Since Pedro Sánchez announced that the Government is going to exhume the remains of Franco from the Valley of the Fallen thousands of people have visited the valley of Cuelgamuros. The controversial monument has thus reaffirmed being the third most visited of those that make up the Royal Sites, Palaces and Monasteries of National Heritage, according to figures from the institution of the last five years. So far in 2018, the Valley of the Fallen has been frequented by 153,677 people. In July alone it registered 38,269 visitors, 49% more compared to July 2017, when it received 25,532 visitors. Only the first weekend of July received 3,584 visitors. The following weekend, on July 7 and 8, 4,367 people attended. During the past month there were also gatherings at the monument, such as the one that on Sunday 15th brought together several hundred people called by the Movement for Spain association, oppose the exhumation of the remains of Franco. In any case, the has only accentuated a trend observed since 2014, date since the Valley of the Fallen has had a gradual increase in visits. Last year, the last one with complete data, there were 20,417 more visitors than in 2016, until reaching a total number of 283,277. That figure was an average of 776 people a day, which generated an income of 3,981 euros per day and a total of 1,453 .152 a year for the sale of tickets. The most visited Real Site is the Royal Palace of Madrid, which exceeds one million visits every year (1.5 in 2017). It is followed, although by far, by the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen. Fewer people go to the Royal Palace of Aranjuez or to the Farm of San Ildefonso. Regarding the budget dedicated to the maintenance of the Royal Sites, managed by National Heritage, the general accounts of the State do not specify what amount is allocated to each monument. For this, the socialist deputy Antonio Hurtado asked the Government -then the PP- what was the cost, specifically, the Valley of the Fallen. According to the parliamentary response, in 2016 it was 1,836,325.33 euros, while in 2015 it had been 2,546,189,81.Although between the last two years with available information, spending has been reduced by 28%, the balance del Valle is negative during the entire period. On average, close to one million is discovered each year. Also at the request of Hurtado Zurera, the Government disaggregated the expenditure by items. Thus, in 2016, more than half was spent on personnel expenses. Another 340,000 euros were in current transfers, 327,722 in current expenditure on goods and services and 123,602 in investments. In 2015, almost half a million euros were invested in restorations, reconstruction works, adaptation and repair works. The strongest investment in that year was recorded as «support work for the preparation of a report on the sculptural group of San Marcos at the base of the Cross of the Valley of the Fallen», for 55,450 euros. In more recent figures, in 2017 70,494 euros were invested in repairs, improvements and restorations and 19,763 euros in current expenditure. The latter was reduced almost three times compared to 2016.
DATA
283,277 visitors
They are the ones that were in 2017, the last year with complete data. This figure was an increase of 20,000 visits compared to the previous year.
1,836,325 of budget
In 2016, the last year for which there is data, Patrimonio Nacional dedicated this amount to maintaining the Valley of the Fallen. The balance with the income in negative.