A memorial cross (sometimes called an intending cross) is a cross-shaped memorial to commemorate a special event or an incident, typically where one or more people died. It may also be a simple form of headstone to commemorate the dead.
A memorial cross (sometimes called an intending cross) is a cross-shaped memorial to commemorate a special event or an incident, typically where one or more people died. It may also be a simple form of headstone to commemorate the dead.
In England King Edward I had memorial crosses, the so-called Eleanor Crosses, erected in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile who died in November 1290. Three of the original twelve crosses have survived.
In Germany today, the custom has arisen of erecting crosses (Unfallkreuze or "accident crosses") as roadside memorials at the spot where someone has been killed. These are maintained for shorter or longer periods of time and decorated e.g. with flowers or candles. In South Germany, especially in Bavaria, memorial crosses exist for those who died several generations ago. Some of these crosses are at very remote places. These, too, usually commemorate a fatal accident. These roadside memorial crosses should not be confused with wayside crosses, which are erected in the Bavarian region on the edge of paths and tracks, and are there simply to give walkers the opportunity to say a short prayer.
In the US, makeshift crosses are often placed at the scenes of car accidents where someone died, or at the scene of a death due to violence. White crosses are frequently seen along interstate highways and other roads. Friends, family, or other visitors may decorate the area with photos of the deceased, flowers, toys (when the deceased was a small child), and other meaningful memorabilia. Other memorial crosses commemorate war dead and victims of terrorism.
The tallest memorial cross in the world at 152.4 metres is the Monumento Nacional de Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos near El Escorial in Spain. [1]
The Day of the Dead is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It largely originated in Mexico, where it is mostly observed, but also in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere. Although associated with the Western Christian Allhallowtide observances of All Hallow's Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, it has a much less solemn tone and is portrayed as a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and to remember friends and family members who have died. These celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.
The Valley of the Fallen, is a Catholic basilica and a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, erected at Cuelgamuros Valley in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid. Dictator Francisco Franco claimed that the monument was meant to be a "national act of atonement" and reconciliation. It served as the burial place of Franco's remains from his death in November 1975 until his exhumation on 24 October 2019, as a result of efforts to remove all public veneration of his dictatorship, and following a long and controversial legal process.
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb, or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum.
El Escorial is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, located 45 km (28 mi) northwest of the Spanish capital Madrid. It belongs to the comarca of Cuenca del Guadarrama. Its population in 2009 was 14,979.
An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can be initially ignited by lightning, piezoelectricity or human activity, some of which have burned for a long time.
A roadside memorial is a marker that usually commemorates a site where a person died suddenly and unexpectedly, away from home. Unlike a grave site headstone, which marks where a body is laid, the memorial marks the last place on earth where a person was alive – although in the past travelers were, out of necessity, often buried where they fell.
Juan de Ávalos y García-Taborda was a Spanish sculptor.
El Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, also called La Necrópolis de Cristóbal Colón, was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba to replace the Espada Cemetery in the Barrio de San Lázaro. Named for Christopher Columbus, the cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials. It is estimated the cemetery has more than 500 major mausoleums. Before the Espada Cemetery and the Colon Cemetery were built, interments took place in crypts at the various churches throughout Havana, for example, at the Havana Cathedral or Church Crypts in Havana Vieja.
Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán is a small city and municipality located 5 km from the state capital of Oaxaca in the south of Mexico. It is part of the Centro District in the Valles Centrales region. The name comes from the Nahuatl word “xocotl” which means “sour or sweet and sour fruit” with the duplicative “xo” to indicate “very.” The meaning of the entire phrase means “among the very sour fruits.” The Mixtec name for the area was Nuunitatnohoyoo which mean “land of the moon-faced flowers.” However, the community is most commonly referred to simply as Xoxo.
On the 2 and 3 May 1808 the Dos de Mayo or Second of May Uprising of 1808 took place in the outskirts of Madrid. It was a rebellion by the people of Madrid against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking repression by the French Imperial forces that had tremendous significance. In addition, the Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard of Napoleon fought residents of Madrid in the Puerta del Sol, wearing turbans and using curved scimitars, thus provoking memories of the Muslim Spain.
The Monument to the Fallen for Spain or the Monument to the Heroes of the Second of May, popularly known as el Obelisco, is a war memorial in Madrid, Spain. It lies on the centre of the Plaza de la Lealtad.
A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mountain. They have been a feature of many cultures, including Chinese folk religious communities, Catholic and Orthodox Europe and Shinto Japan.
Mount Abantos is a mountain in the Sierra de Guadarrama range in the Sistema Central of Spain, a chain that runs from east to west. For the most part, the mountain is located in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in the Community of Madrid, with part of its west side in the province of Ávila.
Luis Daoíz y Torres was a Spanish artillery officer and one of the leaders of the Dos de Mayo Uprising that signalled the start of the Spanish War of Independence. Daoíz's surname is derived from the town of Aoiz in Navarre and he was descended from a long line of Spanish gentry with soldiering associations dating to the Reconquista. Daoíz's great grandfather married the daughter of the Count of Miraflores de los Angeles and Daoíz spent much of his early life in palaces owned by the family. He was born in Seville and, after receiving a Catholic education, trained at the Royal School of Artillery in Segovia. Daoíz saw action against the Moors in Spanish North Africa, where he was commended for his bravery and promoted to lieutenant. He also served against the French in the short-lived War of the Roussillon where he was captured. After refusing to serve in the French army, he was imprisoned.
Plaza de España, is the largest square in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Canary Islands (Spain). The square is located in the centre of town, 1.4 km north of the Auditorio de Tenerife. This square is considered one of the "main squares" of the island of Tenerife, together with the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna in San Cristóbal de La Laguna and the Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias in Candelaria. It hosts an artificial lake fountain, a work of Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.
The symbols of Francoism were iconic references to identify the Francoist State in Spain between 1936 and 1975. They serve as visual illustrations for the ideology of Francoist Spain. Uniforms were designed for men and women that combined elements of the earlier Falangist and Carlist uniforms. The state developed new flags and escutcheons based on the traditional heraldry of the monarchy, but now associated with the state. The emblem of five arrows joined by a yoke was also adopted from earlier Spanish symbology, but after 1945 the arrows always pointed upward. This emblem appeared on buildings, plaques and uniforms.
Justo Pérez Santiago later known as Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel y Santiago O.S.B. was a Spanish Roman Catholic clergyman and medievalist, first abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Cross of the Valle de los Caídos, member of the Consejo Nacional del Movimiento, later a Procurador en Cortes and distinguished scholar of medieval Castile.
The 1982 Liberation Memorial is a war memorial in Stanley, Falkland Islands. It commemorates all British Forces and supporting units that served in the Falklands War and helped liberate the Falkland Islanders from Argentine military occupation in 1982. The Memorial is situated in front of the Secretariat Building, overlooking Stanley Harbour. The funds for the Memorial were raised entirely by Falkland Islanders and it was unveiled by the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Sir Rex Hunt, on Liberation Day 1984, the second anniversary of the end of the war.
The Monument to the Fallen is a monument in Plaza de España, near the sea front of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. It is one of the several erected monuments across the Spanish geography that serve as memorial to the victors in the Spanish Civil War.
The Monument to the Heroes of Puente Sampayo is a memorial and sculptural group created by the Spanish sculptor Julio González Pola, in Pontevedra, Spain.
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