Plaza del Congreso and Rodin's Bronze Thinker

Why is it significant?

Stepping into the wide green gardens of Plaza del Congreso, you reach the western terminus of the civic axis connecting the executive power at Plaza de Mayo with the legislative power here at Congress.

Key Facts

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Stepping into the wide green gardens of Plaza del Congreso, you reach the western terminus of the civic axis connecting the executive power at Plaza de Mayo with the legislative power here at Congress. Inaugurated in January 1910 during the centennial celebrations of the May Revolution, this vast public park was designed by famous French-Argentine landscape architect Carlos Thays. The park is anchored on its eastern side by the Monument to the Two Congresses, a breathtaking stone fountain sculpted by Belgian artist Jules Lagae that celebrates the assemblies of 1813 and the Independence Congress of 1816 with galloping bronze horses rising from cascading water.

Look along the elevated granite terrace near the avenue: resting thoughtfully on a stone plinth is a world-famous sculpture—an authentic bronze cast of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker.

Cast directly in Paris from Rodin's original mold and signed by the master sculptor himself, this bronze masterpiece was purchased by the Argentine government and unveiled in November 1907. It is one of only a handful of original authorized casts produced during Rodin's lifetime, cast by the legendary foundry Alexis Rudier. The statue was originally intended to crown a grand monument inside the parliament steps, but when the building construction faced delays, it was permanently installed here beneath the leafy tipas and jacaranda trees. Facing the sculpture across the gardens is Kilometer Zero, marked by a stone monolith erected in 1935 that serves as the official starting point for all national highways radiating across the vast Argentine territory.

Viewing Rodin's contemplative bronze titan against the backdrop of cascading fountain waters captures the high cultural ambitions of early twentieth-century Argentina. As children play beneath the broad shade of flowering tipas and pigeons circle the stone parapets, the plaza offers a peaceful contemplative sanctuary framed by monumental republican architecture.

Walk west toward the monumental steps and emerald dome of the National Congress.