The Forest of Remembrance ( es, Bosque del Recuerdo), formerly known as the Forest of the Departed (), is a memorial garden located in the park of

Parque del Buen Retiro The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

that commemorates the 191 civilian victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings on 11 March 2004 and the special forces agent who died when the seven

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

s subsequently killed themselves on March 11, 2004, while under siege by security forces in their apartment block. The new name, (Forest of Remembrance), was chosen after the survivors and the victims' families argued that those killed are forever present and have never departed from their hearts. The memorial comprises 192

olive tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s and cypresses, one for each person killed, and is surrounded by a channel of water intended to symbolise life. The location is a hillock near the

Atocha railway station Madrid Atocha ( es, Estación de Madrid Atocha), also named Madrid Puerta de Atocha–Almudena Grandes, is the first major railway station in Madrid. It is the largest station serving commuter trains ( ''Cercanías''), regional trains from the s ...

, one of the sites of the atrocities.

Inauguration

King Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

and

Queen Sofia Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mo ...

presided over the dedication ceremony, which took place on 11 March 2005. They had the honour of being the first to place flowers at the memorial. Their bouquet of white flowers bore the message: "''In memory of all the victims of terrorism''". The park was designed by El Invernadero, Belen Arroyo and Ines Urquijo. Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias, the President of the Government of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and political representatives of all the parties took part in the inauguration, as well as some heads of state and world leaders like the United Nations Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

, the King of Morocco

Mohammed VI Muhammad VI may refer to: * Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI (1868–1932), sultan of the Maldives from 1893 to 1902 * Mehmed VI (1861–1926), sultan of Ottoman Empire, from 1918 to 1922 * Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد الساد ...

, the President of Afghanistan

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

, the President of Senegal

Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade (born 29 May 1926)
Encyclopedia of the Nations. Retrieved February 28, ...

, the President of Mauritania

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya ( ar, معاوية ولد سيد أحمد الطايع, Ma‘āwiyah wuld Sīdi Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭāya‘ / Mu'awiya walad Sayyidi Ahmad Taya; born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the ...

, the Prime Minister of Poland

Marek Belka Marek Marian Belka (; born 9 January 1952 in Lódź) is a Polish professor of economics and politician who has served as Prime Minister of Poland and Finance Minister of Poland in two governments. He is a former Director of the International M ...

, the President of Portugal

Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. A member of the Socialist Party, a party which he led between 1989 a ...

, the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, the foreign policy chief of the European Union

Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary General of NA ...

, the President of the European Parliament

Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician serving as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since 1 December 2019. A member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), he served ...

and the ambassadors of the sixteen countries that lost citizens in the attacks. At the request of the victims' families, no speeches were delivered during the ceremony. However, a 17-year-old cellist performed "''El Cant dels Ocells''" (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: "''The Song of the Birds''") by Pablo Casals.

References

External links

"Bosque del Recuerdo" Pictures
{{coord, 40, 24, 43, N, 3, 41, 13, W, region:ES-M_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Jerónimos neighborhood, Madrid Monuments and memorials in Madrid 2004 Madrid train bombings Tourist attractions in Madrid Monuments and memorials to victims of terrorism