{"id":6360,"date":"2022-03-21T13:49:19","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T12:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/preparing-your-trip\/history\/el-arbol-de-gernika\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T18:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:00:13","slug":"the-tree-of-gernika","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/preparing-your-trip\/history\/the-tree-of-gernika\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tree of Gernika"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What is the Tree of Gernika<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Tree of Gernika is one of the most important symbols of Basque history and identity. Located next to the Assembly House of Gernika, it represents the foral tradition and the institutional memory of Biscay. Visiting this site helps visitors better understand the historical, cultural and symbolic importance of Gernika.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Or<\/strong>igins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Centuries before the town of Gernika was founded in 1366, within the ancient Parish of Lumo, there was a place called Gernikazarra <\/strong>(Gernika the Old) which gave its name to the present-day Foral<\/em> or Chartered Town. We have known for centuries that there was an oak grove and a hermitage in this area. Many centuries later, all that remains of that oak grove is the Tree of Gernika. The hermitage eventually became the Oath Church of Santa Mar\u00eda la Antigua,<\/strong> which is now the Casa de Juntas (Assembly House).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years after the rule of the Lord of Vizcaya was established, the people of Vizcaya would gather in assemblies under the shade of other oak trees in different parts of Vizcaya, but gradually they became accustomed to meeting in a single place and under a single tree: the Tree of Gernika. Each town in the Lordship would send a representative to these assemblies to discuss the different problems affecting each locality. Based on the decisions taken in these assemblies, a body of laws was created by which the people of Vizcaya were governed, the so-called fueros<\/em><\/strong>, legal codes that applied throughout the entire Lordship of Vizcaya.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, prior to the political ceremony, a religious ceremony was held inside the hermitage of Santa Mar\u00eda La Antigua, which is where the Oath of the Fueros<\/em><\/strong> was also taken. The fueros<\/em> remained in force until 1876, when they were abolished<\/strong>. After having been in abeyance for 102 years, the Juntas<\/em> or Assemblies were reinstated in 1979<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Trees<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Planted in the 18th century, the old tree trunk <\/strong>is contained within a colonnaded pavilion in the garden. Although there are records of earlier specimens, it is the most ancient remnant to have survived to the present day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its successor was planted in 1860<\/strong> and stood in front of the Oath Stand until 2004. In 2005, it gave way to another oak tree that only managed to survive for 10 years in this illustrious spot. The current tree was planted in 2015<\/strong>, thereby serving to perpetuate its symbolic significance, just as the soul of Euskal Herria<\/em> continues to be passed down from generation to generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tree of Gernika: undoubtedly the most universal symbol of the Basque people.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The present day<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Such important events as the swearing-in of the Lehendakari (President of the Basque Government)<\/strong> and of the Governor of the Regional Government of Bizkaia are held in the Assembly Hall and in front of the Tree. In this respect, on a nearby monolith, a plaque commemorates the words spoken in 1936 by Jos\u00e9 Antonio Aguirre<\/strong> to formalise his oath as the first Lehendakari, words that have become part of the protocol for his successors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Information about the Assembly House<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Don't forget to book<\/p>\n\t\t

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The reservation for the visit to the interior of the plenary hall of the Casa de Juntas de Gernika is essential.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Book tickets here<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Visit the interior of the Assembly House<\/p>\n\t\t

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You may also be interested in...<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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The Casa de Juntas (Assembly House)<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Assembly House stands next to the so-called ‘foral’<\/i> (charter) oak tree, a meeting point for all the territories of Euskal Herria<\/i>, united in a single cultural and ethnographic tradition.<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n

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What to see in Gernika in a day<\/a><\/p>\n

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We present you the things to see in Gernika, so that you can spend a very special day without missing a thing. From its history to its gastronomy<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n

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The Gernika Top Ten<\/a><\/p>\n

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Essential in Gernika: 1. The Tree of Gernika.2. The Peace Museum. 3.The Monday market. 4. Gernika Jai \u200b\u200bAlai. 5. Air raid shelters<\/p> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the Tree of Gernika The Tree of Gernika is one of the most important symbols of Basque history and identity. Located next to the Assembly House of Gernika, it represents the foral tradition and the institutional memory of Biscay. Visiting this site helps visitors better understand the historical, cultural and symbolic importance of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":6350,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/page-planifica-viaje.php","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-6360","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6360"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16426,"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6360\/revisions\/16426"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gernikainfo.eus\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}