Plaça Reial
The Plaça Reial ( Catalan for "Royal Square") is a historic square in Barcelona , which is located immediately east of the Rambla in the Barri Gòtic .
location
Except from the Rambla side, the square can hardly be seen as it has only four entrances; one in the west opposite Carrer Nou de la Rambla on the Rambla dels Caputxins on the short cross street Carrer Colom, which looks like a portal , another three covered, like the one in the north to Carrer de Ferran over the Passatge Madoz and two in the southeast towards the Carrer de Vidre and Carrer Nou de Zurbano or via the Passatge Bacardi (1856), which is closed with a gate after dark. The closest metro station of the Barcelona Metro is northwest of Liceu at the Gran Teatre del Liceu of the L3 towards Trinitat Nova or Zona Universitària.
History and characteristics
Often compared to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid due to its closed nature , it has a much more recent history. In his field stood until the secularization the Capuchin monastery Santa Madrona, the burned later. After its demolition, a new plaça was planned, which was built in the neoclassical style from 1848 to 1859 based on designs by the architect Francesc Daniel Molina i Casamajó . The surrounding four-storey rows of buildings in the classicist style are determined by the surrounding row of arcades , which conceals the fact that the floor plan is slightly asymmetrical . According to its originators, the square should be reminiscent of Napoleon's squares, but due to its modest size and its calm flair, it looks more like an Italian piazza .
Until the turn of the 20th century, the Plaça Reial with their slender palms, the Three Graces Fountain, the helmeted lanterns of Antoni Gaudí and the benches a strolling Corso of the Catalan bourgeoisie .
Gaudí was only able to work for the city of Barcelona at the beginning of his career. After he had designed street lamps for the promenade on Passeig de Muralla del Mar , the city fathers commissioned the “young and capable architect” in February 1878 to design the helmeted lanterns mentioned above. In contrast to his first attempt, these were also carried out and were positively received by both the press and the public.
The construction of the Mercat de la Boqueria was partly based on the design of the facade of Plaça Reial.
Until the 1970s, however, the place deteriorated more and more and increasingly became a hub for drug trafficking. From 1981 to 1983, like many other districts of Barcelona, it was redeveloped and subjected to increased police controls, so that there are now numerous well-frequented restaurants in the north and east wings (including the Les Quinze Nits , designed by the Catalan interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán), cafes, bars, Marisquerías , beer and night spots such as La Pipa , which is intended for pipe smokers , are popular with both locals and tourists. Many of the renovated buildings attracted new tenants in the 1980s. One of the first to move in there as a role model was the then City Councilor for Culture and writer Maria Aurèlia Capmany . Along with Plaça del Rei, the square is considered to be the most beautiful square in Barcelona.
In the western part there are some guest houses and residential buildings, the fronts of which open to the much livelier Rambla. The beer bars located on Plaça Reial serve half a liter of beer, the so-called Jarra , which is unusually large for Catalan conditions .
A market for philatelists and numismatists takes place in the square on Sunday mornings and on public holidays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
partnership
The Plaça Reial has had a partnership with the Plaza Garibaldi in the Ciudad de México since November 13, 1988 , which is honored with a plaque facing Carrer Colom as well as with an annual mariachi festival from September 10 to 16.
Others
The German action artist HA Schult presented his trash people (“scrap army”) alongside other important places and squares (including Piazza del Popolo , Rome ) in September 2007 on Plaça Reial.
literature
- Llorenç Bonet / Roger Casas: Guía de Arquitectura de Barcelona, Barcelona 2004, pp. 60ff. ISBN 84-96241-64-5
- Estanislau Roca i Blanch, Estanislau Roca, Dani Mòdol i Deltell: El Projecte de L'espai Viari, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona 2004, p. 34f., ISBN 84-8301-747-4
- Veronika Schroeder: Barcelona, 6th edition Munich 2003, p. 45, ISBN 3-87003-606-0
- Clemens Zimmermann: The time of the metropolises. Urbanization and urban development, therein: Chapter: Barcelona, pp. 141–171, 2nd edition Frankfurt a. M. 2000, ISBN 3-596-60144-4
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Rainer Zerbst: Gaudí. 1852-1926, Antoni Gaudí i Cornet - a life in architecture, Taschen: Köln NA 2005, p. 20. ISBN 3-8228-4071-8
- ↑ "Interior Views", v. Sascha Borrée, published in: Lufthansa Woman's World 4/06 ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ HB Bildatlas, Barcelona, Vol. 96, p. 49; sa: Maria Aurèlia Capmany - Biography
- ↑ Fira de Nautumismo. Retrieved March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ The Cologne Trash People - Garbage as an art object on www.3sat.de ( Memento of the original from September 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Picture and article on www.henkel.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 41 ° 22 ′ 48 ″ N , 2 ° 10 ′ 30 ″ E