Arco de la Victoria

About

Arco de la Victoria ([ˈaɾko ðe la βiɣˈtoɾja], "Arch of Victory") is a triumphal arch built in the Moncloa district of Madrid, Spain. It is also known informally as the Puerta de Moncloa for its resemblance other Madrid landmarks, Puerta de Alcalá and Puerta de Toledo. The 49-m high arch was constructed at the behest of Francisco Franco to commemorate the victory of Francoist troops in the 1936 Battle of Ciudad Universitaria (Battle of the University City), part of the Spanish Civil War. The Arch has some Latin inscriptions that recall the Francoist victory and the construction of the new University City after it was destroyed in battle.

The location of the Arco de la Victoria has significance related to the Battle of the University City within the historical context of the Spanish Civil War. This battle lasted eight hundred and fifty-eight days from November 17, 1936 to March 28, 1939. The bloodiest part of the Siege of Madrid (also called the Defense or Battle of Madrid) occurred a few meters from the current location of the Arch.

In the Roman architectural tradition, triumphal arches were built to commemorate military victories and to greet victorious armies entering a city. Thus, this victory arch is unique in having been built on the battlefield's own land.

The University City, located in the Moncloa area, was an architectural and social project of King Alfonso XIII. This project was intended to benefit the city of Madrid by bringing many academic disciplines together in the area. It was decided that the University City would be located on a site owned by the Spanish government called "La Moncloa" and which at that time consisted of vacant land adjacent to the Casa de Campo, near the Manzanares River. On November 6, 1930, construction of the Faculties of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry began. In 1932, the Clinical Hospital was built nearby. The arrival of the Second Spanish Republic kept alive the project of building a University in Madrid, and by 1936 classes had begun in some faculties of the University City.

The Modelo prison was also located nearby in a large block between Plaza de la Moncloa, Paseo de Moret, and Martín de los Heros and Romero Robledo streets. The large prison was destroyed during the civil war and subsequently dynamited. Its place today is occupied by the Air Force Headquarters. The prison was designed by architects Tomás Aranguren and Eduardo Adaro. Construction began in 1876 and the inauguration took place on December 20, 1883, although it was not occupied until May, 1884. The area now occupied by Avenida de la Concordia was an open area with an access road to the capital, the so-called Carretera de La Coruña, one of Madrid's main roads. In 1906, gardens were inaugurated in the area occupied by the Arch, up to the edge of the Modelo prison grounds.

The coup d 'état of 17 and 18 July 1936 began a cascading uprising throughout Spanish territory that turned into an armed conflict. The uprising failed in Madrid, which remained loyal to the government of the Republic. The main objective of the rebel troops in the south of Spain was the surrender of Madrid in the shortest possible time. Thus, a rapid march towards the capital began. This led to the frontal attack of General Varela's troops on November 8, 1936, in which these troops entered the Casa de Campo with great military force. At the same time, they encountered resistance from the defenders, which caused the troops to move northwest to occupy the area between the University City and the Plaza de España. This initial frontal attack was very bloody on both sides and produced a slow advance through the Casa de Campo to the banks of the Manzanares River, where the assaulting troops needed to cross bridges strongly guarded by the defending militia troops. After troops passed through one of the bridges—the so-called "pasarela de la meurte" or walkway of death—on Tuesday, November 17, the battle of the University City began on the campus.

The battle was bloody because of the confrontation between troops determined to attack and a militia determined to resist and defend. The number of casualties on both sides was great; the city's field hospitals were filled with wounded and dead. On the 19th, the anarchist leader Buenaventura Durruti was mortally wounded by a gunshot in a place near the current site of the Arch. The front was finally stabilized, forming a long wedge with its point reaching the Clinical Hospital. Given that the defenders' resistance had halted advancement of the troops, and the terrible casualties for both sides, there was a meeting on November 23 at the Leganés Railway headquarters to review the situation. This meeting was attended by Franco and Generals Mola, Saliquet, and Varela. At the meeting, a new strategy was proposed, to end the frontal attack on the city and to stop making the occupation of Madrid the primary military objective.

The new strategy of isolating Madrid through enveloping maneuvers shifted the conflict's center of gravity, with the First Battle of the Carretera of La Coruña in December 1936 and the Battle of Jarama in February 1937. The wedge-shaped front remained throughout the rest of the Civil War, turning Madrid into a front of attrition in which all tactical possibilities were exhausted.

The coup d 'état of Colonel Segismundo Casado on March 28, 1939 resulted in Franco's troops taking control of Madrid. At the end of the war, the idea of leaving the University City as a field of remembrance was considered, but discarded. The University City area was heavily damaged. Many of the campus buildings suffered serious damage due to the intensity of the combat and the large numbers of projectiles launched by both sides. Some of the buildings made of reinforced concrete remained intact, such as the Student Residence, the Board Pavilion and the Clinical Hospital. Some buildings suffered partial collapse, but the damage was not serious enough to prevent their subsequent reconstruction in 1940. The architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto was commissioned to create an urban plan to restore the Moncloa area by designing plans for the Ministry of Air, in the Plaza de la Moncloa (at that time called Plaza de los caídos por Madrid or Plaza of the Fallen for Madrid ).

The University City, located in the Moncloa area, was an architectural and social project of King Alfonso XIII. This project was intended to benefit the city of Madrid by bringing many academic disciplines together in the area. It was decided that the University City would be located on a site owned by the Spanish government called "La Moncloa" and which at that time consisted of vacant land adjacent to the Casa de Campo, near the Manzanares River. On November 6, 1930, construction of the Faculties of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry began. In 1932, the Clinical Hospital was built nearby. The arrival of the Second Spanish Republic kept alive the project of building a University in Madrid, and by 1936 classes had begun in some faculties of the University City.

The Modelo prison was also located nearby in a large block between Plaza de la Moncloa, Paseo de Moret, and Martín de los Heros and Romero Robledo streets. The large prison was destroyed during the civil war and subsequently dynamited. Its place today is occupied by the Air Force Headquarters. The prison was designed by architects Tomás Aranguren and Eduardo Adaro. Construction began in 1876 and the inauguration took place on December 20, 1883, although it was not occupied until May, 1884. The area now occupied by Avenida de la Concordia was an open area with an access road to the capital, the so-called Carretera de La Coruña, one of Madrid's main roads. In 1906, gardens were inaugurated in the area occupied by the Arch, up to the edge of the Modelo prison grounds.

The coup d 'état of 17 and 18 July 1936 began a cascading uprising throughout Spanish territory that turned into an armed conflict. The uprising failed in Madrid, which remained loyal to the government of the Republic. The main objective of the rebel troops in the south of Spain was the surrender of Madrid in the shortest possible time. Thus, a rapid march towards the capital began. This led to the frontal attack of General Varela's troops on November 8, 1936, in which these troops entered the Casa de Campo with great military force. At the same time, they encountered resistance from the defenders, which caused the troops to move northwest to occupy the area between the University City and the Plaza de España. This initial frontal attack was very bloody on both sides and produced a slow advance through the Casa de Campo to the banks of the Manzanares River, where the assaulting troops needed to cross bridges strongly guarded by the defending militia troops. After troops passed through one of the bridges—the so-called "pasarela de la meurte" or walkway of death—on Tuesday, November 17, the battle of the University City began on the campus.

The battle was bloody because of the confrontation between troops determined to attack and a militia determined to resist and defend. The number of casualties on both sides was great; the city's field hospitals were filled with wounded and dead. On the 19th, the anarchist leader Buenaventura Durruti was mortally wounded by a gunshot in a place near the current site of the Arch. The front was finally stabilized, forming a long wedge with its point reaching the Clinical Hospital. Given that the defenders' resistance had halted advancement of the troops, and the terrible casualties for both sides, there was a meeting on November 23 at the Leganés Railway headquarters to review the situation. This meeting was attended by Franco and Generals Mola, Saliquet, and Varela. At the meeting, a new strategy was proposed, to end the frontal attack on the city and to stop making the occupation of Madrid the primary military objective.

The new strategy of isolating Madrid through enveloping maneuvers shifted the conflict's center of gravity, with the First Battle of the Carretera of La Coruña in December 1936 and the Battle of Jarama in February 1937. The wedge-shaped front remained throughout the rest of the Civil War, turning Madrid into a front of attrition in which all tactical possibilities were exhausted.

The coup d 'état of Colonel Segismundo Casado on March 28, 1939 resulted in Franco's troops taking control of Madrid. At the end of the war, the idea of leaving the University City as a field of remembrance was considered, but discarded. The University City area was heavily damaged. Many of the campus buildings suffered serious damage due to the intensity of the combat and the large numbers of projectiles launched by both sides. Some of the buildings made of reinforced concrete remained intact, such as the Student Residence, the Board Pavilion and the Clinical Hospital. Some buildings suffered partial collapse, but the damage was not serious enough to prevent their subsequent reconstruction in 1940. The architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto was commissioned to create an urban plan to restore the Moncloa area by designing plans for the Ministry of Air, in the Plaza de la Moncloa (at that time called Plaza de los caídos por Madrid or Plaza of the Fallen for Madrid ).

This triumphal arch stands on a rectangular base of 130 m by 42 m (about 142 by 46 yards). It is supported by two rectangular structures. Its height is 42 m, not counting the 7 m added by Minerva 's chariot on top. At the foot of each of the two side structures, there is an entrance accessed through a small door. From these entrance lobbies, you can access the top via a marble staircase with six intermediate landings. At the top, there are observation points in a central exhibition hall, which has never been used. The hall can also be accessed by elevators located in each of the two side lobbies.

The sculptor Moisés de Huerta, from Valladolid, was in charge of making the neoclassical bas-relief of the frieze. He collaborated with his son, Rafael Huerta, and with José Ortells to create the bas-relief, which is made up of thirty-four allegorical figures. In the northern frieze, the figures represent military virtues, while those on the opposite side represent academic disciplines (literature, science and arts). The sides are the graphic expressions of the Latin inscriptions on the arch. On the west side, a winged Minerva touches the foreheads of two men with her hands, an allegory of intelligence: Mens iugiter victura. On the east side, a seated woman with a cross on her chest, an allegory of the University as a Catholic institution, welcomes those who approach her: florescit in conspectu Dei.

The frieze on this side has ten figures. On the northwest frontispiece (front) that faces the University City, you can read the following Latin inscription:

And below, on the face of two medallions crowned by laurel, you can see two years expressed in Roman numerals:

The translation of the Latin inscription of this frontispiece is: