Espais de memoria (place of memory)

This was a bit of an unexpected sight in the middle of an olive grove. We came across it by chance driving between Ulldecona and Sénia. In 1937 an airstrip and command post were built here by the Republicans, cutting down 9,000 olive trees in order to do so. It was in a strategic position between Tortosa, Ulldecona and Vinarós. They didn't keep it for long though; Franco's troops occupied it in April 1938, and it was used by the Condor Legion's German fighter planes.

Note: these apparently well-preserved planes are flat metal cut-outs! One of the buildings is still standing, with a carved Republican insignia on one corner. The Germans later camouflaged the building by painting an olive tree design on it, but the paint is faded now. There are a few information panels from which I garnered the information above.

Now, there are ancient olive trees on one side of it and much younger ones on the other, where the runways were.