Distrito Centro Flashcards
Plaza de Cibeles
(5 main features)
CIBELES FOUNTAIN: The 18th-century features the Greco-Roman goddess of nature, Cybele, who is sitting in her chariot, drawn by a pair of lions. It was designed by José Hermosilla and Ventura Rodríguez, and is one of Madrid’s main symbols. In fact, I’m sure that those of you who are football fans know that this is the square where the most famous of Madrid’s three teams, Real Madrid, celebrates its victories.
PALACIO DE COMUNICACIONES: The Palacio de Comunicaciones or Communications Palace built between 1907-1919 to serve as Madrid’s main telegraph and post office. However in 2007, it became home to Madrid’s City Council and the Mayor’s Offices, which were moved here from their original historic location in Hapsburg Madrid. It is one of Madrid’s first “Modernismo’’ styled buildings and boasts a Neo Plateresque façade. It was designed in part by architect Antonio Palacios, who would go on to leave his mark on the city in a number of early 20th century buildings.
PALACIO DE LINARES (CASA DE AMERICA): The Palacio de Linares, built by the Marquis of Linares at the time of the second Bourbon restoration of 1875. At one time threatened with demolition, it now houses the Casa de América and contains a collection of Latin American artists. It is also used for theatrical performances and lectures.
PALACIO DE BUENAVISTA / CUARTEL GENERAL DEL EJÉRCITO: What was formerly Buenavista Palace, commissioned by the Duchess of Alba in 1777 as a family residence, is today the heavily guarded Spanish Army Headquarters. The Palace’s construction was twice delayed by fires.
BANCO DE ESPAÑA: This entire block is occupied by the Bank of Spain, constructed between 1884-91. Its design was inspired by the Venetian Renaissance style, with delicate ironwork adorning the roof and windows.
Círculo de Bellas Artes
CÍRCULO DE BELLAS ARTES: This building which houses the Círculo de Bellas Artes or Fine Arts Circle, a non-profit cultural association founded in 1880, was designed by architect Antonio Palacios and constructed in 1926. The CBA is a major multidisciplinary center with one of the most active cultural programmes in Madrid. It has exhibition rooms, a cinema, a theatre, concert halls, lecture halls, artists’ workshops, a library, a cafeteria, a shop and many other facilities.
The Four Seasons Hotel
The Four Seasons Hotel Madrid opened in September 2020. The 200-room hotel is one of the largest and is now the most expensive hotel in Madrid’s history, with suites costing up to €12,000 a night. The building was originally constructed from 1887 to 1891 as the headquarters of La Equitativa insurance company, but is better known as being the headquarters of Banesto from 1920 to 2004. It underwent extensive renovations from 2013 to 2019 to become the first Four Seasons Hotel in Spain.
Casino de Madrid
It would not be until the year 1910 (after a long construction process that lasted five years) that it would move into its current headquarters on Calle de Alcalá, just when the casino was reaching a thousand members. The birth of the Casino coincided with a political period of transition in which the liberal state arose in Spain from the Old Regime. Hence the Casino, being a liberal organization, became a model to follow in provincial capitals in the Spain of the late 19th century.
Lhardy
Lhardy was founded in 1839 by the Frenchman, Emilio Huguenin Lhardy, and is considered one of the oldest restaurants in Madrid. Lhardy originally opened as a pastry shop and eventually began to offer meals. Currently, you will find pastries, cheeses, cold cuts and prepared foods on the ground floor and a restaurant with several salons upstairs. Ever since Lhardy opened its doors it was famous for its delicious broth served out of Russian-style samovar, located in the middle of the store area.
Puerta del Sol
The Puerta del Sol is the center (Km 0) 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 New Year’s celebration has been broadcast live since 31 December 1962 on major radio and television networks.
The Puerta del Sol or Sun Gate originated as one of the gates in the city wall that surrounded Madrid in the 15th century. The name of the gate came from the rising sun which decorated the entry, since the gate was oriented to the east.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the area was an important meeting place: as the goal for the couriers coming from abroad and other parts of Spain to the Post Office, it was visited by those eager for the latest news. The stairs to the Saint Philip church at the square were known as the Gradas de San Felipe, and were among the most prolific mentideros de la Corte (this Spanish idiom sounds as “lie-spreaders of the Court”, but it is related with the verb mentar, “to say about someone”, not mentir, “to lie”, so it is more appropriately translated as “places of the City where people gossip”).
The House of the Post Office was built by French architect Jacques Marquet between 1766 and 1768. The building was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security in Francoist Spain, where prisoners and dissidents of the Regime were tortured in the basement. The building now serves as the office of the President of Madrid, the head of the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
Sol has seen protests against the March 11th 2004 attacks on commuter trains, and Spain’s involvement in the Iraq War [1]. In 2011, the square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Spanish democracy demonstrations. The demonstrations included camping in the middle of the plaza (@acampadasol), which began on 15 May 2011 amidst the election campaign for city halls and Autonomous Communities governments and which was fueled by social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The demonstrations then spread to more than sixty other cities throughout Spain. Since 12 June 2011, the square has held a free-standing domed structure made from pallets, which served as an information point for the 15-M Movement. This continued throughout the summer of 2011 until the dawn of 2 August, when the national police decided to evict the structure and protestors. Currently, dozens of committees have their assemblies in the iconic square.
There are two commemorative plaques in the front of the Royal House of the Post Office: 1) one is devoted to the neighbors of Madrid who rose up against the Napoleonic invasion of Spain on May 2, 1808; 2) the other one is a memorial of the victims of the March 11th, 2004 terrorist attacks.
Also on its south side, the square holds a mounted statue of Charles III of Spain, nicknamed “el rey alcalde” (“the mayor-king”) due to the extensive public works program he set in motion.
The famous Tío Pepe lighted sign was above the square’s eastern building between the Calle de Alcalá and the Carrera de San Jerónimo (Apple Store today) for a long time, now is on top of the former Paris Hotel.
Also on the east side lies the statue of The Bear and the Strawberry Tree (in Spanish, el Oso y el Madroño), the heraldic symbol of Madrid.
The Mariblanca (a female figure named for its white marble) is a copy of a statue (possibly of Venus, and so the restored pedestal claims), which marks the place of a former fountain displaying that figure.
The kilómetro cero is a plaque on the ground directly north of the Post Office serving as the symbolic center of Spain, and the point from which kilometer distances are numbered in the Spanish road system.
Despite once being the meeting point of the six major radial roads of Spain, in 2020 the square was pedestrianized and closed to most traffic.
