Description of the attraction
One of the most important historical monuments of the capital of Paraguay, which is visited by all tourists and official delegations arriving in this country, is the Pantheon of Heroes, whose appearance resembles the Parisian Invalides.
The history of this snow-white building with austere antique porticoes and a high dome begins in 1863, when Francisco Solano Lopez, who was the head of Paraguay at that time, ordered the construction of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The construction was entrusted to the Italian master Alejandro Ravizzi, who was assisted by the local architect Giacomo Colombino. Due to the outbreak of the Paraguayan War, the construction of the temple was frozen and resumed only 70 years later. Only in 1936 the temple was completed. Almost immediately after its opening, the President of Paraguay renamed it the National Pantheon of Heroes, where outstanding generals and ordinary soldiers who gave their lives for the country's independence were supposed to rest in peace.
At the request of the hierarchs of the church and local believers, the President of Paraguay was forced to allocate one room for the chapel of the Virgin Mary, who is considered the patroness of the country.
In 2009, when Asuncion was selected as the American Capital of Culture, the Pantheon of Heroes became one of the city's seven cultural heritage sites designated by foreign experts.
Every week, on Saturday, in the morning hours, a solemn ceremony of changing the guard is held near the Pantheon of Heroes, to see which numerous guests of the city and the residents of Asuncion gather.
And on March 1, the Day of Heroes, the entire ruling elite of the country gathers at the Pantheon to honor the memory of the heroes buried here.
