Guernica
Coordinates: 43 19 N 2 40 W
Population: 15,624 (2001 est.)
Geographic Theme: Region

Familiar to millions as the title of one of Pablo Picasso’s most famous paintings, the city of Guernica also occupies a position of symbolic importance to northern Spain’s Basque Country, an autonomous region on the Bay of Biscay. The traditional seat of Basque national pride, leaders have met beneath an iconic oak tree outside of La Casa de Juntas here for centuries—in fact, the regional president is still sworn in under its branches. A fourth Guernica oak was planted on the site in 2005 after the previous tree, which miraculously survived the brutal air strike in 1937, died during a summer drought. Earlier this week the separatist group known by the acronym ETA announced its intention to permanently discontinue their militant approach to establishing an independent state.