General Joan Prim

A military leader who shaped Spanish history stands frozen in bronze near the entrance to Ciutadella Park, but his story is one of revolution, assassination, and a twice destroyed monument. Joan Prim i Prats was born in Reus in 1814 and rose from soldier to Prime Minister of Spain. This Catalan general earned fame through military victories in Morocco, where he won the Battle of Castillejos in 1860, and in Mexico, where he commanded Spanish forces.

His greatest impact on this area came in 1869 when he ordered the destruction of the hated Bourbon fortress that once occupied this land and gave it to the city to become the park that surrounds you. The equestrian statue was unveiled in 1887, seventeen years after his death. It shows Prim on horseback with his cap in hand, a gesture of reverence rather than military dominance. Bronze reliefs on the pedestal depict his military triumphs and diplomatic achievements.

However, in 1936, anarchists tore down the monument in retaliation for an 1843 bombardment Prim had ordered against the city. The metal was melted into ammunition for the Spanish Civil War. Sculptor Frederic Marès recreated the statue after the war ended. Prim himself never witnessed this transformation. On December 28, 1870, assassins shot him as he left the Spanish parliament in Madrid. He died two days later, his killers never identified.