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 (12 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 (13 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 (14 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 (15 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 (15 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

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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