The Plaza de Galicia is a 20th century square located in the city centre of

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the '' Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality wh ...

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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 ...

), on the edge of the Campolongo neighbourhood.

Origin of the name

The square is named after Galicia, the region in the northwest of

in which

is located.

History

The origin of the Plaza de Galicia is a public space at the end of Augusto González Besada, Andrés Muruais and Andrés Mellado streets and in front of the old Pontevedra railway station, which started operating on 16 May 1884, when the first locomotive arrived in the city. This space was known as the station square. With the large number of travellers arriving in the square, in 1904 the Palace Hotel was built on the corner of Plaza de Galicia and Andrés Muruais Street, a large Art Nouveau building with four floors and an attic designed by the architect Andrés López de Ocáriz Robledo, which provided accommodation for travellers arriving in the city and which was demolished in the 1980s. In 1966, the old railway station in the square was disused after the construction of the new Pontevedra railway station in the Gorgullón neighbourhood, further from the city centre, and was demolished in 1969. In 1971, the square was enlarged, taking advantage of the space vacated by the old station, and two shelters were provided for the stops of the

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

that crossed the city. The square, entirely dedicated to traffic, remained in this layout until 1988, when the trolleybus lines were abolished. In 1991, the shelters and traffic lanes that divided the square were removed and the square was enlarged and completely redesigned by the architect José Martínez Sarandeses with the collaboration of the architects María Agustina Herrero Malina and Fernando Martínez Sarandeses and the landscape architect María Medina Muro. This redevelopment improved the quality of the environment and reduced traffic congestion. The current appearance of the square dates from this period.

Description

The square has a rectangular shape and an area of 5,800 square metres. Augusto García Sánchez Avenue and Agusto González Besada, Andrés Muruais and Andrés Mellado streets converge here. The square is laid out as a

garden square A garden square is a type of communal garden in an urban area wholly or substantially surrounded by buildings; commonly, it continues to be applied to public and private parks formed after such a garden becomes accessible to the public at large. T ...

. It is a tree-lined square that bisects Augusto García Sánchez Avenue and is bordered by two one-way traffic lanes. The north, west and east sides are delimited by buildings and the south side opens onto the Campolongo neighbourhood and is delimited by a large central bus shelter with ten benches and a glass back panel. The central pedestrian garden square is a very distinctive space, planted with ornamental

ash trees ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are e ...

of Dutch origin and equipped with numerous benches. The square consists of four peripheral alleys, each with two rows of ash trees, bordered by flowerbeds and lawns. A fifth alley, coinciding with the west-east axis of the square, connects the northern pavements of the two sections into which Augusto García Sánchez Avenue has been divided. At the centre of the garden square is a circular central area with benches that facilitate seclusion. In the centre of this space is an ornamental fountain with sprinklers embedded in the ground that spray water and which is surrounded by granite blocks grouped in seven sets that evoke the stars of the Galician coat of arms and refer to the name of the square.

Gallery

File:Pontevedra - Praza de Galicia 2.jpg, Alley in the garden square File:Pontevedra-La fuente de la Plaza de Galicia (9520297491).jpg, Fountain in the square File:Pontevedra - Praza de Galicia 3.jpg, Garden of the square File:Pontevedra-Plaza Galicia-Fuente4 (4861000747).jpg, Benches in the square File:Pontevedra-PlazaGalicia01 (3196730710).jpg, The square, at night File:Pontevedra - Praza de Galicia 1.jpg, Ash trees in the square File:Pontevedra-Plaza Galicia-Fuente3 (4851812015).jpg, Detail of the fountain

Origin of the name

History

Description

Gallery

References

Bibliography

See also

Related articles

External links