Plaza de España (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)
.jpg)
Plaza de España , is a square in Santa Cruz de Tenerife ( Canary Islands , Spain ).
History of the place
The size, shape and use of the square have changed significantly in various stages over the past 500 years.
Ermita de la Consolación 1496–1575
In 1496 the church was built on Barranco de Santos , which is now known as Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion . Around the same time, further north, the Nuestra Señora de la Consolación chapel was built on a small peninsula . The chapel contained a statue of Our Lady of Consolation , which Alonso Fernández de Lugo had brought from the mainland. In 1575 the municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna , to whose administrative area Santa Cruz belonged at that time, ordered the construction of the Castillo San Cristóbal . For strategic reasons, the fortification was to be built exactly on the site on which the chapel stood. This was therefore relocated to a plot of land on which the Dominican monastery was later built. (today Plaza de la Isla de Madeira)
Castillo San Cristóbal 1579–1928
The construction work on the new fortification, Castillo San Cristóbal, was completed in 1579. The almost square building had an area of 50 × 53 meters. The walls to the west, i.e. inland, were 8.3 meters high. It was provided with four corner towers and equipped with cannons. The Castillo San Cristóbal had a permanent crew of 30 to 40 artillerymen . Between 1579 and 1797 it played an important role in repelling attacks on the port, the town of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the island of Tenerife. In the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797) Nelson tried to conquer the Castillo from the land side. The Castillo San Cristóbal was the center and command center of a defense system that consisted of a wall or rampart and various castillos (fortifications) and gun positions (baterías). This wall began south of the Castillo Negro (Castillo San Juan) at Barranco Hondo and ended at Castillo Paso Alto. When the Capitan General of the Canary Islands Lorenzo Fernández Villavicencio y Cárdenas, marqués de Valhermoso moved his official residence to Santa Cruz in 1723 in a dispute with the Cabildo in La Laguna, he resided (against the will of the owners of the building, namely the Cabildo in La Laguna) in the Castillo San Cristóbal. From 1859 to 1926 it was the seat of the military administration.
In 1928, the city council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife made the decision to demolish the castle, although it was in good structural condition at the time. It had no more defense-political use and blocked free access from the port to the city, which in earlier times was definitely the job of the Castillo. The entrance to the Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena, consisting of three arches, was also torn down. The resulting free space between the Plaza de la Candelaria and the harbor mole developed into an important traffic junction in the city in the following period.
Monumento de los Caidos from 1947
The construction of the Cabildo Insular , which began in 1935 and was completed in 1940, was already a focal point for visitors arriving at the port. (The post office building, which created a certain symmetry to further support the effect of the memorial, was built later.) This first impression was to be reinforced by an important memorial. Therefore, the captain general of the Canary Islands and head of the economic administration organized a competition for the erection of a monument dedicated to the memory of the sons of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife who died in the civil war . Architects from all over Spain took part in this competition. A jury made up of politicians, technicians and artists selected the proposal by architect Tomás Machado y Mendez Fernández de Lugo from La Orotava . He had submitted two different proposals. After another competition, the sculptors Enrique Cejas Zaldívar and Alonso Reyes were commissioned to design the sculptures and reliefs. On February 19, 1947, the facility was opened to the public in the presence of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco as representative of the Caudillo Francisco Franco .
The monument to the fallen consists of a 25 meter high tower in the shape of a cross with a viewing platform (not accessible today). The base is an empty crypt with an entrance at the rear of the monument. Four sculptures belong to the memorial: An allegory of the fatherland holding a fallen man. A winged female figure represents the victory (Victoria). Two soldiers who lean on their swords stand for civil and military values. On the sides of the base there are two reliefs that illustrate struggle and peace. The monument is surrounded by a semicircular colonnade.
Redesign from 2006
In 2008, the redesign of the square based on designs by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron was completed. There were various reasons for the redesign: The traffic situation had fundamentally changed. The truck traffic from the port was relocated from the actual square by new roads east of the square, which were built on the former port area (and will be built in 2012). Much of the city's north-south traffic also runs along these roads. By closing large areas of the city center to general car traffic, significantly more parking spaces were required, so a multi-storey car park was built under the square. The effect of the favor memorial should be toned down without removing it. The use of the square as a recreational space should be improved. On the site of the former Plaza de España and the adjacent Alameda del Duque, an environment was created in which the nature of the Canary Islands is reflected: Lots of water, black lava rock, lots of plants. The most important design element is the circular, up to 90 cm deep lake in which a saltwater fountain occasionally shoots up. Various pavilions whose roofs are partially pulled through to the ground are densely covered by intensely colored plants. The edge of the lake is designed so that visitors can sit down there. The original perception of the Monumento de los Caidos is impaired by the lake, lamps and trees, and its significance is thereby reduced. The Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena was included in the redesign of the square and the previously demolished entrance with its three arches was rebuilt. The Alameda was a tree-lined promenade overlooking the sea. When parts of the foundation walls of the demolished Castillos de San Cristóbal were found during the redesign of the square, a museum was built under the square that deals with the history of the Castillo and in particular the attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797) . In the “Lago” (lake) the earlier course of the wall of the Castillo is shown by a black marker.
Buildings on the edge of the square
Cabildo de Tenerife
The building of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife was designed by the architect José Enrique Marrero Regalado . The plans are from 1934. However, the building was not completed until 1940. It houses the island administration, which has existed since the early 20th century, an institution that performs administrative tasks on the Canary Islands (and similarly on the Balearic Islands) above the municipal level but below the provincial level, which are limited to one island (in this case Tenerife).
The murals by the painter José Aguiar García, which are located in the Salón Noble on the first floor of the building, are listed as historical monuments.
Edificio de Correos y Telégrafos
The Edificio de Correos y Telégrafos was designed by the architect Luis Lozano Lasilla. Construction began in 1946; The building was completed in 1957. Today the main post office of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is located here. There is a plaque on the building indicating that the first underwater cable was laid between Cadiz and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1883.
Edificio Olympo
At the place where the 57 m high Edificio Olympo has been located since 1975 , the Hotel La Orotava used to stand . The hotel was one of the top addresses for travelers for a long time before they moved to other parts of the island. The Edificio Olympo consists of retail space on the lower floors and commercial space and apartments on the upper floors.
Casino de Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The building of the Casino de Santa Cruz Tenerife was designed by the architect Miguel Martín Fernández de la Torre and completed in 1935. The owner, Sociedad Casino de Tenerife , is a private association. It is not a casino, but an association to promote culture and leisure activities. Important conferences and art exhibitions were held in the building.
The building has been a listed building since 2006.
Corpóreo de la marca Santa Cruz
At one end of the plaza, next to the lake, an 11.1 meter long and 1.4 meter high sculpture was completed in December 2016 that depicts the city's tourist slogan: “Santa Cruz, el corazón de Tenerife” ( German: “ Santa Cruz, the heart of Tenerife ”).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Luis Cola Benítez: Nuestra Señora de la Consolación. La Opinión, September 25, 2011, accessed June 14, 2012 (Spanish).
- ↑ José Manuel Ledesma Alonso: Castillos y Baterías. Patrimonio Histórico-Monumental. November 26, 2011, Retrieved May 22, 2012 (Spanish).
- ↑ Actividades reformadoras, demolición del Castillo de San Cristobal y la contemplación del mar. November 6, 1928, Retrieved May 30, 2012 (Spanish, newspaper article).
- ^ Alberto Darias Principe: Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ciudad, Arquitectura y Memoria Histórica 1500–1981 . Tomo I. Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2004, ISBN 84-89350-92-2 , p. 551 ff .
- ^ Alberto Darias Principe: Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ciudad, Arquitectura y Memoria Histórica 1500–1981 . Tomo I. Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2004, ISBN 84-89350-92-2 , p. 429 f .
- ↑ Declaradas BIC las pinturas del Salón Noble del Cabildo. laopinion.es, November 8, 2011, accessed July 31, 2012 (Spanish).
- ^ Alberto Darias Principe: Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ciudad, Arquitectura y Memoria Histórica 1500–1981 . Tomo I. Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2004, ISBN 84-89350-92-2 , p. 439 f .
- ^ Alberto Darias Principe: Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Ciudad, Arquitectura y Memoria Histórica 1500–1981 . Tomo I. Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2004, ISBN 84-89350-92-2 , p. 340 f .
- ↑ La nueva marca de Santa Cruz de Tenerife ya luce en la Plaza de España
Coordinates: 28 ° 28 ′ 2 " N , 16 ° 14 ′ 50" W.