Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Spanish Civil War sites in Madrid
In November 1936 Franco's forces reached the edge of Madrid. The attack was stopped in the Casa de Campo and the Ciudad Universitaria, and the front stayed there for the rest of the war while the city lived under siege and bombing. Madrid only fell at the end of March 1939.
Around the capital came some of the war's biggest battles: the Jarama in February 1937, Guadalajara in March and Brunete in July. Below are the places from our free Spanish Civil War guide in Madrid and the centre of Spain, told fairly from both sides.
Madrid & the Centre
Alcázar of Toledo & Army Museum
Museum · 21 Jul–27 Sep 1936 · allow 2 h 30 min
When the coup failed in Toledo, Colonel José Moscardó shut himself in the Alcázar with Civil Guards, cadets, Falangists and their families, plus a number of left-wing hostages.
Alto del León (south side), Guadarrama
Trenches & fortifications · 22 Jul 1936–Mar 1939 · allow 2 h 30 min
The Guadarrama pass, renamed Alto de los Leones by the victors, was one of the first battlefields of the war.
Arco de la Victoria (Moncloa)
Memorial · Built 1950–1956 · allow 15 min
This 40 m triumphal arch at the entrance to the University City was built in 1950–56 to commemorate the Francoist victory in the battle for the University City, where the front ran from November 1936 to March 1939.
Blockhaus 13, Colmenar del Arroyo
Trenches & fortifications · late 1938–early 1939 · allow 40 min
After the Battle of Brunete the western front of Madrid settled along the Perales valley. In late 1938 the Nationalist 71st Division began a line of large concrete blockhouses here;
Brihuega & Palacio de Ibarra
Battlefield · 8–23 Mar 1937 · allow 1 h 30 min
In March 1937 Mussolini's Corpo Truppe Volontarie under General Roatta drove down the Zaragoza road towards Guadalajara to encircle Madrid from the north-east.
Brunete
Ruined village · 6–25 Jul 1937 · allow 45 min
On 6 July 1937 the Republic launched its first great offensive west of Madrid, aiming to cut off the Nationalist troops besieging the capital and to relieve pressure on the northern front.
Bustarviejo penal labour camp
Repression & memory site · 1944–1952 · allow 1 h
After the war the regime used political prisoners as forced labour on public works under the 'redemption of sentences through work' scheme.
Cementerio Civil & Almudena execution wall
Cemetery · 1939–1944 · allow 1 h
After Madrid fell in March 1939, the eastern wall of the Cementerio del Este (Almudena) became the main place of execution for the city: according to research by historians, close to 3,000 people were shot there between 1939 and…
Cerro de los Ángeles
Memorial · Aug 1936; front 1936–39 · allow 40 min
The hill at Getafe, near Spain's geographic centre, carried the monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus consecrated by Alfonso XIII in 1919.
Cerro Garabitas, Casa de Campo
Battlefield · 13 Nov 1936–Mar 1939 · allow 1 h 15 min
At 677 m, Garabitas is one of the highest points of the Casa de Campo, the former royal hunting estate through which Nationalist columns attacked Madrid in November 1936.
Ciudad Universitaria front
Battlefield · 15 Nov 1936–28 Mar 1939 · allow 1 h 30 min
In mid-November 1936 Nationalist columns under Varela and Asensio, spearheaded by Moroccan Regulares and the Legion, crossed the Manzanares and broke into the half-built University City.
Frente del Agua, Paredes de Buitrago
Trenches & fortifications · Jul 1936–Mar 1939 · allow 3 h
In late July 1936 rebel troops under Colonel García Escámez crossed the Somosierra and seized Paredes de Buitrago, close to the El Villar and Puentes Viejas reservoirs that supplied Madrid with water.
Fresnedillas de la Oliva bunkers
Trenches & fortifications · Nov 1936–1939 · allow 1 h
Nationalist troops took Fresnedillas de la Oliva on 5 November 1936 during the advance on Madrid; the front then halted on the Perales river and saw heavy fighting in December 1936.
International Brigades memorials, Jarama
Memorial · Feb 1937; memorials 2000s · allow 40 min
Along the Morata–San Martín de la Vega road, near the XV Brigade's old kitchens at the Venta de Frascuelo, stand memorials to the British, Irish, American, Balkan and Franco-Belgian volunteers who fought on the Jarama.
Jarama bridges: Pindoque & Arganda
Battlefield · 11 Feb 1937 · allow 45 min
The Nationalist offensive of February 1937 needed to cross the Jarama. On the night of 11 February, Moroccan Regulares crept up to the Pindoque railway bridge near Vaciamadrid and silently killed the International Brigade…
Los Yesares positions, Pinto
Trenches & fortifications · 1937–1939 · allow 45 min
South of Madrid, between Pinto and Valdemoro, the Nationalist line that ran from the Cerro de los Ángeles to the Jarama was dug into the gypsum hills.
Museo de la Batalla del Jarama, Morata
Museum · 6–27 Feb 1937 · allow 45 min
A small private museum, built up by local enthusiasts, gathers thousands of objects recovered from the Jarama battlefield or donated by veterans and their families: rifles, grenades, pierced helmets, mortars, lamps from the…
Museo Reina Sofía — Picasso's Guernica
Museum · Painted 1937; in Madrid since 1981 · allow 1 h 30 min
Picasso painted Guernica for the Spanish Republic's pavilion at the 1937 Paris International Exhibition, in response to the bombing of the Basque town by the Condor Legion and Italian aircraft on 26 April 1937.
Paracuellos de Jarama cemetery
Repression & memory site · 7 Nov–early Dec 1936 · allow 45 min
As Nationalist troops reached Madrid in November 1936, thousands of prisoners — officers, priests, Falangists, conservatives — were taken from the Modelo, San Antón, Porlier and Ventas prisons in 'sacas' and shot beside the…
Parque del Oeste bunkers
Trenches & fortifications · 1937–1939 · allow 40 min
The northern end of the Parque del Oeste lay right on the front line facing the Nationalist salient in the University City. Nationalist sappers built concrete machine-gun posts here under fire;
Pingarrón hill, Jarama
Battlefield · 12–27 Feb 1937 · allow 1 h 30 min
The 695 m Pingarrón dominated the Jarama battlefield and changed hands several times in hand-to-hand fighting. Nationalist troops took it in mid-February;
Posición Jaca bunker, El Capricho park
Air-raid shelter · 1937–1939 · allow 1 h
Under the 18th-century garden of the Dukes of Osuna, Republican engineers dug 'Posición Jaca', the command bunker of General Miaja's Army of the Centre and his chief of staff Vicente Rojo, completed in August 1937.
Puente de los Franceses
City site · Nov 1936 · allow 20 min
This 19th-century railway bridge over the Manzanares was one of the crossings the Nationalists needed to break into Madrid from the Casa de Campo in November 1936.
Quijorna
Trenches & fortifications · 6–9 Jul 1937 · allow 1 h
Quijorna was one of the Nationalist strongpoints that blunted the Republic's Brunete offensive.
Sigüenza Cathedral
City site · Sep–Oct 1936 · allow 1 h
In the autumn of 1936 Nationalist columns advancing from Aragon and Soria besieged Sigüenza.
Suicide Hill (Colina del Suicidio), Jarama
Battlefield · 12 Feb 1937 · allow 1 h 30 min
On 12 February 1937, in the Nationalist offensive to cut the Madrid–Valencia road, the British Battalion of the XV International Brigade was thrown onto this knoll above the Jarama valley.
Telefónica building, Gran Vía
City site · Nov 1936–Mar 1939 · allow 30 min
Madrid's first skyscraper (1929) was the tallest building in the city and the Republic's eye over the front: from its upper floors observers watched Nationalist movements in the Casa de Campo.
Templo de Debod — site of the Cuartel de la Montaña
City site · 19–20 Jul 1936 · allow 30 min
Here stood the Montaña barracks, where General Joaquín Fanjul rose for the coup in Madrid on 19 July 1936 and then found himself besieged.
Valle de Cuelgamuros (former Valle de los Caídos)
Repression & memory site · 1940–1959; exhumations 2019, 2023 · allow 2 h
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;
Villanueva de la Cañada & Mosquito Ridge
Battlefield · 6–7 Jul & 8–18 Jul 1937 · allow 45 min
Villanueva de la Cañada, held by a small Nationalist garrison, resisted the Republican offensive through the first day at Brunete and fell only on the night of 7 July, after the XV International Brigade and other units had been…
Questions
How many places are there to visit?
This page lists 30 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 34 hours on site, plus driving between them. Plan on about 7 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. 4 of them need booking or can only be seen on a guided visit; they are marked “Booking needed” below. For 12 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?
1 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.
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All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
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