Eibar, a municipality in Gipuzkoa, has achieved its long-sought recognition as a Place of Democratic Memory, officially published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). This declaration stems from a resolution issued by the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory on March 10, 2026.
This recognition highlights two essential historical events. Firstly, Eibar was the first city in Spain to proclaim the Second Republic on April 14, 1931, with the then Alfonso XIII square, now Unzaga, serving as the main stage. Secondly, the city remained loyal to republican legality after the 1936 coup and subsequently endured a particularly harsh offensive, including systematic bombings in 1937 linked to repression by German and Italian aviation supporting the rebel faction.
“"It is not only about remembering a pioneering event, but about establishing in the urban space the dual condition that the BOE attributes to the city: that of a symbol of democratic hope in 1931 and that of a victim of the aerial violence that devastated part of its urban and human fabric in 1937."
This designation formally incorporates Eibar into the State Inventory of Places of Democratic Memory and mandates measures to ensure its permanence, identification, explanation, and proper signage. Planned actions include the installation of interpretive plaques or panels, the creation of audiovisual and digital resources, and the integration of the site into democratic memory itineraries.
The procedure formally began on April 7, 2025, when the BOE published the initiation of the file to declare Eibar a Place of Democratic Memory. On April 14, 2026, coinciding with the 95th anniversary of the proclamation of the Second Republic, the Eibar City Council has announced an institutional event in Unzaga square, with the presence of the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory and the unveiling of a new plaque at the Town Hall.
