Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Círculo Militar
Ave Santa Fe 750.
City Map
3 D3.
Te l
(011) 4311-1071.
Retiro, San
Martín.
61, 93, 99, 130, 152.
Open
for guided tours only.
@
8
3:30pm Thu
(English).
circulomilitar.
org
Museo de Armas de la Nación:
Open
1-7pm Mon-Fri.
7
-
∑
Formally named Palacio Paz
and Palacio Retiro, the Círculo
Militar is situated on the south-
western side of Plaza San
Martín. Covering a plot of over
2.3 sq miles (6 sq km), the
structure was built by French
architect Louis-Marie Henri
Sortais and commissioned by
José Camilo Paz, founder of
La Prensa
newspaper.
The elaborate building,
which boasts several splendid
ballrooms, took 12
years to complete
and was not
inaugurated until
1914, two years after
Paz died. The Hall of
Honor, covered in
gilded bronze and
marble, is now used
for conferences. The
main façade, on
Avenida Santa Fe,
was inspired by the
Château de Chantilly
in France. Since 1938, one wing
of the palace has been occu-
pied by an officers' club - the
Círculo Militar - and another
houses the
Museo de Armas
de la Nación
, which has an
excellent collection of over
2,000 exhibits relating to the
military, including weapons and
uniforms, some of which date
back to the 12th century.
Monumento a los Caídos en Malvinas for soldiers lost in the Falklands War
1
Monumento a los
Caídos en Malvinas
Plaza San Martín.
City Map
3 E3.
Retiro.
@
130, 152, 93.
finest historical monuments. It
is located opposite Plaza San
Martín and made up of three
linked houses set around a
garden. Architectural features
include an imposing gated
entrance, fine
ironwork, and the
orna men tal Salón
Dorado, modeled
on the Hall of Mirrors
of the Palace of
Versailles. The palace
was acquired by the
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in 1936. They
used it for their
headquarters until
the offices moved to
a building across the
road on Calle Esmeralda. The
Palacio San Martín is presently
used mainly for ceremonies and
social events, but it opens for
guided tours. The building also
houses a good collection of
pre-Hispanic American art and,
in the garden, a piece of the
broken Berlin Wall, gifted by
German president Roman
Herzog in 1999.
Located at the foot of the grassy
slope that leads up to the busy
Plaza San Martín, Monumento a
los Caídos en Malvinas is a
cenotaph made up of 25
somber black marble plaques.
Inscribed on them are the
names of the 649 Argentinian
soldiers, seamen, and airmen
who lost their lives in the 1982
conflict
(see p58)
. A symbolic
eternal flame burns over a map
of the South Atlantic islands.
Every morning the Argentinian
flag is raised, and flies high
through the day next to the
monument. Soldiers in uniform,
from the three branches of the
military, perform the changing
of the guard every two hours
until 6pm.
Exquisite stained glass at
Palacio San Martín
2
Palacio San
Martín
Arenales 761.
City Map
3 E3.
Te l
(011) 4819-8092.
Retiro, San
Martín.
@
61, 93, 99, 130, 152.
8
2:30pm Wed & Thu.
Formerly known as the
Anchorena Palace, Palacio San
Martín was built by architect
Alejandro Christophersen at the
request of Mercedes Castellanos
de Anchorena and her sons,
once one of the richest land-
owning families in the city. Built
between 1905 and 1909 in
beaux-arts style, the palace is
considered one of Argentina's
The extravagant entrance of the Círculo Militar
For hotels and restaurants see pp278-83 and pp288-99