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:
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.
Spain 01 - colourful
Spain 02 - the home of bullfighting
Spain 03 - church bells
Spain 04 - the Ebro
Spain 05 - rural town
Spain 06 - abandoned house
Spain 07 - the Pyrenees
Spain 08 - lush forest
Spain 09 - Civil-War-related memorial stone in the Pyrenees
Spain 10 - garrotted sculptures
Spain 11 - Basque Bilbao
Spain 12 - the Guggenheim in Bilbao
Spain 13 - transporter bridge in Bilbao
Spain 14 - on the Basque coast
Spain 15 - Bay of Biscay coast
Spain 16 - oil not from olives
Spain 17 - solar panels in Aragon
Spain 18 - remote countryside
Spain 19 - coastal town
Spain 20 - old walls
Spain 21 - Easter procession
Spain 22 - in Zaragoza lots of drumming is involved
Spain 23 - scary hoods
Spain 24 - more drumming and in purple
Spain 25 - marching on and on deep into the night
Spain 26 - time off
Spain 27 - Seville
Spain 28 - Moorish vs Gothic
Spain 29 - Seville cathedral
Spain 30 - Real Alcazar in Seville
Spain 31 - Moorish grandeur
Spain 32 - Moorish still life
Spain 33 - old-style head-hunting
Spain 34 - empty arsenal building in Seville
Spain 35 - Plaza de Espana in Seville
Spain 36 - modernity
Spain 37 - the River Guadalquivir
Spain 38 - plains east of Seville
Spain 39 - provincial town
Spain 40 - Andalusian sunset
Spain 41 - Ronda by night
Spain 42 - pueblos blancos
Spain 43 - Cadiz
Spain 44 - Olite
Spain 45 - Parador de Carmona
Spain 46 - palatial Parador in Carmona
Spain 47 - Roman ruins
Spain 48 - orange trees
Spain 49 - water fountains are common
Spain 50 - classic
Spain 51 - cliches
Spain 52 - Brits abroad
Spain 53 - flamenco guitar
Spain 54 - vineyard in Navarra
Spain 55 - Oloroso sherry
Spain 56 - garlic and peppers
Spain 57 - gambas a la plancha
Spain 58 - bacalau
Spain 59 - cheeses
Spain 60 - iberico ham
Spain 61 - olives
Spain 62 - football and chocolate
Spain 63 - often lacking