Memorial JK

What makes it special

A concrete pedestal 28 metres high stands in front of the memorial and ends in a curved shell. Inside the shell is a 4.5-metre bronze of Kubitschek by Honório Peçanha, waving to the city.

Oscar Niemeyer designed the memorial. Military and conservative critics saw a hammer and sickle in the statue, a reading the architect always denied.

The tomb chamber lies at the centre of the building, under stained glass by Marianne Peretti, with walls carved by Athos Bulcão. The tomb is inscribed O Fundador, The Founder, and is set to float in the centre of the chamber.

Kubitschek's office is rebuilt with his own furniture, next to part of his library: more than 3,000 volumes, among them a Shakespeare collection given by the Queen of England. In the Sala de Metas, panels set out the goals of his government, with models and images of the capital going up.

Out in the grounds, by the car park, stands his last car, a 1974 Ford Galaxie LTD.

Visiting

Tickets are sold at a reception desk inside each of the two entrances. The north entrance, facing the car park, is reached by a staircase, and the south one opens from gardens.

Past the desk, a tunnel leads to the ground-floor rooms of photographs and personal objects from Kubitschek's life. Beyond it is the hall, with a large Arraiolos-style hand-stitched carpet made by artisans from Diamantina, a café and the toilets.

Then go up to the second floor, where rooms hold the clothes, jewellery and objects Kubitschek and his wife used. Go round the floor and finish at the tomb chamber in its middle, which the museum calls the culmination of the visit.

A documentary about Kubitschek screens every hour on the hour, the first at 9am and the last at 5pm. On the way out you pass through the souvenir shop.

Guided or on your own

You can go round on your own, with staff in every room to answer questions. For a guided visit led by the memorial's own staff, call the memorial on (61) 3226-7860 or (61) 3225-9451 to arrange it.

Tips

Photography is allowed inside the memorial, as long as the flash stays off.

Look out for a life-size Portinari panel of Kubitschek, and for the office of Sarah Kubitschek, his wife, who conceived the memorial. In the garden, find the sculpture of Sarah embracing the president.