What is the Valle de los Caidos?
Community of Madrid
Valley of the Fallen/Province
What does the Valley of the Fallen represent?
The Valley of the Fallen was begun in the 1940s on the orders of General Franco, supposedly to commemorate those who died in Spain’s Civil War (1936-1939). After the war ended, Republican prisoners, many of whom died in the process, were drafted in to dig the site out of the rocky mountainside.
How many people are buried beneath the valley floor?
Beneath the valley floor lie the remains of 40,000 people, whose names are accounted for in the monument’s register. The valley contains both Nationalist and Republican graves.
Why was the Valle de los Caidos built?
Visible from a radius of 40 kilometres, this hulk forms part of the memorial complex of the Valle de los Caídos [Valley of the Fallen], built between 1940 and 1958 on the orders of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to “perpetuate the memory of those who fell in our Glorious Crusade”—a reference to the military …
Who built El Valle de los Caidos?
El Valle de los Caidos or the Valley of the Fallen is a religious structure commissioned by General Francisco Franco honoring fallen soldiers of the Spanish civil war, located near El Escorial, 50 minutes outside of Madrid.
Who is buried in the Valle de los Caidos?
Gen. Francisco Franco
The remains of Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco have been exhumed, nearly four and a half decades after he was laid to rest in a colossal mausoleum in the Valley of the Fallen — the Valle de los Caídos — northwest of Madrid. The removal of Franco, who rose to power in 80 years ago, got underway Thursday morning.
Why is the Valley of the Fallen important?
The Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos) is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama some 8 miles north of El Escorial. The complex was built between 1940 and 1958 and is a monument intended to commemorate all those who died on both sides during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Where is Franco’s grave?
Cementerio Municipal El Pardo (SFM), Spain
Francisco Franco/Place of burial
Where are Franco’s remains?
Spain Moves Dictator Francisco Franco’s Remains, After Months Of Legal Battles. Francisco Franco, Spain’s fascist dictator, who died in 1975, being exhumed from his purpose-built mausoleum, the Valley of the Fallen. His remains are being transferred to the crypt in Mingorrubio state cemetery where his wife is buried.
What happened to Francos body?
When Franco died, his body was embalmed and placed in a marked tomb, to the east of the basilica’s altar, beneath a large figure of Christ on a juniper cross. The remains of the others were stored in wooden containers placed in eight adjacent crypts, where they were inaccessible to visitors.
Who owns the Valley of the Fallen?
The site is run by the Foundation of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen, which was created in 1957 under Franco. A community of Benedictine monks is in charge of it, and receives an annual state subsidy of €340,000 to carry out its duties.
Was Franco’s body been moved?
The remains of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco have been moved from a vast mausoleum to a low-key grave, 44 years after his elaborate funeral.