Guernica

Guernica (gārnē'kä), historic town (1990 pop. 16,422), Vizcaya prov., N Spain, in the Basque region. It has metallurgical, furniture, and food manufacturers, and some tourism. The oak of Guernica, under which the diet of Vizcaya used to meet, is a symbol of the lost liberties of the Basques. In Apr., 1937, German planes, aiding the insurgents in the Spanish civil war, bombed and destroyed Guernica. The indiscriminate killing of women and children aroused world opinion, and the bombing of Guernica became a symbol of fascist brutality. The event inspired one of Picasso's most celebrated paintings. Guernica is also called Guernica y Luno.