General José Gervasio Artigas is a very (possibly the most?) significant figure in Uruguayan history and has a remarkable mausoleum in the Plaza Independencia just at the beginning of the Ciudad Vieja.
We visted the mausoleum which is a massive structure of dark gray stone, rather threatening in appearance. Down a flight of stone stairs you enter an enormous, mostly empty room where Artigas' ashes rest in an urn, inside a large lucite box and flanked by two soldiers. Around the walls of this room are picked out in enormous high-relief letters the significant events in the life of General Artigas including his contributions to the liberty of the people of the region that is now Uruguay.
We also visited el Museo Naval which is down on the Ramblas, the road that runs along the waterfront. It´s a small white stucco building containing a lot of great images of early Montevideo and exhibits on warships, and with a scattering of cannon and anchors over the lawn. They're planning an exhibit on the Graf Spee, a German warship that was anchored in Montevideo for repairs following battle with some British warships in 1939. Uruguay was neutral but the ship had to leave within 72 hours of docking here. The German captain blew up the ship off the coast rather than letting it fall into Allied hands. He committed suicide 2 days later.
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