The Cerro de los Ángeles (''Hill of the Angels'') is a hill located in

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

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") , ...

, about south of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. The site is famous for being the geographic centre of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

. On top of the hill there is a fourteenth-century

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

named Our Lady of the Angels (''Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles''), as well as the Monument to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

(''Monumento al Sagrado Corazón''), built in 1919 to dedicate the country and inaugurated by king

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

. The original monument was created by architect Carlos Maura Nadal and sculptor Aniceto Marinas y García, and was inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII on 30 May 1919. Republicans dynamited the monument on 7 August 1936 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, due to its religious and political symbolism, and because the

Catholic Church in Spain , native_name_lang = , image = Sevilla Cathedral - Southeast.jpg , imagewidth = 300px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See in Seville , abbreviation = , type ...

supported the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

. There was a proposal to replace it with a figure representing Liberty or the Republic, but this was not executed due to the war and the defeat of the Republicans. Bullet marks dating from the war can be seen on the Sagrado Corazón monument as well as the walls of the monastery. After the war, the Franco government moved the remains of the monument across the esplanade and, funded by popular subscription, rebuilt a bigger version with an underground church. The current monument is almost identical in design to the 1919 monument, but on a larger scale. Construction began in 1944 in accordance with designs by the architects Pedro Muguruza and Luis Quijada Martínez. The monument shows Christ with open arms, inviting all men to come to Him. The high statue on a pedestal is the work of Aniceto Marinas, and the group of sculptures around the base is by Fernando Cruz Solís. The monument was opened in 1965. The crypt, which did not exist in the original monument, was opened in 1975. In the monument resides the patron virgin of Getafe. The slopes of the hill are populated with maritime pines as well as parks, springs, paths, a bar and soccer grounds. From the geologic point of view, the hill has a peak altitude of above sea level, with the base at . The area surrounding the hill is flat in all directions, making for great panoramic views of Madrid, Getafe, and the surrounding countryside. A radio tower sits on the peak of the hill besides the monastery. The

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

for the diocese of Getafe is located by the monastery.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerro De Los Angeles Hills of Spain Getafe Mountain monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials in the Community of Madrid Christianity in Spain Colossal statues of Jesus Landforms of the Community of Madrid

See also

References

Bibliography

External links