The Plaza de la Independencia (Independence Square) is a central square in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

capital,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. It sits at the intersection of

Calle de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...

(running from east to west), Calle de Alfonso XII (to the south),

Calle de Serrano The calle de Serrano, or simply Serrano, is a street in Madrid, Spain. It is noted as location for luxury flagship stores. The urbanisation took off in 1863, with the construction of the first housing in the street. Initially known as Bulevar Nar ...

(to the north), Calle de Salustiano Olozaga (to the northwest), and the Paseo de Mexico (to the southeast, running entirely within the

Buen Retiro Park The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...

). Being centred with the 18th-century gate of

Puerta de Alcalá The Puerta de Alcalá is a Neo-classical gate in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid, Spain. It was a gate of the former Walls of Philip IV. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Bue ...

, the Plaza de la Independencia is among the important symbols of the city of Madrid. The square was opened in 1778 during the reign of King Carlos III. It was designed by architect

Francesco Sabatini Francesco Sabatini (1721 – 19 February 1797), also known as Francisco Sabatini, was an Italian architect of the 18th century who worked in Spain. Biography Born in Palermo, he studied architecture in Rome. His first contacts with the Spa ...

. However, the current shape of the square dates back to 1869. It is mainly surrounded with buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, built during the expansion of the city of Madrid.

References

{{coord, 40, 25, 12, N, 3, 41, 19, W, region:ES-M_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Calle de Alcalá Independencia Independencia