Plaza de España, Seville, Spain - SpottingHistory.com

The Plaza de España in the Parque de María Luisa was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is a landmark example of the Regionalism Architecture, mixing elements of the Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival (Neo-Mudéjar) styles of Spanish architecture.

The plaza complex is a huge half-circle with buildings continually running around the edge accessible over the moat by numerous bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the centre is the Vicente Traver fountain. By the walls of the Plaza are many tiled alcoves, each representing a different province of Spain. Each alcove is flanked by a pair of covered bookshelves, said to be used by visitors in the manner of 'Little Free Library'. Each bookshelf often contains information about their province, yet you can often find regular books as well for some people have taken to donating their favorite book to these shelves.

The Plaza de España has been used as a filming location, including scenes for the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia. The building was used as a location in the Star Wars movie series Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) — in which it featured in exterior shots of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo. It also featured in the 2012 film The Dictator.

References:

Wikipedia

Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Spain

User Reviews

Kellie Hughes (3 months ago)
Such a beautiful, wonderful place spent a good bit of my day their. A lovely fountain you can dip your feet into if you need to cool down. A beautiful flamingo act going on. A canal that you can take boats on and its just so so beautiful. Would 100% recommend anyone to visit. ITS A MUST SEE!! Plus its free and that is a bonus.

Nick St. George (4 months ago)
Super cool wide open plaza that is best served viewing at night to avoid crowds. One of our favorite attractions in Spain, the lights and colors of the plaza are hard to be matched. The stone-work of the plaza is super impressive, as are all the frescoes of regional Spanish history that are found asking the edges of the plaza. Best of all, admission here is free! There are row-boats available during the day. That is the only advantage that I can give checking this place out not during the night.

Jan Muenkel (5 months ago)
Amazing Beauty. There are some channels to rent a boat. It’s a big garden to walk and relax. The architecture is stunning. If you are lucky you can see a flamenco baguette there for free. Just don’t forget to tip the artists. All in all a must when visiting Sevilla

Leonhard Radonic (6 months ago)
A great place to visit at day and night. Unfortunately, the park closes at about 11PM, so you have to come earlier if you want to enjoy the place at night. Also, there is a water tap at the right where the horses are, in case you forgot your bottle. Sometimes there are musicians and performers, so you can enjoy a little bit of flamenco for example.

Adrien Miquel (6 months ago)
What an incredible place ! As huge as the event it was built for. The water channel and the bridges add magnificence to this spot. You will find plenty of perspectives to enhance your photos. The tiny boats are ready for rent in the afternoon. Very often, flamenco performers allow tourists to discover this folkloric dance and music. Finally the park surrounding the plaza is worth a walk to enjoy the ambiance and the freshness during the warmer months.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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