Group portrait of the survivors of the 1809 siege

Date: 1801 - 1900

Archive: Municipal Archive of Girona

Document type: Produccions Artístiques

Reference code: CAT-CRDI-69-101823

Link to the online document

Description: The survivors of the siege of Girona in 1809 were a group of soldiers, militiamen and civilians who bravely resisted the intense siege of the city by Napoleonic French troops, led by General Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr, in the framework of the French War (1808-1814). In Catalonia, the French forces faced great resistance, especially from the civilian population and local militias. Girona, as a strategic city, became a key target for the French troops.
The siege of Girona in 1809 was one of the most dramatic episodes of the war. The city maintained a firm resistance thanks to the Spanish garrison, led by General Álvarez de Castro, and the collaboration of the local population. For seven months, Girona suffered an intense siege, with constant bombardments and a prolonged siege. Despite the extreme conditions, the city held out until its surrender on December 12, 1809, when French troops finally managed to enter it.
After the siege, the city of Girona was practically uninhabitable. The resistance of the fighters became a symbol of the struggle against the French invasion and was etched in the collective memory as a testimony of popular determination. This resistance was recognized in later commemorations, and today Girona preserves several monuments, such as the monument to the Army Heroes of 1808 and 1809, or the monument to the Defenders of Girona 1808 and 1809, in memory of those heroic deeds.
The photograph is also important for being one of the first studio portraits of the city of which an original copy is preserved (paper on albumen). It is a portrait taken by the society formed by Amís Unal and Tomàs Marca, then installed in a studio in Plaça Sant Agustí in the city of Girona.
This document is significant in the European sphere because it is linked to the Napoleonic wars, understood as the set of war events produced during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in the First French Empire.

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