This autumn, the city of Girona will check whether private property owners have complied with the removal of Francoist plaques and symbols from buildings that remain in public view. For those properties where the symbols have not been removed, the City Council will take action to remove them, charging the cost to the property owners.
In May, the City Council sent 128 notifications to property owners, reminding them that these symbols are contrary to democratic memory and urging their removal. Mayor Lluc Salellas expressed confidence that a significant number of property owners will have complied with the request. “In the autumn, we will conduct a review and, if necessary, we will begin the process of removing the symbols ourselves,” he stated. Moreover, the goal is to have all such elements removed by 2025, marking the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death.
Ongoing efforts to restore democratic memory
Over the past few years, Girona has undertaken several initiatives aimed at restoring dignity and memory to the victims of the Francoist dictatorship. These actions have included the removal of Francoist eagles from the l’Aigua bridge and renaming streets that bore Francoist associations. However, fascist symbols still persist in various parts of the city, particularly on private buildings.
Following the completion of a municipal census, the City Council in May requested public cooperation in removing plaques, especially those bearing Falange insignias, from properties. The notifications sent to property owners, whether individuals or institutions, highlighted the legal obligation under the Democratic Memory Law to remove or eliminate these symbols.
Mayor Salellas noted that the property owners are still within the period to voluntarily remove the symbols. Starting in the autumn, the City Council will review the situation and, if necessary, will proceed with the removal, passing the costs on to the property owners. “We trust that a good number of communities have already taken action after receiving our letter,” the mayor said.
Clearing the cemetery of Francoist symbols
By the end of the year, the City Council plans to dismantle plaques and symbols in the old cemetery that glorify the Franco regime. This decision was made on 18 July, the anniversary of the coup d’état that led to the Spanish Civil War. The planned actions include the removal of five headstones and a cross bearing inscriptions praising the regime, most of which date back to 1939.
These plaques will be replaced with a commemorative plaque honouring those killed in the rearguard during the revolutionary violence of the early months of the war. The original pieces will be handed over to the Girona History Museum for documentation, cataloging, and preservation. Additionally, the Girona Municipal Archive will verify the identities of the individuals named in the inscriptions and create a web resource to document the repression during the Civil War.
The ultimate aim of the City Council is to declare Girona free of Francoist symbols by 2025, in time for the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death, thereby aligning with the broader effort to preserve democratic memory in the city