Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome

Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The building serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation.


Having slightly missed the original target (the distinctive "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge), at 8:15 on August 6, 1945, the first nuclear bomb to be used in war, detonated almost directly above the dome (the center of the blast was 490 feet (150 m) away and 1,968 feet (600 m) above ground).

The Genbaku Dome, originally close to Shima Surgical Clinic, initially was scheduled to be demolished with the rest of the ruins, but the fact that it mostly was intact delayed these plans. As Hiroshima was rebuilt around the dome, it became a subject of controversy; some locals wanted it torn down, while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing.[2]

In 1966 Hiroshima City declared that it intended to preserve the now termed "A-bomb Dome" indefinitely.