Palacio de las Cortes is a building in

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 ...

where the Spanish

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...

meets. It is located on the Calle Zorrilla and the Carrera de San Jerónimo, near the

Paseo del Prado The Paseo del Prado is one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Spain. It runs north–south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V (also known as Plaza de Atocha), with the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo (the loca ...

. It was built by

Narciso Pascual Colomer Narciso Pascual Colomer, also known as Narciso Pascual y Colomer, (1808 in Madrid – 15 June 1870 in Lisboa) was a Spanish architect. He was one of the most important of the reign of Isabella II, an exponent of the late Neoclassicism and histor ...

from 1843 to 1850. in the neoclassic style and is one of the most emblematic buildings of Madrid from the 19th century. The building came to international attention during the attempted

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

known in Spain as the '

23-F 3F or 3-F may refer to: * Fagligt Fælles Forbund * Fangio, Farina, Fagioli - drivers of the Alfa Romeo factory team * 3 Fonteinen - Belgian brewery, specializing in gueuze and kriek * 0x3F, ASCII code for question mark * Tres de Febrero Partido ...

', in 1981. Antonio Tejero, a lieutenant colonel in the Guardia Civil who was an unrepentant Falangist, stormed the Congress of Deputies chamber along with dozens of armed officers, disrupting proceedings to elect

Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Leopoldo Ramón Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo (; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008), usually known as Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, was Prime Minister of Spain between 1981 and 1982. Early life and career Calvo-Sotelo was b ...

as the new Spanish prime minister. The insurgents opened fire within the chamber though no one was harmed. The deputies were held hostage for 18 hours before the coup unravelled. The bullet holes are still visible in the plenary and are shown to visitors on guided tours.

References

Government buildings completed in 1850 Legislative buildings in Spain Neoclassical architecture in Madrid Palaces in Madrid Buildings and structures in Cortes neighborhood, Madrid {{Spain-palace-stub