5/5 nahid c. 2 years ago on Google
The
Plaza
Mayor
dates
back
to
the
15th
century
where
it
was
originally
called
the
"Plaza
del
Arrabal"
and
was
used
as
the
main
market
of
the
town.
In
1561,
the
plaza
was
transferred
to
the
city
of
Madrid.
King
Philip
II
commissioned
Classical
architect
Juan
de
Herrera
to
remodel
the
area.
Construction
did
not
begin
until
Philip
III's
reign
in
1617.
Juan
Gómez
de
Mora
continued
on
the
architectural
renovation,
and
was
finished
two
years
later
in
1619.
The
Plaza
Mayor
has
suffered
3
major
fires
in
its
history.
The
first
was
in
1631.
Juan
Gómez
de
Mora
took
on
the
reconstructions
of
the
plaza
following
this
fire.
The
second
of
the
fires
occurred
in
1670,
with
the
architect
Tomás
Román
in
charge
of
the
reconstruction.
The
last
fire
consumed
a
third
of
the
square
and
took
place
in
1790.
Today,
the
Plaza
Mayor's
architecture
is
credited
to
Juan
de
Villanueva.
He
handled
the
reconstruction
following
the
massive
fire
in
1790.
Prior
to
this,
the
buildings
that
enclosed
the
square
were
five
stories.
Juan
de
Villanueva
lowered
the
square's
surrounding
buildings
to
three
stories,
closed
the
corners
and
created
large
entrances
into
the
squares.
Construction
after
Juan
de
Villanueva's
death
by
Antonio
López
Aguado
and
Custodio
Moreno
and
was
finished
in
1854.[2]
Today,
the
Plaza
Mayor
is
rectangular
in
shape
and
highlights
the
uniformity
of
the
architecture.
The
Plaza
measures
129
m
x
94
m
(423
ft
x
308
ft).
237
balconies
are
present
on
the
three-story
residential
buildings
that
face
inward
towards
the
Plaza.
To
enter
or
exit
The
Plaza
Mayor,
there
are
ten
entrances
to
choose
from,
however,
there
are
nine
gates.[3]
The
entrances
are
named:
7
de
Julio,
Arco
de
Triunfo
and
Felipe
III
to
the
North;
Sal,
Zaragoza
and
Gerona
to
the
East;
Botoneras,
Toledo
and
Cuchilleros
to
the
South;
Ciudad
Rodrigo
to
the
West.[4]
In
the
center
of
the
square
stands
the
statue
of
Philip
III
on
a
horse,
which
was
placed
in
1848.
The
Plaza
Mayor
has
been
the
scene
of
multitudinous
events.
It
has
hosted
executions
in
history.
Today,
it
is
the
location
of
the
annual
Christmas
market.
It
has
also
hosted
bullfights
and
soccer
games.
Every
Sunday
and
holidays
it
hosts
stamp
collecting
and
coin
collecting
market
in
the
mornings.