Cerro de Montevideo

Cerro de Montevideo
View of the Bay and Hill of Montevideo at dusk, ca. 2011.
Highest point
Elevation	132 m (433 ft)
Coordinates	34°53′18″S56°15′36″W / 34.88833°S 56.26000°W / -34.88833; -56.26000
Naming
English translation	Cerro (Hill in Spanish); Montevideo has a disputed origin [1]
Language of name	Spanish
Geography
Cerro de Montevideo Uruguay
Location	Montevideo Department, Uruguay
Parent range	none
Geology
Mountain type	Hill
Climbing
Easiest route	Automobile

Cerro de Montevideo is a hill overlooking the namesake capital city of Uruguay. It constitutes an isolated landform, it is part of no mountain range.

Its notable fortress on top overlooks the Bay of Montevideo, a natural harbour on the coast of the River Plate. ^[2] Its lighthouse is of tantamount importance for navigation.

History

This hill was discovered by Europeans during the Magellan expedition. There are several theories concerning the name "Montevideo". ^[1]

In the 1830s a decree established Villa Cosmópolis, afterwards Villa del Cerro, full of immigrants from all over Europe. ^[3]

Heraldry

In the coat of arms of Uruguay, this hill with its fortress is featured in the upper right corner on a silver background, as a symbol of strength. ^[4]

Since Spanish colonial times, the city of Montevideo has seen a series of coats of arms which include this hill:

• 
  First Coat of Arms, 1807.
• 
  Coat of Arms after the British Invasions, 1808.
• 
  Coat of Arms as of 1895.
• 
  Coat of Arms, 1903.

There were also clerics who included this hill in their respective coats of arms:

• 
  Archbishop Juan Francisco Aragone.
• 
  Cardinal Daniel Sturla.

References

1. Ormazábal, Nelson. "El origen de la palabra «Montevideo»" (in Spanish). montevideanos.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
2. Cortés Arteaga, Mariano (1936). El cerro de Montevideo y su fortaleza ː 1520-1935 (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 May 2018.
3. Fernández Saldaña, José María (1967). "La Villa del Cerro". Historias del viejo Montevideo (PDF) (in Spanish). Montevideo: Arca Editorial. pp. 38–41. OCLC   710099 . Retrieved 17 July 2008.
4. "Símbolos Nacionales". Ministerio del Interior (in Spanish). 18 February 1952. Retrieved 26 August 2025.