- Address: Plaza de la Independencia, 7, 28001 Madrid
- Phone: +34 915 30 00 41
Retiro Park in Madrid is one of the most grandiose (its area is 120 hectares) and the most famous parks of the Spanish capital. The name of the park - Buen Retiro - means "good solitude": so it was named by King Philip IV, in which this park was defeated and in which he liked to spend a lot of time. The same name was worn by the palace, around which the park was created. Under Carlos III, a new palace was erected - and Buen-Retiro lost its importance and came to desolation, and during the Napoleonic wars, it was also badly damaged.
Restoration of the park Buen Retiro was already under King Ferdinand VII, after the Napoleonic wars. His grandson, Alfonso XII the Pacifier, presented in 1868 a park (the palace had already been demolished) to the municipality. In honor of this monarch, a street adjacent to the park was named, and a monument with a colonnade on the bank of the man-made lake was erected. The author of the sculpture and the colonnade is Jose Grasés Riera.
In the park there are many shady avenues decorated with unique sculptures. Lush vegetation itself is a monument of landscape art. The park is also decorated with a lot of fountains, which are especially beautiful in the evening, when they turn on the backlight. The most famous are the fountains "Artichoke" (he depicts children holding a dish with artichokes, and symbolizes the spring) and the Galapagos fountain, erected in honor of the birth of Isabella II and depicting turtles, frogs, dolphins and angels.
The park is a favorite place for recreation of Madrid, who like to ride on the lake by boat or relax in the numerous cafes, located right in the middle of the park.
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Palaces - Crystal and Brick
Palaces were created by the architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, especially for international exhibitions that began at Retiro Park in 1887. The brick palace is made in classical style, and Crystal - in the style of "early modern" (as a sample used the London Crystal Palace).
The brick palace is also called the palace of Velasquez. It was built as a venue for an exhibition dedicated to metallurgy. Today it hosts all sorts of exhibitions, including works of Velasquez.
In the Crystal Pavilion an exhibition of Filipino plants and animals was held. Although its design was specially created in such a way that, if necessary, the pavilion was easy to move (it is based on the Greek cross), it was not transferred, but left in the same place where it was erected. Today it hosts exhibitions of the exhibits of the Queen Sofia Museum .
Fountain of the Fallen Angel
The fallen angel Lucifer was awarded one of the only sculptures in the world, and she adorns the park del Retiro. The statue of the sculptor Ricardo Bellver is located on the top of an impressive column (as they say, its height is 666 meters above sea level) and depicts Lucifer at the time of the expulsion from heaven.
How to get to the park?
Since Parquet del Retiro occupies a whole block, you can get to it by a large number of bus routes - № 1, 2, 9, 15, 19, 20, 51, 52, 74, 146, 202. If you decide to go by subway , to the park, coming out at one of the stations Atocha, Ibiza or Retiro.
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