The Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración (''Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration'') is a monument in the city of

Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros ("James, son of Zebedee, Saint James of the Knights"), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of ...

in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. It is the highest building in Santiago, and a major tourist attraction for the area. The monument is located on a hill in the middle of Santiago, with views of the city and surrounding mountains. It also has a surrounding park.

History

It was originally built during the dictatorship of

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961 ...

in 1944 as ''El Monumento a la Paz de Trujillo'' ("Trujillo's Monument to Peace"). He ordered its construction in his own honor. Symbolically, the monument was built for the

centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

anniversary of the

Dominican War of Independence The Dominican War of Independence () was a war of independence that began when the Dominican Republic declared independence from the Republic of Haiti on February 27, 1844 and ended on January 24, 1856. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola ...

, which was fought in 1844 to gain sovereignty from

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

After Trujillo's assassination in 1961, the government changed the name of the monument to "Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración" (''Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration''). It is now dedicated to the heroes of the

Dominican Restoration War The Dominican Restoration War or the Dominican War of Restoration (), called War of Santo Domingo in Spain (''Guerra de Santo Domingo''),Losada, J. C. (2012). ''Batallas decisivas de la historia de España.'' Ed. Aguilar, pgs. 371-386. was a G ...

, fought from 1863 to 1865 against Dominican Loyalist and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

forces. The heroes include (but are not limited to)

Juan Pablo Duarte Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez (January 26, 1813 – July 15, 1876) was a Dominican military leader, writer, activist, and nationalist politician who was the foremost of the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic and bears the title of Father ...

Francisco del Rosario Sánchez Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

and

Gregorio Luperón Gregorio Luperón (September 8, 1839 – May 21, 1897) was a Dominican revolutionary, military general, businessman, liberal politician, Freemasonry, freemason, and statesman who was one of the leaders in the Dominican Restoration War. Luperón w ...

. The monument was built from 1944 to 1952 and was inaugurated on September 30, 1953.

Photo gallery

File:Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración 2007.jpg File:Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración in 2007.JPG File:Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración.JPG File:Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración 2013.jpg

References

{{reflist Santiago de los Caballeros Monuments and memorials in the Dominican Republic Buildings and structures in Santiago Province (Dominican Republic) Tourist attractions in Santiago Province (Dominican Republic) Towers in the Dominican Republic

History

Photo gallery

See also

References