The Peace Square (in Spanish: ''Plaza de la Paz''), officially called Peace Square John Paul II (in Spanish: ''Plaza de la Paz Juan Pablo II'') is an open public space in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. It is located in the central sector of the city, near the Metropolitan Cathedral. Built in 1986 to accommodate the crowd that welcomed

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in his trip to Colombia, was remodeled between 2011 and 2013. In 2018, its expansion began, which was put into service on December 30, 2019. Referring to the square in his speech that day, Pope John Paul II said: With an area of 37,000 m² (after the expansion in 2018-2019), the square is the starting and finishing point for various cultural, political and social events. Among the monuments and structures in the square, there are: the sculpture "El Policía Amigo" (a sculpture of a policeman holding a dove), a bust of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

(donated by the government of India, being a replica of a sculpture created by Ram V. Sutar), the ''Casa Catinchi'' (a neoclassical mansion restored as part of the plaza's expansion) and the ''Cubo de Cristal'' (an event venue built of glass).

References

{{commonscat, Plaza de la Paz, Barranquilla Squares in Colombia Buildings and structures in Barranquilla