Passions around the Valley of the Fallen
On March 28, 1939, Republican Madrid fell. On April 19, Generalissimo Franco solemnly declared the end of the Spanish Civil War, and on May XNUMX, a grand Victory Parade was held in Madrid. Tens of thousands of soldiers marched through the streets: Spaniards, Moroccans, Franco's allies Italians and Germans, volunteers from Portugal, Ireland, Russian White émigrés. Columns of equipment, including captured Tanks Soviet-made, six hundred aircraft, including Soviet models, paraded in the sky. Spain entered a more than 36-year period of Franco's totalitarian regime.
Victory Parade in Madrid, May 19, 1939, Italians marching
The country was in dire straits, hunger and poverty, the economy was in ruins. The caudillo regime was almost completely isolated internationally, and could only hope for support from Germany and Italy, but these countries were sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire of the Second World War, and Spain was clearly not their priority.
Nevertheless, Franco decided to embark on a project of truly cyclopean proportions – the construction of a memorial complex at an altitude of 1300 m above sea level in the Cuelgamuros Valley in the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains, called the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos), 58 km from Madrid. This location was probably not chosen by chance – ten kilometers away is the architectural ensemble of El Escorial, built in 1563-1584 by decision of the Spanish King Philip II. The ensemble, included in the list of World Heritage Sites, includes a royal palace, a monastery and a royal burial vault.
On April 1, 1940, the anniversary of the Nationalist victory in the Civil War, Caudillo Franco issued a decree announcing a plan to build in the Cuelgamuros area "a basilica, a monastery and youth barracks... to perpetuate the memory of those who fell in our glorious Crusade."
In the middle of the same year, three construction companies under the direction of the architect Pedro Muguruza (after his death in 1950, Diego Mendez took over the construction) began work, in which 20 people took part. It is widely believed that slave labor of Republican prisoners of war and political prisoners was used, but this does not quite correspond to the facts. Prisoners were allowed to participate in the work only from 000, and on a voluntary basis (for participation in the construction, prison terms were reduced) and with payment of wages (1943 pesetas per day, although most of this money was deducted for food, accommodation, etc.). According to a number of historians, from 2,85 to 1800 prisoners took part in the construction, most of whom worked in the Valley until 2000.
Political prisoners at the construction of a memorial
The labor of political prisoners was used according to the rules of the General Directorate for the Redemption of Punishments through Labor (Patronato Central de Redención de Penas por el Trabajo), an organization that made it possible to use political prisoners as labor in exchange for a reduced sentence.
The claims of opponents of the Franco regime that an innumerable number of political prisoners died during the construction of the memorial also raise doubts. According to information available to the author, 14 people died in accidents during the construction. How can one not recall the legends of Russian would-be historians about the millions of GULAG prisoners who laid down their lives during the construction of the White Sea Canal and other construction projects of socialism? Or the ravings of the "beacon of Russian democracy" Solzhenitsyn.
The amount of work that had to be done was enormous: just to create the basilica, which is larger than St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, it was necessary to remove 200 cubic meters of rock from the depths of the Cerro de la Nava mountain.
Cerro de la Nava mountain before the construction of the Memorial
Construction process
The construction dragged on for 18 years, both due to technical and financial difficulties, and as a result of the aftermath of the Civil and Second World Wars and the subsequent isolation of the country. At that time, Spain had to follow the idea of self-sufficiency - the policy of autarky (this is in many ways akin to our "import substitution policy").
Step by step, the impoverished agrarian country acquired its modern shipbuilding, aircraft and automobile manufacturing, and the production of modern weapons. The state-owned airline Iberia appeared (so many of our tourists flew on its planes), the world-famous Navantia (modern name) for its shipbuilding and many other things, the SEAT automobile plant, Telefonica and many others. And all of this was state property! The country acquired a network of high-speed highways and railways. The standard of living of the majority of the population of Spain rose.
Although the construction of the memorial was completed in August 1958, the official pompous opening with the presence of the head of state (Jefe del Estado) Francisco Franco took place on April 1, 1959 - the 20th anniversary of the end of the war.
Memorial in the Valley of the Fallen
During the many years of construction, the internal policy of the Francoist regime also changed, which from the second half of the 50s began to weaken political repression against the opposition and try to pursue a policy of "reconciliation" (reconciliación) between the opposing parties of the Civil War of 1936-1939. Since 1956, similar proposals have come from the leadership of the Spanish Communist Party. The memorial in the Valley of the Fallen was now presented not as a symbol of victory in the "Crusade for Liberation", but as a monument to all those who fell in this conflict and a symbol of national reconciliation.
The memorial is, without a doubt, one of the architectural, religious and historical wonders of the world. It consists of the following main elements: an esplanade, a basilica with a mausoleum, a Benedictine monastery with a hotel and a church boarding school, and the largest cross in the world crowning it all. The construction of this memorial complex cost 1 pesetas (equivalent to approximately 159 million modern euros). The sculptures by Juan de Avalos cost another 505 pesetas.
From the esplanade, which covers an area of 30,6 m², a huge, richly decorated bronze door leads into the Basilica of Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos, carved into the rock, which is 262 meters long and reaches a maximum height of 42 meters.
Entrance to the basilica
A long passage with side chapels and walls decorated with tapestries and frescoes depicting the saints - patrons of the Army, Fleet, the Air Force and the Civil Guard, leads to the main altar, at the foot of which were formerly the tombs of Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera. Just before entering the main church space, two huge statues of angels with swords guard the entrance, like the angels of Paradise.
Main passage
The patron saint of the fleet, the Holy Virgin of Carmen
One of Ra's angelsя
Elements of the Basilica
A huge dome, 42 m high and 40,75 m in diameter, has been erected above the main altar. It is decorated with mosaic paintings by the artist Santiago Padros, consisting of 6 million ceramic elements. The paintings depict biblical scenes, as well as a brief outline of the entire history of Spain as a Catholic nation and depict the victims of the Civil War of 1936-1939. The artist also placed an image of himself with his wife here.
Mosaic paintings of the dome
On either side of the main altar are the entrances to two underground chapels (chapels), which contain the remains of 33 victims of the Spanish Civil War. The underground spaces also house a center for the detection of earthquakes and other scientific research by the Laboratory of Geodynamics and Earth Tides of the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid and the Higher Council of Scientific Research.
Naturally, many myths and legends have arisen around the dungeons of the basilica. Some claim that some sacred treasure of Franco is kept there, others - top-secret documents of the regime.
The memorial complex is crowned by the world's largest cross, 150 meters high and with a crossbar 46 meters long. It can be seen from a distance of up to 40 km. The cross is made of reinforced concrete (45 tons of concrete and 000 tons of steel reinforcement), covered with carved stone slabs. It can withstand winds of up to 8 km/h. Inside the cross there is a spiral staircase and an elevator.
Cross
This outstanding work of architecture and engineering is complemented by the sculptures located on the base of the cross, conceived and executed by Juan de Avalos: the images of the four evangelists (Saint John, Saint Luke, Saint Mark and Saint Matthew) 18 m high and the four cardinal virtues (Justice, Fortitude, Prudence and Temperance) 16 m high.
Sculptures on the base of the cross
The foot of the Cross can be reached by funicular or by a staircase with 738 steps. In addition, a limited-use lift allows access to the Cross through the interior of the mountain.
On the opposite side of the mountain from the entrance to the basilica is the majestic complex of the Benedictine monastery, whose monks are entrusted with the maintenance of the basilica. The monastery also houses a 120-bed hotel with a library of 20 volumes (!) and a boarding school.
Benedictine monastery
To ensure that the idea of reconciliation was not merely metaphorical, the Francoist regime decided to exhume the remains of those killed on both sides of the Civil War from graves in various parts of the country and bury them in the largest mass grave in Spain, the Valley of the Fallen. This measure was approved in December 1957 by the Workers' Council of the Monument to the Fallen, and the transfer of bodies to Cuelgamuros began in 1959.
According to official data, the Valley of the Fallen now contains the remains of 33 people from both sides (including 833 women). The bodies were exhumed from mass graves or tombs (in many cases without the consent of relatives), transferred to the basilica with the assistance of Benedictine monks and buried in so-called columbaria. The remains of 157 people have not yet been identified (identification work is ongoing). According to many researchers, the actual number of those buried in the Valley may be as high as 12-410. The last burial took place on July 50, 70.
On March 30, 1959, the remains of the founder of the Spanish Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who was shot by the Republicans on November 20, 1936, were transferred to the memorial basilica. His coffin was carried by his supporters for 17 kilometers from the previous burial site in El Escorial.
Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera
Francisco Franco during the Civil War
On November 23, 1975, Francisco Franco's body was buried in the Basilica of the Valley of the Fallen. The funeral ceremony was attended by 100 people! It is doubtful that any modern Spanish politician will be able to collect even a tenth of this number after his death.
Franco's tomb in the Valley of the Fallen
For many years, the Valley of the Fallen was the site of solemn religious masses in memory of the fallen and Franco himself, and solemn ceremonies of the Spanish Falange. But over time, the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), which had long forgotten both socialism and the working class, came to power and began to fight against any symbols of the former regime. How nice it is to kick a dead lion!
In 2007, the Socialist government issued the "Law of Historical Memory", Article 16 of which was dedicated to the Valley of the Fallen. "The Valley of the Fallen will be strictly regulated by the rules normally applicable to places of worship and public cemeteries", and that nowhere in the territory "actions of a political nature may be carried out". The aim was to neutralize the Francoist value of the monument and limit it to a religious status.
In 2018, the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez came to power after a period of government by the People's Party, which advocated maintaining the "status quo" of the Memorial. One of the ideas of the new government was to promote the removal of Francisco Franco's remains from the Valley of the Fallen. To this end, a new section was added to the "Historical Memory Law", which established that "only the remains of people who died as a result of the Spanish Civil War may be in the Valley of the Fallen". After long legal disputes, with the intervention of the Supreme Court of Spain, the European Court of Justice and the protests of the family, Francisco Franco's remains were transferred to the family basilica on 24 October 2019.
Franco's mausoleum at the cemetery in Mingorrubio
On April 23, 2023, the same thing was done with the remains of Primo de Rivera, although he clearly did not fall under the "Historical Memory Law" since he was executed during the Civil War for "participation in a rebellion against the Republic."
Some consider the Memorial a symbol of Francoism and dictatorship, others - a Memorial of Reconciliation and a mass grave for those killed in the bloody civil war.
The fight against the Memorial continues to this day, right up to radical ideas about its... demolition. I wonder if the "radicals" are going to find the colossal funds for this themselves?
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