Visit Japan Web Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Visit Japan Web invites you to explore the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, situated in the heart of Hiroshima City. It was erected at its current location near the epicenter of the atomic bombing during WWII on August 6th, 1945, with the aspiration of fostering enduring global peace. Alongside the Atomic Bomb Dome World Heritage site, the park houses the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims. It bears the names of all those who perished, as well as several other memorials.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum draws over 1.7 million visitors annually from Japan and other countries. It is dedicated to portraying the stark reality of the nuclear bombing.
The Atomic Bomb Dome, formerly the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzl. It was highly acclaimed at the time of its construction in 1915 for its bold European design. At 8:15 a.m. on August 6th, 1945, the building was destroyed by the world’s first atomic bomb dropping. And it burned to the ground. It was instantly engulfed in flames, from the ceiling to the ground, instantly killing everyone in the building. Because the pressure of the blast came from above, part of the wall escaped collapse.
It was called the “Atomic Bomb Dome” for its distinctive domed steel frame and was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in December 1996 as a symbol of the devastation caused by the first atomic bomb in the history of humankind. It represents the importance of the abolition of nuclear weapons as well as lasting world peace.
