The Christ of Monteagudo is a colossal statue of Jesus located on top of the Castle of Monteagudo, in Murcia, Spain.
Cristo de Monteagudo | |
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| 38°01′13″N 1°05′53″W / 38.020282°N 1.097969°W | |
| Location | Castle of Monteagudo, Murcia, Spain |
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| Designer | Nicolás Martínez Ramón |
| Height | 14 metres (46 ft), 34 metres (112 ft) with its pedestal |
| Opening date | 28 October 1951 |
History and description edit
There was a previous statue of Jesus on top of the hill, sculpted by Anastasio Martínez Hernández and inaugurated on 31 October 1926.[1] It was demolished after an agreement voted by the Municipal Council in November 1936, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War.[2]
The second and current iteration of the sculpture was a work by Nicolás Martínez Ramón, son of Anastasio Martínez Hernández.[3] 14 metre high and placed on a 20 metre plinth,[2] it stands 4 metres higher than its predecessor.[3] It was unveiled on 28 October 1951.[2]
Built on a public plot, in 2010 a requirement was filed by two lawyers before the Directorate-General of State Patrimony, dependent on the Ministry of Economy and Finance to ask for the removal of the monument as they considered a public space was being used for religious purposes, arguing that "that Christ is an intruder and an attempt against the religious freedom and the non-confessionalism of the State" and considering a "provocation" the existence of a reproduction of Jesus Christ on one of the landmarks better representing the splendour of the Islamic period of Murcia.[4][5] The requirement was eventually dismissed by the High Court of Justice of Madrid in 2015 on the basis the monument was "part of the cultural tradition of Murcia".[5]
By 2018, the monument presented a bad state of conservation, with pieces of concrete falling from the fingers of the statue and gaps in the joints of the pieces.[6]
References edit
- ^ Soler, Pedro (10 February 2010). "El Cristo de Monteagudo: historia de un símbolo". La Verdad.
- ^ a b c Botías, Antonio (2 June 2018). "El Cristo más grande de España". La Verdad.
- ^ a b Montes Bernárdez, Ricardo (30 July 2011). "El Cristo de Monteagudo". La Opinión de Murcia.
- ^ "El Ministerio de Hacienda responde a Mazón que la retirada del Cristo de Monteagudo compete a Cultura". Europa Press. 20 April 2010.
- ^ a b "El Cristo de Monteagudo seguirá vigilando la huerta desde su cumbre". La Opinión de Murcia. 3 March 2015.
- ^ Botías, Antonio (29 April 2018). "El Cristo se cae a pedazos". La Verdad.