Historic Plaza de Mayo

Having survived five centuries, Plaza de Mayo became the heart of the Argentine capital and the center of the political life of Buenos Aires. In 1810, Argentina declared its independence. Traditionally, most rallies and demonstrations take place here. On the square are the most important sights of the city.

The so-called father of the square is the conquistador Juan de Garem, who in 1589 re-founded Buenos Aires there. Over the centuries, the square has been rebuilt several times and changed its appearance. The last significant change occurred in 1813, when the colonnade separating Plaza del Victoria and Plaza del Fuerte, which became a single Plaza de Mayo, was destroyed. Two years earlier, the Pyramid de Mayo had been installed in Piazza de Mayo.

In 1955, during a coup attempt, the square was mercilessly bombed. And after the military dictatorship that lasted in Argentina from 1976 to 1983, the mothers of missing young people gather in the square every Thursday.

Here are the Cabildo, which in colonial times housed the local authorities, the Cathedral, the Town Hall and the Casa Rosada building - the seat of the Argentine government.