Christ of Monteagudo
{{Short description|Statue in Murcia, Spain}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name = Christ of Monteagudo
|native_name = Cristo de Monteagudo
|image = Cristo de Monteagudo.jpg
|caption =
|location = {{ill|Castle of Monteagudo|es|Castillo de Monteagudo}}, Murcia, Spain
|designer = Nicolás Martínez Ramón
|material =
|length =
|width =
|height = {{Convert|14|m|feet}}, {{Convert|34|m|ft}} with its pedestal
|begin =
|complete =
|dedicated_to =
|map_image =
|map_caption =
|map_width =
| open = 28 October 1951
| coordinates = {{coord|38.020282|N|1.097969|W|type:landmark_region:ES|display=inline,title}}
}}
The Christ of Monteagudo is a colossal statue of Jesus located on top of the {{ill|Castle of Monteagudo|es|Castillo de Monteagudo}}, in Murcia, Spain.
History and description
There was a previous statue of Jesus on top of the hill, sculpted by Anastasio Martínez Hernández and inaugurated on 31 October 1926.{{Cite web|url=https://www.laverdad.es/murcia/v/20100210/opinion/cristo-monteagudo-historia-simbolo-20100210.html|website=La Verdad|first=Pedro|last=Soler|title=El Cristo de Monteagudo: historia de un símbolo|date=10 February 2010}} It was demolished after an agreement voted by the Municipal Council in November 1936, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War.{{Cite web|url=https://www.laverdad.es/murcia/ciudad-murcia/cristo-grande-espana-20180602012344-ntvo.html|website=La Verdad|title=El Cristo más grande de España|date=2 June 2018|first=Antonio|last=Botías}}
The second and current iteration of the sculpture was a work by Nicolás Martínez Ramón, son of Anastasio Martínez Hernández.{{Cite web|url=https://www.laopiniondemurcia.es/murcia/2011/07/30/cristo-monteagudo/340655.html|website=La Opinión de Murcia|title=El Cristo de Monteagudo|first=Ricardo|last=Montes Bernárdez|date=30 July 2011}} 14 metre high and placed on a 20 metre plinth, it stands 4 metres higher than its predecessor. It was unveiled on 28 October 1951.
Built on a public plot, in 2010 a requirement was filed by two lawyers before the Directorate-General of State Patrimony, dependent on the Ministry of Economy and Finance to ask for the removal of the monument as they considered a public space was being used for religious purposes, arguing that "that Christ is an intruder and an attempt against the religious freedom and the non-confessionalism of the State" and considering a "provocation" the existence of a reproduction of Jesus Christ on one of the landmarks better representing the splendour of the Islamic period of Murcia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.europapress.es/nacional/noticia-ministerio-hacienda-responde-mazon-retirada-cristo-monteagudo-compete-cultura-20100420194533.html|title=El Ministerio de Hacienda responde a Mazón que la retirada del Cristo de Monteagudo compete a Cultura|website=Europa Press|date=20 April 2010}} The requirement was eventually dismissed by the High Court of Justice of Madrid in 2015 on the basis the monument was "part of the cultural tradition of Murcia".{{Cite web|url=https://www.laopiniondemurcia.es/murcia/2015/03/04/cristo-monteagudo-seguira-vigilando-huerta/630003.html|website=La Opinión de Murcia|title=El Cristo de Monteagudo seguirá vigilando la huerta desde su cumbre|date=3 March 2015}}
By 2018, the monument presented a bad state of conservation, with pieces of concrete falling from the fingers of the statue and gaps in the joints of the pieces.{{Cite web|website=La Verdad|first=Antonio|last=Botías|title=El Cristo se cae a pedazos|date=29 April 2018|url=https://www.laverdad.es/murcia/ciudad-murcia/escultura-hecha-cristo-20180429012048-ntvo.html}}