- Address: Gran Vía, 28013 Madrid, Spain
Probably, in each city there are important streets, status avenues, rare lanes such as the Garden Ring in Moscow, Wall Street in New York, Silver Street in Tokyo, in Madrid, the same "great road" is called Via Gran Via, . Interestingly, even 150 years ago it was a mockery, and today - the pride of the ancient city. This is not a central street, not a wide avenue, this is the direction in the center of the city, beautifully connecting the areas of the Royal Palace and Prado Boulevard. Along the street, on one side or on the other hand, new buildings and even skyscrapers grew in different ways at different times.
Historical reference
The idea of the construction of Gran Via Madrid arose in 1862, the city at that time developed unevenly, and in the distance from palaces and castles people huddled in barracks and even slums. In the middle of the XIX century it seemed impossible to carry out a huge reconstruction of several residential quarters, thus turning the poor area into a decent one. But forty years later, the city's mayor and French banker Martin Albert Silver signed an agreement on the beginning of reconstruction. Construction began with a grand opening on April 5, 1910.
As a result of the work, more than 300 houses and 14 streets were demolished, so that Gran Via Street, 35 meters wide and 1315 meters long, appeared. The adjacent wide street of Priesa was lowered in part by almost 4 meters, for this many houses were fortified by walls, built new first floors and basements with a foundation. Some trees have not been cut down, but transplanted closer to their homes. Architecturally, Gran Via is divided into three parts: the style of non-rebirth houses, then the French style and modernity, and the third is American rationalism. There was a time when each segment of the street had its name, and the caressing rumor of the street returned only recently.
Completely construction was completed only in 1952; The new street starts from the intersection with Alkala Street and rests on the Plaza of Spain .
Places of interest in Gran Via Madrid
In general, the street can be considered an architectural encyclopedia, because it was built over several decades, each of which brought its own way and reflected in the style and design of buildings, the most famous of which are:
- The first building at the crossroads with Alkala Street is the Metropolis building. It was built in 1911 for an insurance company for a special project from the brothers Fevree. The building of beautiful classical architecture is decorated with a dome, and he, in turn, is a statue of victory for Nicky. Until 1972, instead of it was a bird Phoenix.
- Next to him is the house No. 1 Gran Vía - the Grassy building, built in 1917 for the same-name large jewelry company. The building is decorated with a white round turret. Currently, the first floor is occupied by a museum of watches.
- Mysterious number 13 belongs to the house of officers, otherwise - to the cultural center of the army and navy. Earlier there was the Casino Militar , a kind of officer club. The building was opened in 1916 and is famous for its rich interiors.
- Following along the street you will meet one of the oldest buildings of the street - the Catholic church of the 16th century Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia (Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia). In 1795, the church was rebuilt for money from the first Royal Lottery.
- No. 21 belongs to the chic Hotel Senator . The hotel is awarded the status of four stars, in the small courtyard of the hotel built an elevator that will lift you to the roof with a pool and a chic view of the horizon.
- Opposite the hotel is the first European skyscraper Telefonica , which arose in 1930, house number 28, the beginning of the second section of the Gran Via. Its height is 81 meters, which gave him several years the status of the tallest building in Europe. The clock on the tower appeared only in 1967, and a couple of years ago they were decorated with illumination. For the construction of telephones, the American architect was specially discharged.
- A little further on the opposite side on the street Gran Via, house 35, was built the so-called palace of music - Palacio de la Música . Once it was a cinema hall and a concert stage, but in 2007 it was closed for reconstruction, and afterwards it is planned to rent out all the areas.
- Another interesting house on the street Gran Via - high-rise Los Sótanos ; has several rooms at once: No. 53, 55, 57 and 59. It was built in the mid-1940s, one part was taken under the chic hotel "Emperor", the other - the Teatro Lope de Vega, now it is known all over Europe for its productions .
- Next on the street is now the pedestrian square of Callao (Plaza del Callao). In the buildings on the square there are many shops, this is a favorite place for tourist shopping. In addition, you can meet Russian-speaking sellers, which is very nice.
- On the square of Callao there are three noteworthy buildings: Cine Callao (huge cinema complex), Capitol and Palacio de la Prensa (Press Palace). Capitol is a shopping center, hotel and cinema, the house is built in the German Art Deco style, its narrowest part is decorated with an elegant crowned turret. The press room was given the 46th number of the house, it was built and officially opened in 1930 by the order of the Madrid Press Association. The office tower with beautiful arches was occupied by publishers at different times, the first floor was reserved for a cinema.
- The finish point of the boulevard is the Plaza of Spain , it is located in the company of two skyscrapers: the Madrid high-rise (142 meters high residential complex) and the TV tower Spain (Torrespaña). At the very square near the pond is a funny bronze monument to the main characters of Cervantes .
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And this is only part of the historical buildings. On the Gran Via there are many famous hotels, shops, bars and restaurants. There are always full of walking tourists and townspeople. The centennial anniversary of the street in 2010 was celebrated with a wide scope, including on its Gran Via was installed its bronze model.
How to get there?
You can reach the famous street by public transport :
- on the metro with lines L1, L2, L3, L5 and L10 depending on your direction to the stations: Santo Domingo, Callao, Gran Via;
- by bus number 1, 2, 3, 44, 46, 74, 133, 146, 148 and 202.