The City Council will remove the Francoist symbols from the old cemetery

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Today, the mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas i Vilar, approved the decree that will allow the dismantling to begin

Girona City Council will soon remove the Francoist symbols from the old cemetery. Coinciding with the date of the coup d'état of 1936, which took place on July 18, the mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas i Vilar, has today approved the decree that will allow the dismantling of the tombstones and symbols that apologize of the Francoism of the municipal equipment.

The actions will consist of the removal of five tombstones and a cross with inscriptions praising the regime and dated mainly from 1939. Subsequently, it is planned to replace these commemorative plaques with one that remembers the murders in the rear committed in the context of the revolutionary violence of the first months of the war.

As for the original pieces, they will be made available to the Museu d'Història de Girona to document, catalog and preserve them in the manner deemed appropriate. For its part, the Girona Municipal Archive will verify the identity of the people listed in the registrations and will prepare a web resource documenting the repression in the rear during the Civil War.

With this action, the City Council responds to the agreement for the withdrawal of Franco's symbols and nomenclature from the city's public streets, which was unanimously approved by the Plenary on July 10, 2017. It also seeks prevent the Franco symbology that is still present in the city from being used as a meeting point for the celebration of commemorative events contrary to the Democratic Memory.

Since the recovery of democracy, Girona City Council has promoted several initiatives with the aim of recovering the dignity and memory of the victims of the dictatorship and Franco's repression. Some of these actions are the removal of the Francoist eagles from the Aigua bridge or the change of denominations with Francoist motives. Last May, the council also asked for the public's collaboration to remove plaques with Falange insignia from private properties included in the Census of Francoist symbols of the Democratic Memorial of the Generalitat of Catalonia.

It is expected that the removal of the Francoist symbols from the municipal cemetery will be completed before December 31 of this year.

[press release]