The Estanque Grande del Parque del Buen Retiro of Madrid, part III !!!

Posted in Europe, Madrid, Spain

We are back to my dear Madrid again !! love it !! We came by car of course and took time to see old repeats as never tired of them in my Madrid! I came again with my boys and dog Rex, and it was a thrill as usual! I like to tell you more of Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday !!! Let me take you to the Estanque Grande del Parque del Buen Retiro of Madrid, part III !!! Sit back and enjoy with me as the tour has ended; and hope you have enjoyed all my previous posts on Madrid  as I,

The city of Madrid is the capital of the kingdom of Spain, and located in the Comunidad de Madrid region From my latest escapes it is 211 km from Valladolid City , 198 km from our rental house in Velliza, 183 km from Tordesillas, 172 km from Rueda, 159 km from Medina del Campo, and 199 km from Simancas, We made long walks all over the City , and took the metro when necessary, three times. I love to tell you of our latest escape to the wonderful City, for the memories of always and return, eventually. This is another must for me while in the City it is huge and beautiful wonderful nature in the center of Madrid with many things to do and see ! My tour of Spain and Madrid is coming to an end sad all these ending, already looking forward to be back !!!

The Estanque Grande or big pond in the Buen Retiro park, popularly known as the Estanque, is an extension of water of artificial origin, and was created in the first half of the 17C as one of the most relevant landscape elements of the Buen Retiro, It has an area of ​​37 240 m² and a volume of water of 55 150 m³, the Estanque Grande is formed by a rectangular space, approximately 250 meters long and 125 wide, which represents 3.1% of the extension of the park. It has an average depth of 1.27 meters, with a maximum of 1.81 and a minimum of 0.60.

You have here as well the wonderful Monument to Alfonso XII. It stands on the eastern shore, which invades through a large semicircular staircase, which enters the waters, as a jetty consists of a hemicycle formed by jonic columns, from whose center a pedestal is raised with the equestrian statue to Alfonso XII

Madrid Retiro park estanque mon alfonso XII right jun24

In 1917 the jetty was going to be definitive, this time on the northern shore and not in the eastern, like the previous ones. It was the fire in January 1920 that destroyed it and six years later, in 1926, the jetty that was built has reached our days, as well as the ticket offices and annexed surveillance stalls. As the 20C, progressed, the sporting use of the big pond was intensified, combined with the practice of recreational navigation. It has celebrated numerous official championships, mainly of canoeing and rowing, and also of beneficial nature. Likewise, it has served as headquarters to different aquatic sports clubs, the big pond has been dried several times throughout its history for cleaning,

Madrid Retiro park estanque boats embarcadere jun24

The Estanque Grande or big pond was built in the context of the works of the Buen Retiro park, a set of palaces and gardens promoted in 1632 by the Count-Duke of Olivares for the enjoyment of King Felipe IV, of whom he was his valid. It occupied the place of a primitive pond, of the time of Felipe II who frequented the old royal room of the Jerónimos monastery, around which the Palacio del Buen Retiro would end up being formed, To supply this pond and other hydraulic complexes, it was necessary to draw a new water trip, called the Viaje Bajo del Retiro or low trip of the retiro, whose origin was in a spring in Chamartín de la Rosa, to which another spring in Canillejas would later be added. The works were terminated on April 13, 1638, the big pond was surrounded by a leafy forest, whose plantation began in 1638 and extended until 1642.

In 1767 King Carlos III (Emperor Carlos V) allowed public access to the enclosure, under certain restrictions, and established as a limit one of the banks of the big pond during the War of Independence (1808-1814) ,the Buen Retiro was used as headquarters of the Napoleonic troops, which caused consideration damage to both the palace and in the gardens, including the pond. With the arrival of Fernando VII in 1814, he proceeded to its recovery, while creating new architectural elements during the reign, the public visit to the gardens continued to be allowed, except an area, called the reserved, that the King honed for his personal enjoyment. In 1867, his daughter Isabel II was a step further and allowed public navigation within the big pond, by leasing the facilities. On August 16 of the aforementioned year, the boat promenades service was inaugurated, with the assistance of professional rowers, and subsequently the first hotel establishments on the shores were opened. After the Revolution of 1868, which meant the dethroning of Isabel II, the Royal Site of the Buen Retiro passed to the City of Madrid, which would make it a public park, with which the big pond was under municipal management.

The Madrid tourist office on the Estanque of Retiro park : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/estanque-grande-de-el-retiro

The Unesco world heritage site paisajes de la Luz on the all parts of the Retiro park :https://www.paisajedelaluz.es/en/landscape/

There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Spain, Madrid is always nostalgic sentimental words cannot describe it ! This is a vibrant cosmopolitan cities of friendly faces and smiles to share in long conversations about life and more ; I love it, And these places are part of my life forever ! We will be back here,eventually! Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Estanque Grande del Parque del Buen Retiro of Madrid, part III !!! as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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