Top 10 Interesting Facts about Plaza de Espana

Plaza de España, Madrid, Spain. Author Carlos Delgado. WIKIMEDIA

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Plaza de Espana

Plaza de Espana is located at Parque de María Luisa also known as Maria Luisa Park, in Seville, Spain. In 1928  Plaza de Espana was built for the Ibero-American Exposition. Built in the architectural style of Spanish, it shows an example of Regionalism Architecture. The architectural style mixes different elements of  Baroque Revival, elements of Renaissance Revival, and Moorish Revival.

Below are the top 10 interesting facts about Plaza de Espana

1. Plaza de Espana is Located in Maria Luisa Park

Plaza de Espana 2008. Author Seko Naotomo. WIKIMEDIA

Built-in 1929, Maria Luisa park was designed by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier. This was after the whole southern part of the city was reconstructed into an expanse of gardens and grand boulevards.

The center part of the park, Parque de María Luisa, was designed in a “Moorish paradisical style”. Parque de Maria Luisa has fountains, pavilions, walls, ponds, and benches. The park also has exhedras which are plantings of palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, and also stylized flower beds. For exhibition purposes, some buildings at the park were constructed.

2. The Plaza was Designed by Anibal González

The Plaza de España was constructed to exhibit Spain’s industry and technology and was designed by Aníbal González. He mixed various Spanish styles such as the 1920s art Deco, the Spanish Renaissance Revival, the Spanish Baroque Revival, and the Neo-Mudéjar styles.

3. Plaza de Espána Represents the Ancient Kingdom of Spain

Monument of the Plaza de España in Aldeanueva de Ebro (1990). Created by Miguel Ángel Sáinz Jiménez. Author Hay Kranen. WIKIMEDIA

The Plaza de Espána building looks like the ancient kingdoms of Spain with a huge half-circle. To access the building, four bridges are used which are over the moast. In the middle of the Plaza, there is a Vicente Traver fountain. The Plaza also has tiled alcoves each representing a province in Spain.

4. Plaza de Espána is used as Office for Government Agencies

Currently,  Plaza Espána buildings after it was renovated government agencies adapted them to serve as their offices. The central government department offices are also located in the building. Near the building and at the end of the park there is a museum at the grandest mansion.  This museum exhibits the city’s archaeology collections. However, the main exhibition of the museum is the  Roman mosaics and the artifacts from nearby Italica.

5. The Building was used as a Filming Location

In 1962 The Plaza de España building was used as a filming location for the scenes of  Lawrence of Arabia. In 2002 Star Wars Movie used the building to film Episode II  which was about Attacking the Clones. The building was also featured in the exterior shots of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo and also the Dictator in 2012. The building was also used to set the video of a song known as  “Something Got Me Started”.

6. Plaza de Espána was Restored with a Total of 9 Million Euros

Between 2007 and 2010, a total of 9 Million Euros was used by the Seville City Council in order to restore the building. The main purpose of the restoration was to recover the original monument as designed by Aníbal González.  

In the process of restoration,  the restoration team restored all the ceramic streetlights, benches, and even pavements were restored. The team also created new elements which were based on different photos of the municipal library newspaper. Some of the experts who oversaw the restoration of the historical building were  Cefoarte and Diaz Cubero.

7. Plaza Espána has a Total Area of 50,000 Square Meters

 The Plaza Espána building in Spain is one of the best historic sites in the country. The total area covered by Plaza Espána is 50,000 square meters. This makes it the most imposing plaza in Spain.

The plaza has a canal that is 515 meters long. The canal is along the perimeter of the plaza. The boat rides at the canal give the visitors a romantic experience. The canal was refurbished at a cost of 5 million euros and has 900m of pipes.

8. Plaza de Espána is the Top Attraction Site in the City

Plaza de España is among the most visited and also the most popular tourist attractions in Seville city, Spain. One of the things that amaze most people is the size of the building.

The attractive beauty and complexity of the building’s architectural design prove why it is regarded as the best tourist attraction site in Spain.

9. The Plaza has Pavilions

Pavillions of Plaza de Espana in Seville. Author Michael Grmek. WIKIMEDIA

The building is surrounded by 48 small pavilions. Each of these pavilions represents a province in  Spain. The Pavilions have ceramic tiles, these tiles were used to show the city’s industrial and craft capabilities. Currently, some of the Pavilions are dedicated to different museums, such as the Archaeological Museum and Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares.

10. There is Boat Riding at the Plaza de Espana

Plaza de España, Sevilla. Author Aconcagua. WIKIMEDIA

There are boat rides around the Plaza de España Which are offered around the canal. This boat ride gives the visitors a chance to relax while enjoying Seville’s sunshine and at the same time enjoying the attractive view of the plaza. The Boat rides fee is rentals 6 euros for a period of 35 minutes, and visitors take a tour of the 515-meter canal. The boats also pass under the plaza’s bridges. These bridges are representative of ancient kingdoms: Castile, León, Aragon, and Navarre.

The plaza is one of the best attraction sites in Madrid, and the architectural design views are the best for visitors.  The canal gives the plaza a cool breeze and a good place for family members to enjoy their time.  The plaza represents the country’s culture and gives people a chance to study it. Visitors also have a chance to know about the Spain provinces even before visiting them. people also get to learn about the kingdoms which are represented by the four bridges. The kingdoms were the castle kingdom, Leon kingdom, Aragon kingdom, and Navarre kingdom.