Cerro Lambaré, Asunción's Monumental Mountain

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Cerro Lambaré, Asunción’s Monumental Mountain

Cerro Lambaré, Asunción’s Monumental Mountain

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Throughout much of its history, Paraguay has been ruled by a series of autocrats, some of whom waged war on neighboring countries, while others sealed the nation from the outside world. Among the lesser-known vestiges of Paraguay’s authoritarian past is Cerro Lambaré, a verdant hill on the outskirts of Asunción, where a brutalist monument pays tribute to the country’s tumultuous history and famed heroes.

By: Omri Westmark

Date: 21:05 24.11.22

Last Update: 12:50 27.01.25

Monuments Mountains Scenic Points Urban Asunción Paraguay Latin America & Antarctica

From total isolation to an all-out war with its neighbors that nearly wiped it off the face of the Earth, Paraguay had a turbulent history, featuring continent-wide conflicts and pretentious tyrants. Known as Paraguay’s last dictator, Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda ruled the country with an iron fist for more than three decades. The son of a German father and a Paraguayan mother, Stroessner was notorious for his brutal crackdown on dissidents as well as the total elimination of civil liberties.

It might come as a surprise to some, yet Stroessner’s presidency wasn’t accompanied solely by the ever-growing suppression of human rights. The then-president was also known for his fondness for large construction projects. To cement his legacy, quite literally, Stroessner initiated dozens of grand-scale plans that transformed the country, including the construction of a highway network, the Itaipu Dam (the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant upon completion), and the establishment of Ciudad del Este, currently Paraguay’s second-largest city.

Perching atop a wooded mountain in Asunción’s satellite town of Lambare, Cerro Lambaré might not be Stroessner’s Era’s best-known relic, yet it is by no means less significant. In 1976, Stroessner commissioned the renowned Spanish architect and sculptor Juan de Ávalos y Taborda to design a monument honoring Paraguay’s most important historical figures on the peak of Cerro Lambaré. Taborda, who a few years earlier had been entrusted with designing the Valley of the Fallen, a massive basilica complex near Madrid, used his monumental creation in Spain as a source of inspiration for Cerro Lambaré’s hilltop sculpture.

Following three years of construction, the monument, primarily built of concrete blocks, was inaugurated in 1982. Its base is comprised of five legs, each of which is embellished with a pair of Greek-style reliefs and crowned by a statue of a Paraguayan national hero, including former presidents and patriarchs. Interestingly, up until 1991, a sculpted figure of Stroessner was also among Cerro Lambaré’s multiple statues. However, it was ultimately removed by the mayor of Lambare due to the leader’s controversial reputation among locals.

The aforementioned pentagonal pedestal supports a large column, which is in turn topped by a statue of an angel. Situated right in the middle of the plaza beneath it is the monument’s centerpiece: a statue of Chief Lambaré, the venerated leader of the Guaraní tribe, who heroically fought the Spanish colonizers at this very mountain a few centuries ago.

At a height of 139 meters above sea level, the knoll provides visitors with a stunning view of the Paraguay River, its nearby shantytowns, the streets of Lambare, and a bit of Asunción’s skyline. A meandering road links the monument with the entrance area through the hill’s forested slopes, making it accessible to both cars and pedestrians.