Spain

Though this sun-drenched land is certainly rather a prime mainstream holiday country than a dark tourism travel destination, Spain still offers a number of really quite exceptional sites of that category, mostly related to the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship:

- Madrid

- Valle de los Caidos

- Barcelona

- Guernica/Gernika (Peace Museum)

- Lemoniz NPP

- Belchite

- Ebro (Gandesa, Corbera d'Ebre, La Fatarella, Batea, Fayón)

Most people probably rather associate Spain with beaches and the amassed barracks-like hotels of the Costa del Sol, or with cultural riches such as the Alhambra or the Prado, or you may think of Flamenco or bullfighting (OK, the latter IS dark – but I won't pursue the issue of institutionalized cruelty towards animals any further here …).

What seems to be almost forgotten today is the fact that in Spain one of the longest standing (quasi-)fascist dictatorships reigned in Europe. Generalissimo Francisco Franco ruled the country with the proverbial iron fist for nearly four decades until his death in 1975 … that isn't really that long ago, when you think about it.

Franco had come to power during the Spanish Civil War in which – with the support of die-hard fascist Nazi Germany and Italy – he was victorious against the communists/anarchists and rapidly established a typically right-wing dictatorship.

Unlike his buddy Hitler, Franco survived WWII (which largely passed Spain by) and carried on ruling Spain until his death – never having been brought to justice. And there would have been a lot to answer for. Discrimination, propaganda, censorship, concentration camps and forced labour, executions en masse, mass graves – the works.

Still, he was allowed to pass away peacefully and was laid to eternal rest in his pompously colossal monument to the "Fallen" of the Civil War at Valle de los Caidos.

If you have to pick one place name in Spain to stand for the horrors of the times in the run-up to WWII, then it has to be Guernica – a Basque city bombed in 1937 by the German "Condor Legion" in the best-known early example of carpet bombing, targeting primarily civilians … i.e. it was a forerunner to what would later escalate during WWII, from Coventry to Hamburg and Dresden … "Guernica" is also the title of one of Pablo Picasso's most famous paintings – and its enormous size alone impresses even those who do not usually have a penchant for modern art.

While Guernica rose from its ashes and was rebuilt after the war, another town – Belchite south of Zaragoza – was left in the ruins it was after the battle of the same name. It still stands out in its authenticity as a raw war memorial.

Contemporary Spain has long since made the transition to democracy and is now fully integrated into the European community and a key EU member (although one shaken by an ongoing financial crisis and cripplingly high unemployment levels).

The legacy of Franco has meanwhile rather been swept under the carpet. The tacit agreement seems to be to better not rekindle any lurking conflict or wake any ghosts from the past (or present – after all, there still are Franco fascists in Spain today). So the dark tourist in Spain has to be content with just very few sights relating to those dark chapters in the country's history ... except in the far north, in particular Catalonia, where the topic of the Civil War is currently making solid inroads into the region's tourism portfolio.

There is now even talk of a dedicated Civil War Museum to be set up in Barcelona. Meanwhile it is primarily the region of the Terra Alta where most of the commodification of the war history is to be found, due to the fact that it was here that the last decisive battle, the Battle of the Ebro, was fought.

Thanks to the fact that Spain is one of the world's most popular mainstream tourist destinations, the tourism infrastructure is formidable in many parts of the country and low-price airline tickets are fairly easy to come by. Getting around the country is best by car, though many of the main cities are also connected by state-of-the-art highspeed railways which make covering larger distances (e.g. between Barcelona, Madrid and Seville) a breeze.