Plaza de España ( lit. ''Spain Square''), is the largest

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Canary Islands (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). The square is located in the centre of town, 1.4 km north of the

Auditorio de Tenerife The Auditorio de Tenerife "Adán Martín" (commonly referred to as the Auditorio de Tenerife) is an auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, it is located on the Avenue of the Constitu ...

. This square is considered one of the "main squares" of the island of Tenerife, together with the

Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna is a square in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain). It is one of the largest and most important squares of the Canary Islands. This square is considered one of t ...

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

and the

Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias The Plaza de la Patrona de Canarias (in English language, English ''Square of the Saint Patron of the Canary Islands'') is a large Town square, square in Candelaria, Tenerife, Candelaria, Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). It is next to the Basilica ...

in Candelaria. It hosts an artificial lake fountain, a work of Swiss architects

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.,
" Herzog & de Meuron. Retrieved on 11 October 2012. "Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. R ...

. The square was built in 1929 on the historic Castillo de San Cristóbal, a bastion for defending the island of piracy, currently there are only a few walls of the original building on display in a tunnel under the square. Recently the square was refurbished by the Swiss architects

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.,
" Herzog & de Meuron. Retrieved on 11 October 2012. "Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. R ...

. The Plaza de España is surrounded by the

Palacio Insular de Tenerife Palacio Insular de Tenerife (English: ''Insular Palace of Tenerife'') is a building in the Spanish city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, home of the Cabildo de Tenerife. Designed by the architect José Enrique Marrero Regalado, and executed between 1 ...

, the Palacio de la Carta and the Plaza de la Candelaria. In the centre of the square stands '' Monumento a los Caídos'' (a tribute to the fallen in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

Location

The plaza is located between Calle del Castillo and the port of Santa Cruz.

History

Castle of San Cristóbal

The location of the square was originally the site of the San Cristóbal Castle, which was the city's main line of defense, responsible for defending the port.

Construction of the plaza

The creation of the plaza was first conceived in the 19th century. The square was constructed in 1929.

Refurbishment

The park was refurbished by

Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.,
" Herzog & de Meuron. Retrieved on 11 October 2012. "Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd. R ...

in 2006. The refurbishment added a pond and pavilions. In June 2006 the remains of the castle were rediscovered, leading to the creation of an underground gallery to display the castle remains.

Featured sculptures

Tourist sign

A large sign of the tourist brand of the city (introduced in September 2016) is located at one end of the plaza, adjacent to the lake. The sign reads ''"Santa Cruz"'', short for the tourist slogan of ''"Santa Cruz, el corazón de Tenerife"'' - ''"Santa Cruz, the heart of Tenerife"''. The letters are white except for the last ''"a"'' of the word ''Santa'', which is an inverted blue heart, on top of which is an upright green heart. Erected in December 2016, the structure is long and high (double that height at the hearts). It is made of galvanised steel with epoxy paint. The sign is repainted in different colors and with different symbols during important events.

Lo llevo bien

Sculpture by the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

artist Julio Nieto and located in the center of the square next to its artificial lake. It is a piece of stainless steel, five meters high and 450 kilos in weight with the appearance of a man in the shape of a tree that symbolizes "the optimism of the human being, who, despite all his thoughts, takes it well". Originally exhibited in 2014 in the square during a street exhibition, it later left the city and moved to various art galleries in different cities around the world such as

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

and New York.El árbol ‘Lo llevo bien’, de Julio Nieto, vuelve a Santa Cruz para quedarse
/ref> The citizens of Santa Cruz expressed their desire for the sculpture to remain in the city. In 2021 it was donated to the Santa Cruz town hall and was permanently installed in the Plaza de España.

In popular culture

The plaza appeared in ''

Jason Bourne Jason Bourne () is the title character and the protagonist in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. The character was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel '' The Bourne Identity'' (1980), which was ...

'', the fifth film of the ''Bourne'' series, representing the Syntagma Square of Athens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaza de Espana (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) Santa Cruz de Tenerife Plazas in Santa Cruz de Tenerife Herzog & de Meuron buildings