Guernica Assembly House

This neoclassical style building (1826) and designed by the architect Antonio de Echevarría is the headquarters of the highest institution of the Historical Territory of Bizkaia, the General Meetings of Bizkaia. The institution whose origins date back to the Middle Ages originally had the Gernika Tree as its meeting place. Representatives of the different towns gathered around it to debate the common problems of the territory and from there comes its symbolic character, becoming a meeting point for the community. The General Meetings were forced to suspend their activity in 1876 with the abolition of the Fueros that constituted the legal basis that supported the regional institutions and, in 1979, with their recovery, the second stage of this institution begins with continuity today. as a historic parliament that includes the representation of the different political parties through its 51 representatives elected every four years.

In addition to their institutional aspect, the House and the Tree of Gernika are living symbols of the history of the Basque Country and claim both the cohesive elements of Euskal Herria as well as a tradition of managing the affairs of the community through its own institutions. .