The statue on high
Almost 30 metres up.
Fwsbsb2 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carlos Alencastro — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fwsbsb2 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The JK Memorial is the museum and mausoleum of Juscelino Kubitschek (1902-1976), the president who built Brasília, and holds his tomb. Oscar Niemeyer designed it at the request of his widow, Sarah, and it stands on the Monumental Axis at the Praça do Cruzeiro, the highest point of the city's original plan. From outside it is a block of white marble with few openings, crowned by a tall pedestal carrying a statue of Kubitschek by Honório Peçanha almost thirty metres above the ground. The pedestal's shape stirred controversy before it went up, since some saw the communist symbol in it, which Niemeyer always denied. President Geisel refused to authorise the project; it was only allowed once Figueiredo took office in 1979. Inside are photographs and belongings of Juscelino and Sarah, including the presidential sash and the clothes they wore at his inauguration, along with his tomb and works by the artists Athos Bulcão and Marianne Peretti.
Almost 30 metres up.
Brasília's founder.
And inauguration clothes.
Praça do Cruzeiro, Monumental Axis, Brasília
No, cash only: R$10, half price R$5, and children under 10 go free.
