| Description |
Looking south from the north (on the east side of the Japan Red Cross Society Hiroshima Chapter). This unique building (now the Atomic Bomb Dome) facing the river was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel in 1915 and became one of Hiroshima's famous landmarks and a familiar symbol of the city. Although the building, which was almost directly beneath the center of the explosion, didn't fully collapse due to its position, it was ravaged in an instant, and the wooden ceiling caught fire due to bomb's heat and burned. Due to its location close to the hypocenter, the building was seen, photographed, and painted by many people soon after the bombing. It has survived several critical situations, and, in 1967, the first preservation work was carried out by a nationwide fundraising campaign, and the building has been protected from destruction by two preservation efforts since. It was designated as a national historic site in 1995, and later registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. |
