Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
1547-1616
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer, primarily known as the author of one of the greatest works of world literature: the novel “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha”. He was born on September 29, 1547 in Alcala de Henares in a modest noble family. His father was a surgeon. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was the fourth child in a large family. He took part in a naval battle in 1571, as a result of which he was severely wounded in the forearm, which left his left arm paralyzed. After that, he participated in many naval expeditions, visited Tunisia, Spain and spent five years in captivity in Algeria. In 1580, he returned to his homeland and married Catalina de Palacios. Cervantes worked on his first plays, but they did not bring him much success, and so he moved to Seville, where he served as commissioner for food procurement. In 1600-1604 he worked hard to create the first part of his famous novel. At the end of 1604, The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha was published in a small edition and soon became a national treasure, which, however, did not improve Cervantes’ financial situation. In the last years of his life, he continued to write and publish new works, dying of dropsy on April 23, 1616, the same day as the great Shakespeare. A monument has been erected in Moscow in memory of the great Spanish writer. This sculpture is an exact replica of the monument to the writer Miguel Cervantes, installed in Madrid in the XIX century. In 1980, Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin agreed with the Spanish government on a cultural exchange, which resulted in the creation of a copy of the monument to Cervantes (created by sculptor Antonio Sola), which the Spanish government donated to Moscow. In response, Spain accepted a monument to Alexander Pushkin, made by Soviet sculptor Oleg Komov, as a gift. Thus, a monument to Pushkin appeared in Madrid, and a monument to Cervantes was erected in Moscow.
Address: Moscow, Leningradskoe shosse, 88
