Plaza of Spain (Plaça de España) is one of the most famous squares in the capital of Catalonia and one of the largest in the entire country. You can find it in any Barcelona guide. Magnificent architecture all around, views of Mount Montjuic, a tall monument with statues in the center, wide streets with attractions starting from here - all this leaves an unforgettable impression. You can also start your exploration of Barcelona from this square. This is a favorite place for tourists. Its total area is 34 thousand square meters. Despite heavy traffic, the bright and spacious space, surrounded by lush lawns and trees, creates comfortable conditions for walking at any time of the day.
In the late Middle Ages, criminals were publicly punished in this place, and at the beginning of the XVIII century a fortress-citadel was built here. Some people mistakenly believe that this was done to protect the city. In fact, King Philip X of Spain built a powerful fortification to punish the indomitable Catalans for their insolence in the war against the combined forces of England, Holland, Austria and Savoy. Thus, the monarch demonstrated the absolute power of the Bourbon dynasty and established complete control over Barcelona.
Plaza di Spagna appeared only in 1905 and became a place for meetings and speeches of politicians. The architects were Cadafalchi and Busquets, who managed to wonderfully and harmoniously combine restrained classicism and pompous baroque.
In 1928, the square began to be renovated to give it a more modern look for the 1929 World's Fair, as well as to provide ample space for exhibition pavilions. Many of the buildings were demolished and replaced by two 47-meter Venetian towers that would provide access to the exhibitions. They are modeled after the towers of St. Mark's Square in Venice.
There is also a fountain in the square, the author of which is Josep Maria Jujol, a student of the great Antonio Gaudi, one of the most outstanding architects of Catalan modernism, although he created the fountain in a classical style with elements of art deco and baroque.
The fountain sculptures form a sculptural composition called “Rivers of the Mediterranean”. The stone figures are dressed in Greek and Roman clothing. The water between them refers to the rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The columns on the pedestal are decorated with religious motifs, and along the edges there are sculptures in honor of the sea, as a sign of gratitude for the benefits and prosperity that it has given the country.
One of the compositions is dedicated to Hygia, the Greek goddess of health. One statue represents a woman with a child holding a fish and a ship, symbols of navigation and fishing. Other statues celebrate faith, courage, art and trade.
If you walk along the wide Rue Reina Maria Cristina between the Venetian towers, you will come to magical fountains (Font Màgica) :
The fountain is located at the foot of Montjuic. It was created in 1929 in connection with the opening of the World's Fair. The fountains hold more than 3 million liters of water, and 132 electric motors supply the recycling system with 2,600 liters of water per second.
The bowls of the elliptical fountains have a futuristic style. At first the fountains “didn’t sing.” Musical accompaniment was added during reconstruction before the 1992 Summer Olympics. It is now fully automated and can create hundreds of millions of combinations of water and light. You will hear works by Bach, Beethoven and other famous composers, music from famous films.
The magic fountain show lasts half an hour. Operating mode:
- April 1 – May 31: Thursday, Friday and Saturday – 09:00-10:00; In the evening - 21:00-21:30;
- June 1 – September 30: Thursday, Friday and Saturday – 09:30-10:30; evening – 21:00-21:30; June 2 - no music;
- October 1 – October 31: Thursday, Friday and Saturday – 09:00-10:00; In the evening - 21:00-21:30;
- November 1 – January 6: Thursday, Friday and Saturday – 08:00-09:00; In the evening - 20:00-20:30;
- January 7-February 28: closed due to maintenance work;
- March 1-31: Thursday, Friday and Saturday - 08:00-09:00; In the evening - 20:00-20:30.
At the bottom of the fountains there are four columns, which are a symbolic expression of the stripes of the Catalan flag:
Above is the National Palace (Palau Nacional):
You can read more about this in the article Mount Montjuic
Around the Plaza de España there are several important buildings, such as the Las Arenas shopping center. Previously, corrida - bullfighting was held here.
Main pavilion of the exhibition center "Fira Barcelona" (Fira de Barcelona):
Hotel - Catalonia Barcelona Plaza:
Plaza di Spagna is located at the foot of Montjuic Mountain. If you walk along Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes from Plaza Catalunya, you will get there in about half an hour.
To get to Plaza España, you can take the red L1 metro line or the green L3, stop Pl. Espanya.
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