The Valley of the Fallen (Spanish: Valle de los Caídos; ) is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
and a monumental memorial in the municipality of
San Lorenzo de El Escorial
San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Moun ...
, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley in the
Sierra de Guadarrama
The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de G ...
, near
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
.
Dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
claimed that the monument was meant to be a "national act of atonement" and reconciliation. It served as the burial place of Franco's remains from his death in November 1975 until his exhumation on 24 October 2019, as a result of efforts to remove all public veneration of his dictatorship, and following a
long and controversial legal process.
The monument, considered a landmark of 20th-century Spanish architecture, was designed by
Pedro Muguruza and
Diego Méndez on a scale to equal, according to Franco, "the grandeur of the monuments of old, which defy time and memory." Together with the ''
Universidad Laboral de Gijón
The Universidad Laboral de Gijón is a large building located in Gijón (Asturias, Spain) in the parish of Cabueñes. Originally built as a learning center for orphans, it currently hosts several cultural institutions.
History
Built between 1946 ...
'', it is the most prominent example of the original Spanish Neo-
Herrerian
The Herrerian style ( es, estilo herreriano or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th centu ...
style, which was intended to form part of a revival of
Juan de Herrera
Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician.
One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style reac ...
's architecture, exemplified by the nearby royal residence
El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
. This uniquely Spanish architecture was widely used in public buildings of post-war Spain and is rooted in international
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
as exemplified by
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...
or
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's
Esposizione Universale Roma
EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, part of the Municipio IX.
The area was originally chosen in the 1930s as the site for the 1942 World's Fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism, ...
.
The monument precinct covers over of Mediterranean woodlands and granite boulders on the Sierra de Guadarrama hills, more than above sea level and includes a basilica, a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
abbey, a guest house, the Valley, and the ''Juanelos'' — four cylindrical monoliths dating from the 16th century. The most prominent feature of the monument is the towering 150-metre-high (500 ft)
Christian cross, the tallest such cross in the world, erected over a
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
outcrop 150 metres over the basilica esplanade and visible from over away. Work started in 1940 and took over eighteen years to complete, with the monument being officially inaugurated on 1 April 1959. According to the official ledger, the cost of the construction totalled 1,159 million
pesetas, funded through national lottery draws and donations. Some of the labourers were prisoners who traded their labour for a reduction in
time served
In criminal law, time served is an informal term that describes the duration of pretrial detention (remand), the time period between when a defendant is arrested and when they are convicted. Time served does not include time served on bail bu ...
.
The complex is owned and operated by the
Patrimonio Nacional
Patrimonio Nacional ( en, National Heritage) is a Spanish autonomous agency, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Presidency, that administers the sites owned by the Spanish State and used by the Monarch and the Spanish Royal F ...
, the Spanish governmental heritage agency, and ranked as the third most visited monument of the Patrimonio Nacional in 2009. The Spanish
social democrat
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
government closed the complex to visitors at the end of 2009, citing safety reasons connected to restoration on the façade. The decision was controversial, as the closure was attributed by some people to the
Historical Memory Law
Law 52/2007 That recognises and broadens the rights and establishes measures in favour of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the Dictatorship (in Spanish: ''Ley 52/2007 por la que se reconocen y amplían derechos ...
enacted during
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
's premiership,
and there were claims that the Benedictine community was being persecuted. The works include the
Pietà
The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...
sculpture prominently featured at the entrance of the crypt, using hammers and heavy machinery.
Basilica, cross and abbey
![ValleDeLosCaidos Crypt Central Nave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/ValleDeLosCaidos_Crypt_Central_Nave.jpg)
One of the world's largest basilicas rises above the valley along with the tallest memorial cross in the world. The ''Basílica de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos'' (Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen) is hewn out of a granite ridge. The 150-metre-high (500 feet) cross is constructed of stone.
In 1960,
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
declared the underground crypt a basilica. The dimensions of this underground basilica, as excavated, are larger than those of
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
in Rome. To avoid competition with the apostle's grave church on the
Vatican Hill
Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica.
Etymology
The anc ...
, a partitioning wall was built near the inside of the entrance and a sizeable entryway was left unconsecrated.
The monumental sculptures over the main gate and the base of the cross culminated the career of
Juan de Ávalos
Juan de Ávalos y García-Taborda (October 21, 1911 in Mérida – July 7, 2006 in Madrid) was a Spanish sculptor.
Juan de Ávalos began his training very early. As a six-year-old he was a student of D. Juan Carmona, pastor of the Church of Sa ...
. The monument consists of a wide ''explanada'' (esplanade) with views of the valley and the outskirts of Madrid in the distance. A long vaulted
crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
was tunnelled out of solid granite, piercing the mountain to the massive transept, which lies exactly below the cross.
![Coat of arms of the Abbey of the Valley of the Fallen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Abbey_of_the_Valley_of_the_Fallen.svg)
On the wrought-iron gates, Franco's
neo-Habsburg double-headed eagle
In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge (heraldry), charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantin ...
is prominently displayed. On entering the basilica, visitors are flanked by two large metal statues of
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
angels holding swords.
There is a
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
that connects the basilica with the base of the cross. There is a spiral staircase and a lift inside the cross, connecting the top of the basilica dome to a trapdoor on top of the cross, but their use is restricted to maintenance staff.
The Benedictine Abbey of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen ( es, Abadía Benedictina de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos, links=no), on the other side of the mountain, houses priests who say perpetual Masses for the repose of the fallen of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
and later wars and peacekeeping missions fought by the
Spanish Army
The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century.
The ...
. The abbey ranks as a Royal Monastery.
Valley of the Fallen
The valley that contains the monument, preserved as a national park, is located 10 km northeast of the royal site of
El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
, northwest of Madrid. Beneath the valley floor lie the remains of 40,000 people, whose names are accounted for in the monument's register. The valley contains both
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
graves, but the dedication written in stone reads ''Caídos por Dios y por España'' (Fallen for God and for Spain, which is criticized because it was the francoist Spain motto) and numerous symbols of the Francoist regime.
Moroever, Republicans were interred here mostly without the consent or even the knowledge of their families; some estimates claim that there are 33,800 victims of Francoism interred — and their families have legal problems in recovering the remains of their family member. Franco was exhumed and removed from the church in 2019 as an effort to lower the public venaration of the place.
Franco's tomb (1975–2019)
![ValleDeLosCaidos Tomb Franco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/ValleDeLosCaidos_Tomb_Franco.jpg)
After the dictator's death, the interim Government led by Prince
Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
and Prime Minister
Carlos Arias Navarro
Carlos Arias Navarro, 1st Marquis of Arias-Navarro (11 December 1908 – 27 November 1989) was one of the best-known Spanish politicians during the Francoist regime.
Arias Navarro was a moderate leader in the last phase of Francoism and the be ...
designated the site in 1975 as his burial place. According to his family, Franco did not want to be buried in the Valley, but in the city of Madrid. Nonetheless, the family agreed to the interim Government's request to bury him in the Valley, and has stood by the decision.
Before his death, nobody had expected that Franco would be buried in the Valley. Moreover, the grave had to be excavated and prepared within two days, forcing last minute changes in the plumbing system of the Basilica. Unlike the fallen of the Civil War who were laid to rest in tombs behind the chapels on the sides of the basilica, Franco was buried behind the main altar, in the central nave. His grave is marked by a tombstone engraved with just his given name and first surname, on the choir side of the main
high altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...
(between the altar and the apse of the Church; behind the altar, from the perspective of a person standing at the main door).
Franco is the only person interred in the Valley who did not die in the Civil War. The argument given by the defenders of his tomb is that in the Catholic Church the developer of a church can be buried in the church that he has promoted. Therefore, Franco would be in the Valley as the promoter of the basilica's construction.
Franco was the second person interred in the Santa Cruz basilica. Franco had earlier interred
José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish politician who founded the falangist Falang ...
, the founder of the
Falange movement, who was executed by the Republican government in 1936 and was buried by the Francoist government under a modest gravestone on the nave side of the altar. Primo de Rivera died on 20 November 1936, exactly 39 years before Franco. His grave is in the corresponding position on the other side of the altar. Accordingly, 20 November is annually commemorated by large crowds of Franco supporters and various Falange successor movements and individuals, flocking to the
Requiem Masses held for the repose of the souls of their political leaders.
Exhumation and removal of Franco's remains
On 29 November 2011 the Expert Commission for the Future of the Valley of the Fallen, formed by the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
*
*
* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
(PSOE) government of
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...
on 27 May 2011 under the
Historical Memory Law
Law 52/2007 That recognises and broadens the rights and establishes measures in favour of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the Dictatorship (in Spanish: ''Ley 52/2007 por la que se reconocen y amplían derechos ...
and charged to give advice for converting the Valley to a "memory centre that dignifies and rehabilitates the victims of the Civil War and the subsequent Franco regime," rendered a report recommending as its principal proposal for the commission's stated end the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley for reburial at a location to be chosen by his family, but only after first obtaining a broad parliamentary consensus for such action. The Commission based its decision upon Franco having not died in the Civil War and the aim of the Commission that the Valley be exclusively for those on both sides who had died in the Civil War. In regard to Primo de Rivera the Commission recommended, since a victim of the Civil War, his remains should stay at the Valley but relocated within the Basilica mausoleum on equal footing with those remains of others who died in the conflict. The Commission further conditioned its recommendation for the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley and the relocation of the remains of Primo de Rivera within the Basilica mausoleum upon the consent of the Catholic Church since "any action inside of the Basilica requires the permission of the Church." Three members of the twelve person commission gave a joint dissenting opinion opposing the recommendation for the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley claiming such action would only further "divide and stress Spanish society." The Commission additionally proposed for its report creating a "meditation centre" in the Valley for those not of the Catholic faith, the names shown on the esplanade that leads into the Basilica mausoleum of all Civil War victims buried at the Valley who can be identified and an "interpretive centre" be built to explain how and why the Valley exists. The total cost of the proposed changes to the Valley was estimated by the Commission at €13 million. On 20 November, nine days before the issuance of the report of the commission and ironically on the 36th anniversary of the death of Franco, the conservative
Popular Party (PP) won for the
2011 General Election absolute majorities in both Spain's lower house, the Congress of Deputies and Senate.
On 17 July 2012,
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría
María Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría Antón (born 10 June 1971) is a Spanish former politician of the People's Party who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and Minister of the Presidency from 2011 to 2018. She was member of the Congress ...
, vice-president and Spokesperson of the government stated during parliamentary questioning the PP government of President
Mariano Rajoy
Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...
had no intention of following the recommendations of the Expert Commission with respect to the removal of the remains of Franco, the relocation of the remains of Primo de Rivera within the Basilica or otherwise since the government considers the report to lack validity in that the commission was "monocolor" for which the PP was not invited or involved and that in light of Spain's present economic crisis, discussion and opinion as to the Valley would not be considered at this time.
On 10 October 2012 a motion of
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
(PNV) Senator
Iñaki Anasagasti
Iñaki Anasagasti (born 16 November 1947) is a Venezuelan-Spanish politician, belonging to the Basque Nationalist Party.
Biography
Anasagasti was born to exiled Spanish parents in Cumaná, Venezuela. His father was a Basque nationalist and a ...
placed before the full Senate calling for the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley recommended by the Expert Commission was rejected by the PP majority. Together with the motion to remove the remains of Franco, the PP majority also voted down an amendment by the PSOE for the creation of a parliamentary committee to seek a consensus for the implementation of the recommendations of the Expert Commission. In a speech at the time before the Senate in defence of his party's no votes PP Senator
Alejandro Muñoz-Alonso argued there was no consensus at present in Spain for implementing the recommendations of the Expert Commission and even the Expert Commission unilaterally formed by the Zapatero government was not unanimous, and the matter was now totally exhausted for having been raised eight times before the Parliament; and, then closed for his remarks by quoting from the Bible saying, "let the dead bury the dead" for urging the Senate in light of Spain's economic crisis to return to addressing the "problems of the living."
On 8 July 2013 a motion before the Senate of
Catalan Agreement of Progress (ECP) to implement all recommendations made unanimously by the Expert Commission; that is, all recommendations with the exception only for the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley, was voted down by the PP majority.
On 5 August 2013 the PP government by letter to PSOE deputy and former minister
Ramón Jauregui Ramón or Ramon may refer to:
People Given name
* Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer
* Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer
*Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...
reaffirmed its position that the recommendations of the Expert Commission would not be carried out since doing so absent in the view of the PP government a consensus in Spain for such action would "needlessly reopen old wounds". In regard to the expenditure of nearly €300,000 to restore the façade of the Basilica also questioned by former minister Jáuregui, the Rajoy government further stated for its correspondence such expenditures are justified since aimed at ensuring the monument is well preserved and to prevent deterioration and possible risks to visitors.
On 4 November 2013, Vice-president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría again stated that due to the lack of a consensus among Spaniards concerning the future of the Valley the PP government would reject any legislation or request which would seek to remove the remains of Franco from the Valley for reburial at a location to be chosen by his family and further questioned the urgency for that legislation then presently introduced before the Parliament calling for the removal of the remains of Franco since during the entire seven-year term of the Zapatero government no attempt was made to so change the Valley.
On 23 November 2014, the PP government again re-affirmed its position that since a social and political consensus was absent for doing so there could be no changes or modifications to the Valley.
On 17 December 2014, PP and
Asturias Forum (FAC) members of the Committee for Culture of the Congress of Deputies together voted down a proposed law put forward by the PSOE to "redefine" the Valley to reflect a "culture of co-existence," and amendment of the
United Left to exhume the remains of Franco and Primo de Rivera, identify the remains of all Civil War victims buried in the basilica mausoleum, and address the claims of descendants whose ancestors were buried there without family consent. During parliamentary debate for the proposal of the PSOE, PP deputy Rocío López argued "let the dead rest in peace" and the Valley is a church and cemetery conceived as a peaceful place "without political significance" for the meeting and reconciliation of both sides of the Civil War that should not be changed or modified, while in support of the proposal PSOE deputy Odón Elorza contended the monument is instead a "symbol of contempt and exclusion" to Spaniards.
On 9 February 2017 the PSOE introduced in the Constitutional Commission Committee of the Congress of Deputies a non-binding motion calling for the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley and the creation of a "truth commission" to investigate the Franco years (1939-1975). On 8 March 2017 the PSOE motion was debated and voted on in committee with only the PP voting no and
Navarrese People's Union
The Navarrese People's Union ( es, Unión del Pueblo Navarro), abbreviated to UPN, is a regional conservative political party in Navarre, Spain. Until 2008, it was a fraternal party of the People's Party (PP), acting as the latter's Navarrese bran ...
(UPN) abstaining, and all other parties voting yes. On 3 April 2017 the Constitutional Commission of the Senate rejected a motion presented by the PNV to re-designate the Valley to a centre for interpretation of the Civil War.
On 11 May 2017 a non-binding motion put forth by the PSOE calling for the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valley and relocation of the remains of Primo de Rivera to a less prominent place within the Basilica mausoleum was approved in plenary session by the Congress of Deputies with 198 votes in favour, 1 against and 140 abstentions. Deputies of both the PP and Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) abstained with the one no vote having been made in error by a PP deputy. The motion further called for the creation of a truth commission, the declaration of 11 November as a day of remembrance for victims of Fascism, the government undertake necessary actions for the location and exhumation of graves and identification of the remains of victims of the Civil War and dictatorship, and the Valley be converted from a "Francoist and National-Catholic landmark" to instead a "space for reconciliation and collective and democratic memory, aimed at dignifying and recognizing the victims of the Spanish Civil War and of the dictatorship". The PP government responded it would not act on the PSOE motion as to the Valley because it considered the Valley to no longer be a Francoist monument since governed by rules generally applicable to places of worship and public cemeteries and by law acts are prohibited at the Valley of a political nature or exalt of the Civil War, its protagonists, or Franco and the Historical Memory Law does not contemplate or call for the disinterment of anyone.
On 18 June 2018 the PSOE government of Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez
Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since June 2017, having pr ...
which came to power on 2 June 2018 following a successful motion of no-confidence against the PP government of Mariano Rajoy announced its intention to remove the remains of Franco from the Valley. Since the PSOE has only 85 deputies in a parliament of 350, any legislation to remove the remains of Franco would require the support of other groups. On 29 June 2018 the
Archdiocese of Madrid
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid is one of Spain's fourteen metropolitan archbishoprics. Since 28 August 2014 the archbishop of Madrid has been Carlos Osoro Sierra.
Although Madrid has been the seat of the Spanish Crown since 1561, the di ...
warned the Spanish government against any plans to exhume the remains of Franco without first obtaining agreement from interested parties and formally stated it is against any move of Franco's remains without the consent of his family and before consultation with the Catholic Church. In addition for its statement, the Archdiocese of Madrid re-affirmed its position that although the Valley is officially a national monument, the Catholic Church must be consulted on burial-related matters under agreements between the Spanish state and the Vatican. The announcement of the Archdiocese of Madrid was made after Sánchez confirmed that it was his intention to remove the remains of Franco by the end of July.
On 24 August 2018 the cabinet of the PSOE government approved a decree that modifies two aspects of the 2007 Historical Memory law to permit the exhumation. For the decree to become law it must be passed by a vote of the Congress of Deputies. The PP and the center-right party Ciudadanos announced they would not support the decree. The PP further stated it would appeal the measure to the Constitutional Court arguing using a decree to change the Historical Memory Law is not valid because the proposed modifications do not respond to a situation of urgent need. At the time the cabinet approved the decree Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo stated the decree law requires the exhumation of the remains of Franco to take place between 30 days and 12 of months of passage by the Congress of Deputies and the family of Franco would have two weeks to designate a place for re-interment of his remains, and should they fail to do so, the Spanish government would then choose a "dignified and respectful" place for his remains to be re-interred.
On 13 September 2018 the Congress of Deputies approved by a vote of 176 in favour, 165 abstentions and 2 no votes the proposed decree of the PSOE government to modify two aspects of the 2007 Historical Memory law to permit the exhumation of the remains of Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen. All deputies of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Podemos, ERC, PNV, Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), EH Bildu, Coalició Compromís and the Canarian Coalition (CC) voted in favour of the decree while all 165 abstention votes were cast by PP and Citizens Party (C's) deputies with 2 no votes of PP deputies said to have been made "by mistake." After the vote, the PP re-affirmed it would appeal the legality of the decree on the grounds of lack of extraordinary and urgent need necessary for such a decree law to the Constitutional Court.
On 15 February 2019 the Council of Ministers agreed to go forward with the exhumation and gave the Franco family 15 days to decide upon where its desires for the remains of Franco be re-interred but prohibited re-interment at the
Cathedral of La Almudena in Madrid for reasons stated by the Council of Ministers of "public order and security," and further announced in the event the family of Franco failed to respond within the 15 day period, the Government would then proceed forward with the exhumation and the Council of Ministers would decide the place for the re-interment of Franco's remains. The family of Franco had previously made plain its intention to appeal to the Supreme Court the decision of the Government.
On 8 March 2019 the Supreme Court admitted the appeal of the Franco family contesting the constitutionality of the agreement of the Government adopted 15 February 2019. For its appeal the family also challenged the constitutionality of the rejection by the government for any re-interment at the Cathedral of La Almudena. On 12 March 2019 the Benedictine Community of the Abbey of the Valley of the Fallen appealed to the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the agreement of the Government for the exhumation contending the exhumation cannot take place without "ecclesiastical authorization." In addition, the appeal of the Benedictine Community disputed the constitutionality of the Decree-Law of October 2018 on the grounds the Benedictine Community contends it would require as well the removal of the remains of 20 Benedictine monks buried at the Valley but who also did not die in the Civil War.
On 15 March 2019 the government of Pedro Sanchez announced that Franco would be exhumed and reburied at
Mingorrubio Cemetery
The Mingorrubio Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de Mingorrubio), also called the Cemetery of El Pardo ( es, Cementerio de El Pardo), is a municipal cemetery on the edge of Madrid, Spain. Mingorrubio is a neighborhood in the northern district of Fuen ...
in
El Pardo
El Pardo is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656.
History
The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madrid ...
with his wife
Carmen Polo
María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás, Grandee of Spain (11 June 1900 – 6 February 1988) was the wife of the dictator, General and "''caudillo"'' Francisco Franco and is considered the most influential woman in Franco ...
, and that the exhumation would take place on 10 June 2019, assuming the Supreme Court did not issue a precautionary order preventing the exhumation until a decision for those appeals of the Franco family and Benedictine Community presently before it.
On 19 March 2019 the Francisco Franco National Foundation filed an appeal with the Supreme Court contending the February agreement of the Council of Ministers for the exhumation is "null and void" for violating "openly" not only the Constitution, but as well the royal decree that modifies the law of Historical Memory and "all the regulations that make up the legal regime" of the B, in addition to European laws and regulations. The Franco Foundation further prayed the Supreme Court stay any action to remove the remains of Franco during the pendency of its appeal.
On 4 June 2019 the five magistrates of the Fourth Administrative Contentious Division of the Supreme Court unanimously suspended the exhumation pending a final decision for those appeals in opposition to the exhumation filed by the Franco Family, the Benedictine Community, the Franco Foundation and the Association for the Defense of the Valley of the Fallen.
On 24 September 2019 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favour of exhumation and rejected the arguments put forward by Franco's family. It was reported that the exhumation could take place before 10 November 2019 Spanish election and would inter Franco's remains in the El Pardo Cemetery.
On 21 October 2019 the government announced that Franco's remains would be exhumed on 24 October 2019 from the Valley and reburied at Mingorrubio Cemetery.
On 24 October 2019, in the presence of Franco's relatives and
Dolores Delgado
Dolores Delgado García (born 9 November 1962) is a Spanish prosecutor who served as Attorney General of Spain from 2020 to 2022. Previously, she served as Minister of Justice and First Notary of the Kingdom from 2018 to 2020, in the first Pe ...
, Spain's Minister of Justice, the coffin containing Franco's remains was exhumed from the basilica in the Valley of the Fallen. The coffin was carried out into the plaza by members of the dictator's family, who exclaimed: ′''¡Viva España! ¡Viva Franco!''′ (′Long live Spain! Long live Franco!′) as they lowered it into a hearse. It was then secured in a waiting helicopter, which transported it to the Mingorrubio-El Pardo municipal cemetery, where Franco was reburied alongside his wife,
Carmen Polo
María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás, Grandee of Spain (11 June 1900 – 6 February 1988) was the wife of the dictator, General and "''caudillo"'' Francisco Franco and is considered the most influential woman in Franco ...
. The Franco family chose Ramón Tejero, an Andalucían parish priest, and son of the Guardia Civil lieutenant colonel
Antonio Tejero
Antonio Tejero Molina (born 30 April 1932) is a Spanish former Lieutenant Colonel of the Guardia Civil, and the most prominent figure in the failed coup d'état against the newly democratic Spanish government on 23 February 1981.
Career
Tejer ...
, who violently stormed the Spanish Parliament during the unsuccessful
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
on 23 February 1981, to say mass at the reinterment ceremony.
Controversy
Presenting the monument in a politically neutral way poses a number of problems, not least of which is the strength of opposing opinions on the issue. ''The Times'' quoted
Jaume Bosch, a Catalan politician and former MP seeking to change the monument, as saying: "I want what was in reality
something like a Nazi concentration camp to stop being a nostalgic place of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
for Francoists. Inevitably, whether we like it or not, it's part of our history. We don't want to pull it down, but the Government has agreed to study our plan."
The charge that the monument site was "like a Nazi concentration camp" refers to the use of
convict labour, including Republican prisoners, who traded their labour for a
reduction in
time served
In criminal law, time served is an informal term that describes the duration of pretrial detention (remand), the time period between when a defendant is arrested and when they are convicted. Time served does not include time served on bail bu ...
. Although Spanish law prohibited the use of
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
at the time, it did provide for convicts to choose voluntary work on the basis of redeeming two days of conviction for each day worked. This law remained in force until 1995. This benefit was increased to six days when labour was carried out at the basilica with a salary of 7 pesetas per day, a regular worker's salary at the time, with the possibility that the family of the convict would benefit from the housing and Catholic children's schools that were built in the valley for them by the other workers. Only convicts with a record of good behaviour would qualify for this redemption scheme, because the work site was considered to be a low security environment. The motto used by the Nationalist government was "''el trabajo ennoblece''" ("
work ennobles").
It is claimed that by 1943, the number of prisoners who were working at the site reached close to six hundred. It is also claimed that up to 20,000 prisoners were used for the overall construction of the monument and that forced labour was used.
According to the official programme records, 2,643 workers directly participated in the construction, and some of them were highly skilled, as was required by the complexity of the work. Only 243 of these were convicts. During the eighteen-year construction period, the official tally of workers who died as a result of accidents totalled fourteen.
The socialist Spanish government of 2004-2011 instituted a statewide policy of removal of Francoist symbols from public buildings and spaces, leading to an uneasy relationship with a monument that is the most conspicuous legacy of Franco's rule.
Political rallies in celebration of Franco are now banned by the Historical Memory Law, voted on by the
Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...
on 16 October 2007. This law dictated that "the management organisation of the Valley of the Fallen should aim to honour the memory of all of those who died during the civil war and who suffered repression". It has been suggested that the Valley of the Fallen be re-designated as a "monument to Democracy" or as a memorial to all Spaniards killed in conflict "for Democracy". Some organisations, among them centrist Catholic groups, question the purpose of these plans, on the basis that the monument is already dedicated to all of the dead, civilian and military of both Nationalist and Republican sides.
Closure and reopening of the monument
In November 2009,
Patrimonio Nacional
Patrimonio Nacional ( en, National Heritage) is a Spanish autonomous agency, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Presidency, that administers the sites owned by the Spanish State and used by the Monarch and the Spanish Royal F ...
controversially ordered the closure of the basilica for an indefinite period of time, alleging preservation issues also affecting the Cross and some sculptures.
[ These allegations were contested by some experts and by the Benedictine Order religious community that lives at the complex, and were seen by some conservative opinion groups as a policy of harassment against the monument. In 2010, the Pietà sculpture group started to be "dismantled" with hammers and heavy machinery, which the Juan de Ávalos trust feared could cause irreparable damage to the sculpture. As a result, thereof, the trust filed several lawsuits against the Spanish government. At the time, several parallels were made by conservative and liberal groups between the dismantling of the Pietà under the PSOE government and the destruction of the ]Buddhas of Bamyan
The Buddhas of Bamiyan (or Bamyan) were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan, northwest of Kabul at an elevation of . Carbon dating of the structural ...
by the Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
.
Following the November 2011 Spanish General Election
The 2011 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 20 November 2011, to elect the 10th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate. An elec ...
, on 1 June 2012 the conservative PP government of Mariano Rajoy reopened the monument to the public with the exception only of the base of the cross, in the past accessible by cable car or on foot, which will remain closed to ascent while the sculptures of the four apostles and the cardinal virtues forming part of the base of the cross are presently under engineering review and restoration for cracks and other deterioration. Beginning on 1 June 2012 the charge for entry to the monument had been 5 euros. The 5 euro entry fee was anticipated to generate around 2 million euros a year if the Valley of the Fallen once again attracted 500,000 visitors annually, the approximate number of annual visitors before closure of the monument in 2009 by the PSOE government. Starting on 2 May 2013, and over the strong objection of the Association for the Defense of the Valley of the Fallen, the entry fee for the monument was increased from 5 to 9 euros.
Prior to its closure in 2009, the Valley of the Fallen was the third most visited site of the Patrimonio Nacional after only the Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies.
The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...
and El Escorial. For the accommodation of visitors a cafeteria restaurant located in the cable car building of the monument has been re-opened. The Valley of the Fallen attracted 254,059 visitors in 2015, 262,860 visitors in 2016 and 283,263 visitors in 2017. There were 378,875 visitors in 2018 to the Valley of the Fallen and 318,248 visitors in 2019.
In popular culture
The Valle de los Caídos appears in Richard Morgan's 2002 novel ''Altered Carbon
''Altered Carbon'' is a 2002 cyberpunk novel by the English writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel and relative immortality is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows t ...
'', where it is being used as a base of operations for one of the major antagonists, Reileen Kawahara.
It also appears in the 2010 Spanish dark comedy film ''The Last Circus
''The Last Circus'' ( es, Balada triste de trompeta, links=no; ) is a 2010 Spanish-French dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia, which stars Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre and Carolina Bang. It premiered at the ...
'' (Spanish: ''Balada triste de trompeta''), as a visual homage to the climactic Mount Rushmore scene in the Hitchcock classic ''North by Northwest
''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to ...
''.
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's 1982 novel ''Monsignor Quixote
''Monsignor Quixote'' is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1982. The book is a pastiche of the classic 1605 and 1615 Spanish novel ''Don Quixote'' by Miguel de Cervantes with many moments of comedy, but also offers reflection on matters ...
'' uses a visit to the Valle to illustrate the competing political and social attitudes to Franco's reign and the status of his tomb in modern Spain.
There is also a large reference to this monument and the labourers who built it in Victoria Hislop
Victoria Hislop (née Hamson; born 1959) is an English author.
Early life
Born in Bromley, Kent, she was raised in Tonbridge and attended Tonbridge Grammar School. She studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and worked in publishing and ...
's book ''The Return''.
In 2013, Spain saw the release of the film ''All'Ombra Della Croce'' (''A la Sombra de la Cruz'') directed by the Italian filmmaker Alessandro Pugno. The film tells the secret story of the children of the chorus who sing every day in the mass. They live in a boarding school inside the monument and receive a traditional education. The film has been awarded with the first prize for the best documentary at Festival de Málaga de Cine Español
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
.
In the 2016 film ''The Queen of Spain
''The Queen of Spain'' ( es, La reina de España, links=no) is a 2016 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Fernando Trueba. Starring Penélope Cruz, Antonio Resines, Neus Asensi, Ana Belén, Javier Cámara, Chino Darín, Loles León ...
'', actor Antonio Resines
Antonio Fernández Resines (born 7 August 1954) professionally known as Antonio Resines, is a Spanish film and television actor known for his performance in comedy films and series.
Biography
He was born 'by accident' on 7 August 1954 in Tor ...
plays Blas Fontiverosa, a film director who returns to Spain after fleeing following the Civil War and is captured and forced to work on the construction of the Valley.
In 2016, Mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena
Manuela Carmena Castrillo (; born in 1944) is a retired Spanish lawyer and judge who served as Mayor of Madrid from June 2015 to June 2019. She was a member of the General Council of the Judiciary.
Biography Early life
She was born on 9 Feb ...
, proposed to change the site's name from "El Valle de los Caídos" to "El Valle de la Paz" (The Valley of Peace).
The monument’s construction and significance is paralleled with that of El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
in Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...
’s 1975 novel Terra Nostra.
The monument appears in Dan Brown
Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''In ...
's novel ''Origin
Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Comics and manga
* Origin (comics), ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002
* The Origin (Buffy comic), ''The Origin'' (Bu ...
''.
See also
* Burial of Ferdinand Marcos
The burial of Ferdinand Marcos, a former Philippine President who ruled as a dictator for 14 years, took place on November 18, 2016, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani () in Fort Bonifacio, Metro Manila, Philippines. Marcos had been elected the 10t ...
* Imperial Route of the Community of Madrid
The Imperial Route of the Community of Madrid is the tourist itinerary promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Community of Madrid, this Spanish region, which runs through several municipalities in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It partially ...
References
Further reading
*
* Stockey, Gareth. ''Valley of the Fallen: The (N)ever Changing Face of General Franco's Monument'' (CCC Press, 2013).
External links
WAIS Forum on Spain, 2003:
"Spain: the Valley of the Fallen": includes quote from Franco's decree, 1 April 1940
Abadía de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos
Official Website .
from Franco's Memorial Trust
visitor information and photos
Cruz de los Caídos drawings and plans
from the architectural website skyscraperpage.com
History and Photos.
"Manifesto for historians regarding the Valley of the Fallen"
by Pío Moa, leading Spanish historian about the construction of the monument and the alleged government policy of harassment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valle De Los Caidos
Basilica churches in Spain
Mausoleums in Spain
Monuments and memorials in the Community of Madrid
Spanish Civil War
Benedictine monasteries in Spain
Monasteries in the community of Madrid
Buildings and structures in the Community of Madrid
Tourist attractions in the Community of Madrid
Monumental crosses
Francisco Franco
Fascist architecture
Francoist monuments and memorials in Spain
Victory monuments