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12 Monuments to Persons Unknown

Not quite remembered, but also not forgotten.

by Holyn Thigpen , Community Editor
12 Places

Monuments are tangible links to the past, serving as symbols of victory and defeat, achievement and sorrow, remembrance, and cultural identity. Our choices about who and what get memorialized in this way speak not only to how we view our past but also what values we hope to instill in future generations.

While monuments can take many different forms—from murals to statues to stones—all have the ability to fill us with wonder and prompt further exploration. Seeing Mount Rushmore may inspire you to brush up on your U.S. history, while a walk through Angkor Wat might leave you eager to learn more Buddhist principles. 

Many monuments commemorate specific individuals or groups of people, but what about those whose names have been lost to time even while their impact lives on? 

These 12 monuments around the world show the creative and, at times, poignant ways that unknown persons have been memorialized. From an ever-growing rock collection to a passage adorned with mosaic tiles, witness the unique ways that different countries and cultures have honored their anonymous heroes, martyrs, and revolutionaries. 

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Madrid, Spain

'The Curious Neighbor'

One of Madrid's most beloved statues is of an anonymous citizen.
Xavixavir Added by Xavixavir
Reykjavik, Iceland

Monument to the Unknown Bureaucrat

Iceland's tribute to its thankless civil servants.
Added by Ethan Nicholls