European Heritage Days: The heritage in our hands

An excursion to Markina and Gernika as part of the temporary exhibition “Guide Fossil: Archaeology of the Spanish Civil War”.

In the morning, there will be a guided tour of the Civil War sites in Markina-Xemein. The archaeologist Josu Santamarina will take us around the sites associated with the front line that was established between October 1936 and April 1937. The tour will take in historic sites and make use of period materials, including maps, photographs, eyewitness accounts and so on.

At midday, the coach will head to Gernika, where there will be a guided tour of the temporary exhibition ‘Guide Fossil’ at the Peace Museum. Pintxos will be served at the museum itself, after which you will be able to visit the permanent exhibition. Following the tour, there will be some free time. The coach will depart at 5.30 pm for Bilbao.

European Heritage Days 26: “The heritage in our hands” It is an invitation to discover our heritage as a shared responsibility and to get involved in its preservation. This approach ties in with the European theme for 2026, which focuses on the risks threatening our heritage and the need to act collectively to protect it and keep it alive. The Council of Europe’s proposal emphasises the urgency of responding to these threats to ensure that our cultural heritage remains meaningful and accessible to future generations. We will visit the sites rebuilt in Gernika after the war as part of the European Heritage Days, which take place every year in October.

Catalogue of Bizkaia