The Plaza Mayor was built during the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 period and is a central plaza

Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...

 in the city of Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Spain. It is located only a few Spanish blocks away from another famous plaza, the Puerta del Sol

Puerta del Sol

The Puerta del Sol is one of the best known and busiest places in Madrid. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year...

. The Plaza Mayor is rectangular in shape, measuring 129 by 94 metres, and is surrounded by three-story residential buildings having 237 breathtaking balconies facing the Plaza. It has a total of nine entranceways. The Casa de la Panadería

Casa de la Panadería

The Casa de la Panadería is a municipal and cultural building on the north side of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. It is four stories high, the ground floor comprising porticos and the top floor in the form of an attic, with its sides crowned by angular towers....

, serving municipal and cultural functions, dominates the Plaza Mayor.

History

The origins of the Plaza go back to 1576 when Philip I asked Juan de Herrera

Juan de Herrera

Juan de Herrera was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician.One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style was fully developed in buildings like the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial...

, a renowned Classical

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

 architect, to discuss a plan to remodel the busy and chaotic area of the old Plaza del Arrabal. Juan de Herrera was the artist who designed the first project in 1560 to remodel the old Plaza del Arrabal but construction did not start until 1617, during Philip III

Philip III of Spain

Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...

's reign. The king asked Juan Gómez de Mora

Juan Gómez de Mora

Juan Gómez de Mora was a Spanish architect. His father, also Juan Gómez, was court painter to Philip II of Spain and brother to the architect Francisco de Mora....

 to continue with the project, and he finished the porticoes in 1619. Nevertheless, the Plaza Mayor as we know it today is the work of the architect Juan de Villanueva

Juan de Villanueva

Juan de Villanueva was a Spanish architect. Alongside Ventura Rodríguez, Villanueva is the best known architect of Spanish Neoclassicism....

 who was given the glorious, albeit difficult task of its reconstruction in 1790 after a series of enormous fires. Giambologna

Giambologna

Giambologna, born as Jean Boulogne, incorrectly known as Giovanni da Bologna and Giovanni Bologna , was a sculptor, known for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style.- Biography :...

's equestrian statue of Philip III dates to 1616, but it was not placed in the centre of the square until 1848.

Names

The name of the plaza has changed over time. Originally it was called the "Plaza del Arrabal" but became known as the "Plaza Mayor".

In 1812, following a decree all the major plazas of Spain were renamed "Plaza de la Constitución", in honour of the Constitution of 1812. The plaza had this name until the restoration of the Borbón king in 1814 when it became known as the "Plaza Real". The plaza once again held the name "Plaza de la Constitución" in the periods from 1820 to 1823, 1833 to 1835, and 1840 to 1843.

In 1873, the name changed to "Plaza de la República", and then back to "Plaza de la Constitución" from the restoration of Alfonso XII in 1876 to the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera

Primo de Rivera

Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries:*Fernando Primo de Rivera, Spanish politician and soldier, 1831-1921*Miguel Primo de Rivera , dictator of Spain from 23 September 1923 to 1930...

 in 1922. A proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic

Second Spanish Republic

The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

 gave the plaza the name of "Plaza de la Constitución" until the end of the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

 when the plaza was renamed the "Plaza Mayor", the name it bears to date.

Uses

The Plaza Mayor has been the scene of multitudinous events: markets, bullfights, soccer games, public executions, and, during the Spanish Inquisition

Spanish Inquisition

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...

, "autos de fe" against supposed heretics and the executions of those condemned to death. The Plaza Mayor also has a ring of old and traditional shops and cafes under its porticoes. Celebrations for San Isidro

Isidore the Laborer

Isidore the Laborer, also known as Isidore the Farmer, , was a Spanish day laborer known for his goodness toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid and of La Ceiba, Honduras....

, patron saint of Madrid, are also held here. The Plaza Mayor is now a major tourist attraction, visited by thousands of tourists a year.

Statue

There is a bronze statue of king Philips III at the center of the square, constructed in 1616 by Jean Boulogne and Pietro Tacca.

External links

• 360° view of Plaza Mayor, Madrid
• Plaza Mayor, description and pictures
• Plaza Mayor Information and photos.
• Plaza Mayor in English Visitor and student information, history, present day uses and photos.