pushed west into Asturias. At the El Mazuco pass and on the limestone heights of the Sierra del Cuera, about 5,000 Republican troops of the XIV Army Corps, many of them CNT militia, held off…
El Salvador cemetery mass grave, Oviedo
Repression & memory site · 1937–1950s · allow 30 min
After Asturias fell in October 1937, Francoist courts-martial and extrajudicial killings claimed many lives. About 1,000 executions took place in Oviedo alone, and killings continued into the 1950s.
Gaztelumendi breach – Larrabetzu Iron Belt bunker
Trenches & fortifications · 12 Jun 1937 · allow 45 min
The Iron Belt was built from late 1936 as a ring of trenches, bunkers and gun positions around Bilbao.
Gernika Peace Museum (Museo de la Paz)
Museum · 26 Apr 1937 · allow 1 h 15 min
On the afternoon of Monday 26 April 1937 – market day – aircraft of the German Condor Legion, with Italian Aviazione Legionaria bombers, attacked Gernika for about three hours in support of the Nationalist advance on Bilbao.
Intxorta front & Elgeta memory centre
Interpretation centre · Sep 1936–Apr 1937 · allow 3 h
After the loss of most of Gipuzkoa in 1936, Basque and Republican battalions stabilised the front on the Intxorta heights above Elgeta.
Iron Belt Interpretation Centre, Berango
Interpretation centre · 1936–Jun 1937 · allow 1 h 30 min
The Iron Belt's western end ran through the Uribe district north of Bilbao to the coast at Barrika and Sopela.
Iron Belt trail, Zamudio (Berreaga–Gaztelumendi ridge)
Trenches & fortifications · 11–13 Jun 1937 · allow 4 h
Zamudio lies directly below the stretch of the Iron Belt where the Nationalists broke through.
Monte Sollube battlefield
Battlefield · 6–14 May 1937 · allow 2 h
Sollube (686 m) commands the coast road between Bermeo and Bilbao. In May 1937 it was attacked by the mixed Italian-Spanish Flechas Negras brigade under Sandro Piazzoni and the IV Navarrese Brigade, supported by the Condor…
Otxandio – Andikona bombing memorial
Memorial · 22 Jul 1936 · allow 30 min
On 22 July 1936, four days after the coup, two Breguet XIX light bombers flown from Recajo (La Rioja) by Ángel Salas Larrazábal and José Muñoz Jiménez bombed and machine-gunned the Andikona square in Otxandio.
Oviedo front – Cerdeño bunker
Trenches & fortifications · Oct 1936–Oct 1937 · allow 30 min
Once the Galician relief column had reached Oviedo in October 1936, the Nationalist defenders ringed the city with concrete positions facing the Republican lines on Monte Naranco and in the surrounding villages.
Oviedo siege – the old town
City site · 19 Jul 1936–Feb 1937 · allow 30 min
On 19 July 1936 Colonel Antonio Aranda, who had persuaded Republican leaders he was loyal, declared for the rising and held Oviedo with soldiers, Civil Guards and Falangist volunteers.
Pasealekua air-raid shelter, Gernika
Air-raid shelter · 1936–26 Apr 1937 · allow 30 min
In 1936 Gernika dug four tunnel shelters into the hillside by the market area to protect townspeople from air raids.
Puerto del Escudo – Italian memorial
Memorial · 14–17 Aug 1937 · allow 30 min
The Escudo pass (about 1,000 m) carries the main road from Burgos to Santander over the Cantabrian range. When the Nationalist offensive on Santander opened on 14 August 1937, Italian CTV divisions attacked here.
San Marcial hermitage & the Battle of Irun
Battlefield · 19 Aug–5 Sep 1936 · allow 1 h
Mola's Navarrese columns under Colonel Alfonso Beorlegui attacked Irun to cut the Republican north off from France. Their attack was supported by German and Italian aircraft and a few light tanks.
Santander air-raid shelter (Refugio Antiaéreo)
Air-raid shelter · 1937 · allow 40 min
Santander, then in the Republican zone, was bombed repeatedly during 1937, and over a hundred shelters were dug beneath the city. This one, under the Plaza del Príncipe (then Plaza de Mariana Pineda), was built in spring 1937.
Simancas barracks siege memorial, Gijón
City site · 19 Jul–16 Aug 1936 · allow 20 min
When the coup failed in Gijón, Colonel Antonio Pinilla and about 600 soldiers of the Simancas mountain infantry regiment shut themselves into the Simancas barracks, a former Jesuit college.
Questions
How many places are there to visit?
This page lists 21 places from the free The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 guide, each with its story, what you can see today, how to visit and GPS directions.
How much time do I need?
Allowing the suggested time at each place adds up to about 23 hours on site, plus driving between them. Plan on about 5 days to see everything, or pick the places that matter most to you. The guide's tour planner puts any selection in driving order.
Do I need to book?
Most places can be visited without booking. 6 of them need booking or can only be seen on a guided visit; they are marked “Booking needed” below. For 13 places we checked opening times and prices on official websites in September 2026; open each place to see them. Opening times change, so check before you travel.
Can I visit every site?
2 of these places are on private land: please view them from the road or a public path. Cemeteries and memorials are places of remembrance first.
Is the guide free, and does it work without signal?
Yes. The The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 guide is free and works on your phone with no signal once it has been opened, with maps, stories and a tour planner. There is nothing to install from an app store.
More trip ideas
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- Band of Brothers sites in NormandyDrop zones, Brécourt Manor, Carentan
- Band of Brothers sites in HollandSon, Eindhoven, Hell's Highway, the Island
- Bastogne & Battle of the Bulge sites to visitBois Jacques foxholes, Foy, Bastogne
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.
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