Let me take you back to my nostalgic magical Madrid, the city reminds me of so much of good memories from a boy to a men and marriage ,and fatherhood. It is impossible for me to visit Madrid without stopping here, and it is very difficult for me to visit Spain ,and not Madrid! Madrid to heaven and a hole on the sky to look down on it everyday!!! I have written a lot of posts on my Madrid ,and the palace but found me older new pics to the blog that feel should be in it. It deserves another post on its owns merits. Let me tell you again by the Crystal Palace of Madrid or the Palacio de Cristal of Madrid, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Palacio de Cristal is a metal and crystal structure located in the Parque del Buen Retiro (Retiro Park) of Madrid. It was built in 1887 on the occasion of the exhibition of the Philippine Islands, held that same year. It was the first non industrial building of its genre that saw the day in Spain. The structure is metal, and is completely covered by glass plates, hence its name. The ceramic decoration used in small friezes and finials highlight the figures of grotesques with heads of mallards. The Palacio de Cristal, in the shape of a Greek cross, is made almost entirely of glass set in an iron framework on a brick base, which is decorated with ceramics. Its domed roofs makes the structure over 22 meters high. At its feet is an artificial lake and there is a staircase that is immersed inside it, where you can find several specimens of Cypress marsh trees, whose main characteristic is that part of its trunk and its roots are under water. The palace is surrounded by chestnuts trees. The lake contains ducks. geese, black swans and terrapins, who will swim close to the steps, or you can hire boats on the lake for a closer view. It has a surface area of 2,900 m2 and a water volume of 3,480 m3. The spout reaches a height of 17 meters.
After the flora exhibition, the Palacio de Cristal served as the setting for the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, which takes place every two years. Since 1990, it has hosted specific projects and installations by contemporary artists. It exhibits certain temporary exhibitions of modern art from the Reina Sofia Museum and approximately every three months, you can discover a new exhibition inside the Palace. Nowadays, it is part of the Reina Sofía Museum. Located at the Paseo Républica de Cuba ,inside the Retiro park. Go there by Metro lines 1 Estacion del Arte (old Atocha), Line 9 Ibiza, and line 2 Retiro. Also , Renfe-Atocha trains and bus lines 152, 20, 26, 63, C2, 61, C1, 15, 215, and 2. Also, Bicimad (bike network): Estación 70 (avenida de Menéndez Pelayo, 63).It is today a symbol and hallmark of the city of Madrid and is part of the complex called Landscape of Light, declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2021.
For info : The Palacio de Cristal will close its doors until further notice due to emergency works, as announced by the Reina Sofía Museum a few days ago. The improvement work at the palace, managed by the Ministry of Culture, will begin immediately with an estimated execution period of three months,(this has been delayed and still close as of June 2024), The action will consist of the cleaning of parts of the metal structure, the removal of elements with the possibility of detachment and the provisional shoring of the structural frames that present a risk of collapse.
The Madrid tourist office on the Palacio de Cristal: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/palacio-de-cristal
The Reina Sofia Museum on outbuildings such as the Palacio de Cristal: https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/museum/venues
There you go folks, the enormous beautiful Retiro park of my beloved Madrid. Again hope you enjoy this post on the Palacio de Cristal of Madrid ,part II !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 