Cristo Redentor de los Andes
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The Cristo Redentor de los Andes ( German : Christ , Redeemer of the Andes ) is a statue of Christ on the pass of the Paso de la Cumbre ( 3832 m ) in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile . The approximately six meter high bronze statue was unveiled in 1904 at the celebration of the peaceful resolution of the border conflict between the two countries.
Half a globe with the outlines of South America can be seen on the six meter high granite base . The figure of Christ stands on it, a cross in the left hand, the right raised in a blessing .
Geographical location
The statue is located on Paso de la Cumbre , the highest point on the old road between Mendoza in Argentina and Santiago de Chile . The pass is known by other names, on the Chilean side as the Iglesia Pass ("church pass "), on the Argentine side as the Bermejo Pass . The closest larger settlements are the city of Uspallata (Argentina) and Juncal (Chile), the closest village is Las Cuevas in Argentina, which is now almost extinct. From there, the road winds nine kilometers over serpentines around one kilometer up to the pass. It is only passable in the summer months when there is no snow. In winter, temperatures can drop to minus 30 ° C. The road is now mainly used as a tourist route to get to the statue. The main flow of traffic has been running through the Cristo Redentor Tunnel , which crosses under the pass, since 1980 .
Historical background and construction of the statue
At the beginning of the 20th century, Pope Leo XIII wrote. a series of encyclicals in which he called for peace and harmony and for surrender to Christ the Savior. At the same time, Argentina and Chile were approaching an armed conflict over the border. The Bishop of Cuyo , Marcelino del Carmen Benavente, promised to put up a statue of Christ the Redeemer to remind the parties of Christ's message of peace. The six meter high bronze sculpture - the cross measures around seven meters - was then created by the sculptor Mateo Alonso from Buenos Aires and exhibited for a certain time in the courtyard of the Colegio Lacordaire of the Dominican Order in Buenos Aires.
As Argentina and Chile approached war, Ángela Oliveira Cézar de Costa (1860–1940), a well-known personality with good social networks, had the idea of transporting the statue up into the Andes as a symbol of peace and the unity of the two nations. She was particularly concerned because her brother was a general in the Argentine Army and was preparing for the armed border dispute. As a good friend of the Argentine President Julio Roca , she managed to win the interest of both sides. She was later nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In May 1902 there was a diplomatic breakthrough: Argentina and Chile signed a peace agreement. The plan to erect the statue was progressing. In 1904 the carved up Christ was transported 1200 km by train and then brought up to the pass on mules. On February 15, 1904, a six meter high granite pedestal was completed, designed by Molina Civit. Mateo Alonso oversaw the assembly of the statue. It was set up so that the face is directed towards the boundary line.
inauguration
On March 13, 1904, despite difficult weather conditions, around 3,000 Chileans and Argentines climbed the pass and watched the two armies, which had wanted to fight a short time before, as they fired gun salutes together . Their military bands played the national anthems of the other country. Two medallions were also unveiled to celebrate the friendship between the two countries. One of them reads (in Spanish): "It would be better for these mountains to crumble to dust than for Chile and Argentina to break this peace that they vowed to keep at the foot of the Cristo Redentor." A Latin inscription reads: Ipse est pax nostra qui facit utraque unum (HE is our peace, which has made one of both, Eph 2.14 EU ). Argentina's President Julio Roca and Chile's President Germán Riesco Errázuriz were unable to attend the ceremony, but their Foreign Ministers were present, as were the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and the Bishops of Cuyo (Argentina) and Ancud (Chile).
Further development
In 1916 the cross of the statue was replaced because it could not withstand the harsh climatic conditions. The original bronze cross was reworked into commemorative medals. Various other medals have been added over the years. In 1993, the statue in need of renovation was subjected to major repairs by the Argentine province of Mendoza .
In 2004 the centenary of the statue was celebrated at the top of the pass. The presidents of Argentina and Chile, Néstor Kirchner and Ricardo Lagos , took part in the ceremony. They affirmed the friendship between the two countries. The statue has been declared a National Monument of Argentina .
See also
literature
- Isaiah Bowman: South America: A Geography Reader , Rand McNally, Skokie (Illinois) 1915
- Fabián y Ariel Seville: Cien años de paz: El Redentor de los Andes. In: Todo es Historia (2004 / No. 440), pp. 48–60. ISSN 0040-8611
- Félix Luna : Soy Roca , Sudamericana, pp. 328, 331f., Buenos Aires 1994: ISBN 987-566-076-0
- Lift up Clementi: El Cristo de los Andes. In: Todo es Historia (1996 / No. 345)
Individual evidence
- ^ Isaiah Bowman: South America. Rand, McNally, 1915, p. 76 ( limited preview in Google book search).
Web links
Coordinates: 32 ° 49 ′ 31 ″ S , 70 ° 4 ′ 14.7 ″ W.