Monumento a los Caidos por España (Madrid)

Coordinates: 40°24′59″N 3°41′34″W / 40.41638°N 3.692887°W / 40.41638; -3.692887

Monumento a los Caídos por España
Spain
West view of the Monument
For those who gave their life for Spain
Unveiled	May 2, 1840
Location	40°24′59″N 3°41′34″W / 40.41638°N 3.692887°W / 40.41638; -3.692887 (Monumento a los Caídos por España) near Madrid
Designed by	Isidro González Velázquez
Honor a Todos los que Dieron su Vida por España
Statistics source: [1]

The Monumento a los Caídos por España (English: Monument to the Fallen for Spain), popularly known as the 'Obelisco' ("Obelisk") or the 'Monumento a los Héroes del Dos de Mayo' ("Monument to the Heroes of the Second of May"), is a monument in Madrid, Spain located in the Plaza de la Lealtad, between the Madrid Stock Exchange Building and the Ritz Hotel, next to the Paseo del Prado.

The monument is built on the place where General Joachim Murat ordered the execution of numerous Spaniards after the Dos de Mayo Uprising of 1808. After various attempts to create a memorial as an homage to the participants of the uprising, the inauguration of the monument took place on May 2, 1840, the anniversary of the event. On November 22, 1985, King Juan Carlos I re-inaugurated the monument as a memorial to all those who gave their life for Spain, including those that died in conflicts other than the Peninsular War.^[2] Since then, a flame fuelled by gas has been constantly burning on the front of the monument. This parallels other war memorials around the world of national symbolic importance, frequently known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Notes

1. ^ Celia G. Naranjo. "Monumentos y lápidas del 2 de Mayo" (in Spanish). Madridiario. http://www.madridiario.es/especiales/42/monumentos%20lapidas%20madrid%202%20mayo%20esculturas%20placas%20calle.html. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
2. ^ Lola Galán (1985). "El Rey inaugura el monumento a los caídos por España en presencia de ex combatientes de los dos bandos" (in Spanish). El Pais. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/JUAN_CARLOS_I/_REY/MADRID/MADRID_/MUNICIPIO/Rey/inaugura/monumento/caidos/Espana/presencia/ex/combatientes/bandos/elpepiesp/19851123elpepinac_5/Tes/. Retrieved 2008-11-19.