Bernardo Giner de los Ríos facts for kids

Bernardo Giner de los Ríos (born in Málaga in 1888, died in 1970) was a Spanish architect, a politician, and a writer. He designed many buildings, especially schools, in and around Madrid.

His Early Life and Family

Bernardo Giner de los Ríos grew up in a family that valued learning and new ideas. His parents were Hermenegildo Giner de los Ríos and Laura García Hoppe. His uncle, Francisco Giner de los Ríos, was a philosopher. He believed in the ideas of Karl Christian Friedrich Krause.

Francisco and Hermenegildo Giner de los Ríos also started a special school called the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Free Institution of Education) in 1876. This school was known for its modern and open-minded teaching methods.

His Career

Building Schools and Public Service

Bernardo Giner de los Ríos started his career in the 1920s. He became an expert in building schools. He worked as a school inspector in the Levante region, near Alicante. He also built many schools in Madrid.

During the Spanish Civil War (from 1936 to 1939), he worked for the government. He was the Minister of Communications, Transport, and Public Works. This meant he was in charge of things like roads, trains, and mail.

After the war, he moved away from Spain. He lived in Santo Domingo for a year, then moved to Mexico in 1940. He continued his work there. From 1945 to 1960, he was a top secretary for the Spanish government in exile. He spent some of these years in Paris before returning to Mexico, where he passed away in 1970.

Writing About Architecture

In 1952, while living in Mexico City, Bernardo Giner de los Ríos published an important book. It was called 50 Años de Arquitectura Española (1900-1950), which means "50 Years of Spanish Architecture." This book was a history of Spanish buildings from the first half of the 20th century.

Even though he wrote in a neutral way, his book showed his modern ideas. He focused on how new building methods and city planning helped Spanish architecture grow. He also highlighted the importance of building schools and improving cities.

Bernardo Giner de los Ríos himself designed schools in a modern style. These buildings often used red brick with simple windows and designs. This style was popular in the 1930s, like many buildings at the new University City of Madrid. His book mostly focused on new building techniques and successful planning. This showed how architectural ideas continued even when governments changed.

From 1961 to 1970, Bernardo Giner de los Ríos helped restart the Boletín de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza. This was a magazine from the school his family founded. It had stopped publishing in 1936 but began again in Mexico under his guidance. The magazine later returned to Spain in 1977.

See also

In Spanish: Bernardo Giner de los Ríos para niños