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Monument to the Battle of Talavera

Coordinates: 39°59′07″N 4°50′51″W / 39.98535°N 4.84752°W / 39.98535; -4.84752
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Monument to the Battle of Talavera
Monumento a la Batalla de Talavera
Map
39°59′07″N 4°50′51″W / 39.98535°N 4.84752°W / 39.98535; -4.84752
LocationTalavera de la Reina, Spain
Height27 metres (89 ft)
Beginning date1989
Completion date1990
Opening date2 October 1990
Dedicated toBattle of Talavera

The Monument to the Battle of Talavera is a monument located in Talavera de la Reina, Spain. It is a memorial to the casualties of the Battle of Talavera in July 1809, one of the bloodiest of the Peninsular War.

Description and history

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Standing 27 metres (89 ft) high, the monument consists of three 300 kg plumes of concrete,[1] representing the Spanish, French and British armies, crowned by a bronze laurel wreath.[2] The losses at the battle accounted for 7,268 dead French soldiers, 5,363 British and about 1,200 Spanish ones.[2] The names of the military units that took part in the battle are engraved on the stone.[3] It was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works.[4]

It lies on the southern foothills of the Cerro Medellín,[3] one of the key locations of the battle, next to the current-day A-5 highway. Built from 1989 to 1990,[4] it was inaugurated on 2 October 1990, during a ceremony attended by a mix of civil and military representatives from Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and West Germany,[4] including Narcís Serra (Spanish Minister of Defence), José Bono (president of Castilla–La Mancha) and the Belgian, French, British and West German ambassadors.[5]

References

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Citations
  1. ^ Vado 1990, p. 68.
  2. ^ a b Vado 1990, p. 69.
  3. ^ a b "Monumento a la batalla de Talavera". Objetivo Castilla-La Mancha. 28 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Llave Muñoz 2013, p. 518.
  5. ^ Llave Muñoz 2013, p. 519.
Bibliography