**** Star Tourist Sight

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Plaza Mayor is the old historic centre of Madrid and unlike the modern centre Puerta del Sol still retains its charm and appeal. As the Plaza Mayor was original designed in 1617 during the Habsburg era and the square has played a central role in many both joyful and traumatic events which have shaped Spain.

Unlike many other capital cities the central square of the Plaza Mayor is surrounded by private residence and not government offices or state rooms. Today the three levels of apartments are still in the possession of private residence, who possible own the most exclusive address in Madrid.

 

The only exceptions are the painted building to the north of the square, which is used as an exclusive venue for weddings and other functions and the building directly opposite on the south side which was owned by the council of Madrid but soon to be converted into a hotel.

These private residences used to earn the owners of the rooms a heft wage as the balconies which over look the square used to be rented out to the aristocrats during major public events. This tearing system could be counted as one of the earliest examples of a modern day stadium with the entire Plaza Mayor accommodating up to 50,000 spectators. The lower and working classes where held back by large wooden fences which ran the perimeter of the square, while the high level rooms were rented for the modern day equivalent of thousands of dollars.

 

It is difficult to comprehend the Plaza Mayor in the present day form as an area for brutal contests between matadors pitted against raging bulls but the square was the prime venue for this supposed sport until Madrid’s bull ring was constructed in 1830. The statue of Philip III was only moved into Plaza Mayor under the direction of Queen Elisabeth II in 1848 after the change in role for the square.

During the early years of the Franco dictatorship many objects relating to the old regime were smashed and damaged including the Statue of Philip III. When the Statue of Philip III was toppled from its base and smashed on the stone ground hundreds of small bird bones fell out causing the conspirators to believe they had let out an evil spirit or cursed themselves with bad luck. It was later discovered that the birds had entered the statue via a small hole but due to the angles had been unable to escape so had died of starvation, luckily for the birds today the hole has been sealed up.

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Madrid Tourist Guide

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