Lena Rivera
The grave of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator who ruled from 1936 until his death in 1975, has been a site of contention for many years. The Valley of the Fallen, a memorial site dedicated to those who lost their lives during the Spanish Civil War, became Franco's burial place in 1975, despite it not being his intended resting place. In 2018, a Galician artist, Enrique Tenreiro, painted a dove and wrote for freedom in red paint on Franco's tomb. This act of protest reflected the ongoing debate in Spain over how to reconcile with the country's Francoist past. While some want to remove Franco's remains and eliminate symbols of his dictatorship, others argue for preserving historical accuracy and educating people about this period. In 2019, Franco's body was exhumed and relocated to a more discreet family vault, but the debate over how to address the legacy of his rule continues to divide Spanish society.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Location | Valley of the Fallen, Santa Cruz basilica, 10 km northeast of El Escorial, northwest of Madrid |
| Burial date | November 1975 |
| Exhumation date | 24 October 2019 |
| Reason for exhumation | To prevent public veneration of the site and remove all public glorification of his dictatorship |
| Final resting place | A more discreet family vault |
| People's opinion on exhumation | People are divided. Conservatives want everyone to forget, while others want to find the corpses of those executed, punish the criminals absolved during the transition to democracy, move the corpse of Franco, and close this chapter. |
| Other opinions | Some historians argue for a more nuanced, educational approach. Removing monuments seems authoritarian, and covering up the remains of a painful past isn't the best way to process or understand it. |
| Supporters' reaction | Hundreds of supporters gathered at the new cemetery to wield swastikas and Franco-era flags, and to perform the fascist salute in his honour. |
| Other instances of vandalism | A man urinated on Franco's grave; a slogan was spray-painted on a promenade wall in Costa Blanca; a Galician artist, Enrique Tenreiro, painted a dove and wrote "for freedom" in red paint on the gravestone. |
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What You'll Learn
A Galician artist was detained for painting Franco's tomb
In October 2018, a Galician artist, Enrique Tenreiro, was detained for painting a dove and the words "for freedom" in red paint on the tomb of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. The incident occurred during the 11 am morning mass at the Valley of the Fallen monument, located northwest of Madrid. Tenreiro's actions were in protest against the dictator, and he stated that he wanted to create "a space of freedom" and promote "reconciliation among Spaniards."
The Valley of the Fallen is a controversial site as Franco's tomb shares a space with his victims from the Spanish Civil War. This has caused ongoing debate in Spain, with some calling for the removal of Franco's remains and the exhumation of the victims' graves, while others want to move on and forget the past. The artist's protest highlighted the ongoing divisions in Spanish society regarding how to deal with the country's Francoist past.
At the time of the incident, there were also plans by the Socialist Party (PSOE) government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to exhume Franco's remains, which was met with opposition from Franco's family, who wanted his remains transferred to their family crypt. The artist's actions added fuel to the fire of this ongoing controversy.
Enrique Tenreiro's protest brought attention to the complex and unresolved issues surrounding Franco's legacy in Spain. While some may view his actions as desecration, others may see it as a bold statement against fascism and a call for reconciliation and justice. The artist's detention sparked discussions and brought to light the different perspectives that exist in Spanish society regarding how to confront their historical traumas.
This incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggles faced by countries with a history of dictatorship and the challenges of reconciling a divided society. It also raises questions about the role of art and artistic expression in addressing these complex issues.
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The tomb is in the Valley of the Fallen monument
The tomb of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco has been a site of controversy and protest. The Valley of the Fallen monument, located 10 km northeast of El Escorial and around 50 km northwest of Madrid, served as Franco's burial place from his death in November 1975 until his exhumation in October 2019. The site, a vast underground basilica and mass burial complex, was constructed by Franco himself to memorialise those who lost their lives during the Spanish Civil War. However, it has been criticised for containing both Nationalist and Republican graves, with Republicans interred without their families' consent.
Franco's tomb has been a particular source of contention. In 2018, a Galician artist, Enrique Tenreiro, was detained after painting a dove and writing "for freedom" in red paint on Franco's gravestone. The artist's actions reflect a broader desire among Spaniards to reconcile with their past and move away from the legacy of Franco's dictatorship. This desire has resulted in efforts to remove Franco's remains from the Valley of the Fallen and relocate them to a less prominent location, as well as initiatives to eliminate Franco symbols across Spain.
In 2007, the "Historical Memory Law" was introduced, requiring public institutions to remove Francoist iconography from public spaces. This gained further momentum in 2018 with the election of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who initiated the process of exhuming Franco's remains the following year. On 24 October 2019, Franco's body was disinterred and relocated to a more discreet family vault to prevent his tomb from becoming a shrine for far-right supporters.
The Valley of the Fallen continues to be a site of division in Spain. While some want to forget the past and move on, others seek to find and properly bury the corpses of those executed, punish criminals absolved during the transition to democracy, and remove the remains of Franco and other right-wing leaders from the site. The debate surrounding Franco's tomb and the Valley of the Fallen monument reflects Spain's ongoing struggle to reconcile with its past and honour the victims of the Civil War and Franco's dictatorship.
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The tomb was controversial as it shared space with his victims
The tomb of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator who ruled from 1936 until his death in 1975, has been a highly controversial issue in Spain. The Valley of the Fallen, a memorial site dedicated to those who lost their lives during the Spanish Civil War, became Franco's burial place after his death, despite it not being his intended resting place. The site, located near Madrid, contains the remains of 40,000 people, including both Nationalist and Republican graves. However, the dedication written on the memorial, "Fallen for God and for Spain", along with numerous Francoist symbols, has been a source of contention.
Franco's tomb shared space with his victims, which caused outrage among those who wanted to see the dictator's body removed. The argument for his burial at the site was based on the Catholic Church tradition of the developer of a church being buried there. However, this reasoning did not sit well with those who had been victimized by Franco's regime. The Valley of the Fallen was intended as a place of reconciliation, but Franco's presence there only served to alienate those he had wronged. Many people wanted to find and properly bury the bodies of those executed by both sides during the Civil War, and move the corpses of Franco and other right-wing leaders to their family properties.
The controversy surrounding Franco's tomb continued for decades, with people expressing their anger through various means, such as painting the tomb with red paint or writing messages on it. In 2011, the Expert Commission for the Future of the Valley of the Fallen recommended the removal of Franco's remains, but this proposal faced opposition from the conservative Popular Party (PP), which argued that it would needlessly reopen old wounds. Despite this resistance, Franco's remains were finally exhumed and relocated in 2019, marking an effort to discourage public veneration of the dictator and his ideology.
The Valley of the Fallen continues to be a site of contention, with ongoing efforts to transform it into a space for reconciliation and collective and democratic memory. The removal of Franco's remains was a significant step towards acknowledging the victims of his regime and promoting healing among a divided Spanish society. However, the process of reconciliation is complex and ongoing, with some calling for a more nuanced approach to addressing the remnants of Franco's rule.
The controversy surrounding Franco's tomb highlights the challenges faced by a country attempting to come to terms with a traumatic past. While some may want to forget and move on, others recognize the importance of honouring the victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and ensuring that such dark chapters in history are not forgotten or glorified. The debate surrounding Franco's tomb reflects Spain's ongoing struggle to reconcile with its past and build a collective memory that acknowledges the suffering of its people.
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Franco's body was exhumed and relocated in 2019
On 24 August 2018, the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez approved legal amendments to the Historical Memory Law, stating that only those who died during the Civil War would be buried at the Valle de los Caídos. This resulted in plans to exhume Franco's remains for reburial elsewhere. The government gave Franco's family 15 days to decide on Franco's final resting place; otherwise, a "dignified place" would be chosen by the government.
On 13 September 2018, the Congress of Deputies voted 176-2, with 165 abstentions, to approve the government's plan to remove Franco's body from the monument. Franco's family opposed the exhumation and attempted to prevent it by appealing to the Ombudsman's Office. The family expressed its wish for Franco's remains to be reinterred with full military honours at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, his requested burial place before his death. However, this demand was rejected by the Spanish government, which issued another 15-day deadline for the family to choose another site. As the family refused to select another location, the Spanish government decided to rebury Franco at the Mingorrubio Cemetery in El Pardo, where his wife, Carmen Polo, and several Francoist officials were buried.
Franco's body was to be exhumed from the Valle de los Caídos on 10 June 2019. Still, the Supreme Court of Spain delayed the exhumation until the family had exhausted all possible appeals. Finally, on 24 September 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the exhumation could proceed. On 24 October 2019, Franco's remains were moved to his wife's mausoleum at the Mingorrubio Cemetery and buried in a private ceremony. The coffin was draped in the Nationalist flag by Franco's grandson, despite being barred from using the Spanish flag.
The 2019 exhumation of Franco's body was criticised by his relatives, Spain's three main right-wing parties, and some members of the Catholic Church, for reopening old political wounds. However, the operation fulfilled a long-held desire of many Spaniards who considered Franco's mausoleum an affront to his victims.
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Symbols of Franco's dictatorship remain across Spain
The legacy of Franco in Spanish history remains highly controversial. His nearly four-decade rule was marked by brutal repression, with tens of thousands killed, and economic prosperity, which greatly improved the quality of life in Spain. In 1937, Franco became an uncontested dictator and issued the Unification Decree, turning Nationalist Spain into a one-party state under the FET y de las JONS. The end of the Civil War in 1939 brought the extension of Franco's rule to the whole country and the exile of Republican institutions.
Across Spain, remnants of Franco's dictatorship remain etched into the public landscape. In 2022, a new "Democratic Memory Law" was introduced to honour the victims of the dictatorship and pressure local governments to eliminate regime symbols. In the northwestern region of Galicia and the Canary Islands, crosses honouring Francoist soldiers have been removed. The northern city of Santander renamed 18 streets tied to the regime, and the southern city of Malaga has begun an inventory of Francoist symbols.
However, thousands of monuments, plaques, and street names honouring the dictator still remain. Even some bars and restaurants continue to display his image, including a bar in central Madrid named "Una, grande y libre" ("One, great and free"), which was Franco's motto for Spain. The owner, a Chinese immigrant named Chen Xianwei, is among the best-known dissenters against the campaign to remove Franco symbols. He argues that the government is "manipulating history" and that "people can think for themselves." Some historians agree, advocating for a more nuanced, educational approach that does not attempt to erase symbols of Franco's dictatorship.
In addition to physical symbols, the legacy of Franco's dictatorship continues to impact Spanish society in other ways. In 2006, the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (ARHM) initiated a systematic search for mass graves of people executed during Franco's regime. As of 2025, archaeologists have exhumed the remains of some 1,500 out of the 2,238 people shot in Paterna by Francoist forces between 1939 and 1956 from dozens of mass graves. The issue of Franco's legacy continues to divide Spanish society, with conservative people wanting to forget it and move on, while others want to find and properly bury the corpses of those executed, punish the criminals absolved during the transition to democracy, and move the corpse of Franco from a church to his family's property.
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Frequently asked questions
In 2018, a Galician artist, Enrique Tenreiro, painted a dove and wrote "for freedom" on the dictator's gravestone in red paint.
Franco's grave was located in the Valley of Cuelgamuros, previously called the Valley of the Fallen, in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range, near Madrid.
Before his death, it was not expected that Franco would be buried in the Valley. However, defenders of his tomb argue that in the Catholic Church, the developer of a church can be buried in that church. Thus, Franco was buried in the Valley as the promoter of the basilica's construction.
Yes, in 2019, Franco's body was exhumed and relocated to a more discreet family vault to prevent his tomb from becoming a shrine for far-right supporters.
