Description of the attraction
Plaza Mayor is one of the main squares in Madrid. The square, built in the Baroque style by the architect Juan Gomez de Mora, is a true architectural masterpiece of the Habsburg era.
The grand opening of the square took place on May 15, 1620, on the day Isidore de Merlot y Quintana was canonized. Since then, Isidore is considered the patron saint of Madrid, and May 15 is a public holiday.
The originally created square was surrounded by buildings built of wood, which caused frequent fires on its territory. The restoration of the square after a fire in 1790 was carried out under the direction of the architect Juan de Villanueva. The architect decided to replace the wooden houses surrounding the square with stone ones, and connected the buildings along the entire perimeter. Nine fairly wide arched driveways were created in the connected buildings. The reconstruction of the square took about 60 years and was completed by 1853. Today, the Plaza Mayor has a quadrangular shape and is surrounded by a series of 136 interconnected buildings erected in the same style. The facades of the buildings are decorated with balconies, allowing you to watch what is happening in the square. Once upon a time, the balcony of the Casa de Panaderia was occupied by members of the royal family who oversee the celebrations or executions in the Plaza Mayor.
In the center of the square there is a magnificent equestrian statue of King Philip III, made of bronze. This monument was started by the Flemish sculptor Giambologna, and completed by his student Pedro Tacca in 1616.
