Democracy Square () is a

road junction A junction is where two or more roads meet. History Roads began as a means of linking locations of interest: towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junctions often led ...

and public space in '' barrio''

Tres Cruces Tres Cruces is a '' barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay. Its name means "three crossings", referring to the three major transportation routes which intersect in the area: Avenida 18 de Julio, Bulevar Artigas and Avenida ...

of Montevideo,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. The square connects Italy Avenue,

Artigas Boulevard Artigas Boulevard is an avenue in Montevideo named after Uruguayan hero José Artigas. The avenue was commissioned by Garetado Fredito, the Minister of Transport and Public Works, in 1891. It starts from the Rambla of Montevideo (coastal ave ...

and

8 de Octubre Avenue Avenida 8 de Octubre is one of the main Thoroughfare, thoroughfares of Montevideo, Uruguay, extending 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Tres Cruces at the intersection with 18 de Julio Avenue to Maroñas, where it turns into ''Camino Maldonado''. After exte ...

, which are three of the most important

thoroughfares A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...

in the city, due to the large amount of traffic they receive as they are different entrance routes to the central business district. Democracy Square, also known as due to the flagpole in its center, constitutes a busy meeting place because it is located across the Tres Cruces bus station and mall, the main bus terminal in the country.

History

The square was inaugurated on December 15, 1978 by the civic-military regime, and was called , and a flagpole with national flag was built on it. However, the underground tunnel located under the space, connecting 18 de Julio and 8 de Octubre avenues, had been inaugurated on July 18, 1961. In 1985, with the end of the dictatorship, the name of the space was changed to its current.

Redevelopment

In 2011, a competition for proposals was launched in order to redevelop the square; the judges of the competition were the architects Marcelo Danza, Francisco Fernández and Carlos López Quagliata. The one-year redevelopment works covered an area of 11,800 square meters, including the flag monument, paved spaces and green areas. The work involved the creation of a circular amphitheater −alluding to the Assembly of 1813 known as the " Congress of Tres Cruces"− with stands, the installation of a water fountain and a children's playground. In addition to a space for markets or exhibitions. The funds for the redevelopment were contributed by Gralado S.A. (concessionaire of the ''Terminal and Shopping Tres Cruces'') in an agreement whereby the shopping center used the square as a parking lot during its expansion. The inauguration took place on October 2, 2014.

Monuments

In addition to the flagpole with the flag, different monuments are located on the square. A sandblasted gray granite replica of the Capitoline Wolf was installed in December 1938. On May 18, 1943, a statue of Joaquín "Ansina" Lenzina made by

José Belloni José Belloni (September 12, 1882 – November 28, 1965) was a Uruguayan sculptor of the Realist school. Biography José Belloni was born in Montevideo, in 1882; his father was Swiss from Ticino, and his mother Basque from Spain. His family ...

on a hammered gray granite base was inaugurated. However, it was transferred to Barrio Sur in 2020. In 2017, a monument was inaugurated in homage to the victims of the civic-military dictatorship. The sculpture was a bronze representation of two kneeling people, hooded and with their hands tied behind their backs, and was created by the sculptor Rubens Fernández Tudurí in 1986.

Events

The space has been used for different events, tributes, demonstrations and political rallies. Among the events are the homage to the "fallen in defense of democratic institutions" in their fight against the

Tupamaros The Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement ( es, Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros, MLN-T), widely known as Tupamaros, was a Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricab ...

guerrillas, and the campaign closing ceremony for the referendum on the law of urgent consideration of the Multicolor Coalition.{{Cite web , date=2022-03-17 , title=Coalición realizó acto de cierre de la campaña por el "NO" en Montevideo , url=https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/politica/coalicion-realizo-acto-de-cierre-de-la-campana-por-el-no-en-montevideo , access-date=2022-12-28 , website=EL PAIS , language=en

References

External links

Plaza de la Democracia on the Municipality website
Squares in Montevideo Tres Cruces