Heading inland from the Costa Blanca it is a relatively short journey on the High Speed train from the terminal at Alicante to Albacete, the original home of the International Brigades.
Albacete is now a thoroughly modern city but a bit of walking and digging around and you can find some of the key sites associated with the areas history as the base for the Brigades.
The Gran Hotel still stands proudly in the centre, and its architecture, albeit it with a branch of Barclays Bank now located on the ground floor, will have changed little from its days as the HQ for the IB.
Head out west from the Gran and you will find the magnificent bullring which was the reporting centre for thousands of IB volunteers who made it by all forms of transport from all over the world to sign up for the International Brigades. Like the Gran Hotel, it appears to have changed very little.
On the outskirts of Albacete stands the University campus, the home of a beautifully carved and worked memorial to the volunteers who came to this part of the Spanish interior to fight for freedom.
I understand that many of the Brigade volunteers were billeted to villages around Albacete before being deployed around the country to offensive and defensive positions. I will be back to find out more.
Heading inland from the Costa Blanca it is a relatively short journey on the High Speed train from the terminal at Alicante to Albacete, the original home of the International Brigades.
Albacete is now a thoroughly modern city but a bit of walking and digging around and you can find some of the key sites associated with the areas history as the base for the Brigades.
The Gran Hotel still stands proudly in the centre, and its architecture, albeit it with a branch of Barclays Bank now located on the ground floor, will have changed little from its days as the HQ for the IB.
Head out west from the Gran and you will find the magnificent bullring which was the reporting centre for thousands of IB volunteers who made it by all forms of transport from all over the world to sign up for the International Brigades. Like the Gran Hotel, it appears to have changed very little.
On the outskirts of Albacete stands the University campus, the home of a beautifully carved and worked memorial to the volunteers who came to this part of the Spanish interior to fight for freedom.
I understand that many of the Brigade volunteers were billeted to villages around Albacete before being deployed around the country to offensive and defensive positions. I will be back to find out more.
