Parque Batlle (), formerly Parque de los Aliados (''Allied Park''),
is a ''
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...
'' (neighbourhood or district) and a major public central park in
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
,
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 ...
. It is named in honour of
José Batlle y Ordóñez,
President of Uruguay
The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Urugua ...
from 1903-1907 and 1911–1915.
Location
The barrio is located south of
Italia Avenue and north of
Rivera Avenue and includes the districts Belgrano, Italiano, Villa Dolores and the park area. It borders the barrios
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 8 ...
to the west and north,
La Blanqueada
La Blanqueada is a '' barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay.
Location
It borders Tres Cruces to the west, Larrañaga to the northwest, Unión to the northeast and Parque Batlle to the south. It is home to the Military Hosp ...
and
Unión to the north,
Buceo
Buceo is a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Location
Buceo borders Pocitos and Villa Dolores, Montevideo, Villa Dolores to the west, Parque Batlle, Unión, Montevideo, Unión and MalvÃn Norte to the north, MalvÃn to ...
to the east and
Pocitos :''Pocitos is also the colloquial name for the city of Salvador Mazza, Salta Province, Argentina''
Pocitos is an upscale beach ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) in Uruguay's capital city, Montevideo.
Location
This area is located along the ba ...
to the south.
The park covers an area of and is considered the "lung" of Montevideo owing to the large variety of trees planted here.
It is home to the
Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Uruguay ...
national football stadium, as well as the national monument "La Carreta".
History
In 1907, Pablo Nereo Gabriel Antonio Pereira (1838–1906) donated eleven acres of his land, which was then named after him as "Campo Pereira," for a building a park, to the Economic Management Board, and the idea of a park was created by an Act of March 1907 which also projected wide boulevards and avenues.
[ The project's landscape French architect, , began the plantings in 1911 and completed it with all the attendant embellishments required for a park. In 1918, the park was named "Allied Park," following the allied Army winning the ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
thus honouring the heroes of the Allied Forces. The park was further expanded to the present status, which covers an area of . This extension was made possible owing to an estate that Antonio Pereira in his "Will" had bequeathed partly to the municipality in May 1930. The Board then further acquired more land and created the Great Park Pereira seen in its present status. On 5 May 1930, it was again renamed as Parque Batlle y Ordóñez, in memory of the President of Uruguay, who had died in 1929.[ In the same year, the Estadio Centenario was opened. Between 1935 and 1938, the athletics track and the municipal ]velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...
were completed. It was designated a National Historic Monument Park in 1975.[
]
The barrio
Parque Batlle is counted as one of the seven coastal barrios, along with Punta Carretas
Punta Carretas is a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay.
Location
Punta Carretas shares borders with Parque Rodó and Pocitos to the north, while from east south and west, it is delimited by the coastline, including the ...
, Pocitos :''Pocitos is also the colloquial name for the city of Salvador Mazza, Salta Province, Argentina''
Pocitos is an upscale beach ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) in Uruguay's capital city, Montevideo.
Location
This area is located along the ba ...
, Buceo
Buceo is a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Location
Buceo borders Pocitos and Villa Dolores, Montevideo, Villa Dolores to the west, Parque Batlle, Unión, Montevideo, Unión and MalvÃn Norte to the north, MalvÃn to ...
, MalvÃn
MalvÃn is a '' barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay.
Location
MalvÃn borders Buceo to the west, MalvÃn Norte and Las Canteras to the north, Punta Gorda to the east and the coastline to the south.
Economy
The coastal ...
, Punta Gorda and Carrasco. It is characterized as being of high population density and most of the households are of medium-high- or high-income. According to Administración Nacional de Educación Pública (ANEP) of Uruguay, the Parque Batlle school district, Villa Dolores, was ranked 55 of 60 for the period of 1990–1999.
The park
Along with Parque Prado
Parque Prado is the largest of Montevideo's six principal public parks. Established in 1873, it covers an area of 106 hectares and is located in the barrio of Prado. Located in the northern part of the city, the Miguelete Creek flows through the n ...
and Parque Rodó
Parque Rodó is both a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay and a park which lies mostly outside the limits of the barrio itself and belongs to Punta Carretas. The name "Rodó" has been given in memory of José Enrique Rodà ...
, Batlle is one of three large parks that dominate Montevideo. The park contains the 70,000 seat Estadio Centenario, built for the first soccer world cup in 1930, which is both the national football stadium and it contains a football museum. There is also the Tabaré Athletic Club which is occasionally made over as a carnival theatre using impermanent materials. The Municipal Velodrome, two smaller stadiums (the Parque Palermo
Parque Palermo is a multi-use stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is currently used primarily for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Central Español. The stadium holds 6,500 spectators. Parque Palermo is located with ...
and the Parque Luis Méndez Piana
Parque Luis Méndez Piana is a multi-use stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is currently used primarily for football matches and is the home stadium of Miramar Misiones. The stadium holds 4,000 people.
The stadium is the located in the Parq ...
), and a target shooting facility are additional attractions.[Finzer, p. 103] It is an ideal place for walking, hiking or exercise and enjoy the fresh air provided by the wooded area.
Villa Dolores and the Zoo of Montevideo
Villa Dolores is a district of Parque Batlle. It took its name from the original Villa of Don Alejo Rossell y Rius and of Doña Dolores Pereira de Rossel who started there a private collection of animals which became a zoological garden. It was passed to the city in 1919, and in 1955 the Planetarium of Montevideo was built within its premises.
Monuments
In 1934, "La Carreta", a bronze monument on granite base 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 r ...
was introduced. The monument, one of several statues in the park, is located on Avenida Lorenzo Merola near Estadio Centenario and depicts yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, us ...
d oxen pulling a loaded wagon. It was designated a national monument in 1976. Another statue in the same side of the park is a bronze copy of the Discobolus
The ''Discobolus'' of Myron ("discus thrower", el, Δισκοβόλος, ''Diskobólos'') is an Ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period at around 460–450 BC. The sculpture depicts a youthful male athlete thro ...
of Myron.
On the West side of Parque Batlle, on 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 avenue) ...
, there is the Obelisk of Montevideo
The Obelisk of Montevideo, officially listed as the ''Obelisco a los Constituyentes de 1830'', is a monument created by sculptor José Luis Zorrilla de San MartÃn (1891-1975). It is a three-sided obelisk made of granite, tall with three bronze st ...
, a monument dedicated to those who created the first Constitution and inaugurated in 1938. It is a monumental work of the sculptor José Luis Zorrilla de San MartÃn (1891–1975). It is a three-sided obelisk made of granite, tall with 3 bronze statues on its sides, representing "Law", "Liberty" and "Force." It has a hexagonal water fountain around it with six spheres on its outer circumference. It is located at the intersection of 18 de Julio and Artigas Boulevard avenues, in Montevideo, at the entrance of the Parque Batlle area. It is a National Heritage Site since 1976.
Notable buildings
Apart from the stadium, the area around the park has many buildings notable for their architecture and style. Among them are several hospitals, the biggest of which is the Hospital de ClÃnicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University and a Site of Municipal Interest since 1995, the Italian Hospital and Hospital Pereira Rossell
Hospital Pereira Rossell is a hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is located in the ''barrio'' Parque Batlle
Parque Batlle (), formerly Parque de los Aliados (''Allied Park''), is a ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) and a major public central ...
(next to the obelisk), the Hospital Británico, a National Heritage Site since 1975, the Sanatorio Americano, Médica Uruguaya to the west of the northwest point of the park and others. Two other National Heritage Sites, both opposite the Estadio Centenario, are Conedor Universitario No. 2 (the Canteen of the University) and the Instituto de Higiene.
Places of worship
* Parish Church of St Ignatius of Loyola, Alejo Rossell y Rius 1613 (Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, Jesuites
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
)
References
External links
Intendencia de Montevideo / Parques y Plazas / Parque Batlle
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Barrios of Montevideo
Parks in Montevideo
Zoos in Uruguay
Urban public parks
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