We were back to my dear Spain again !! love it !! We came by car of course and took time to see some new towns with my sons and our dog Rex ! I rented a small house in a off the beaten path country town that was just perfect ! I like to continue the saga of our new road warrior experiences even if now with less in our family,This post is on my latest road warrior tour of wonderful sublime back to Madrid, Therefore, let me tell you about the Parque del Buen Retiro of Madrid, part IV !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
This is Madrid capital of the province and community of Madrid as well as the kingdom of Spain, All central all comes and leaves from here in my dear Spain, A must to visit at least once in your lifetime or more once bitten with the bug as from Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday ! Once again, thrill to be back to my Madrid and this year twice !! Love it !!! Only 202 km from our rental house in Velliza down on the A62, A6, and this time to the M500 and M30 to the Retiro park and our parking at Parking Avenida del Mediterraneo 28 near metro bus Conde de Casal and the Retiro park,
I had to come back to the Parque del Buen Retiro aka Retiro Park ,this is a must for me coming here since a child, I have written plenty on it in my blog , but more is not enough I could write a book, maybe one day,,,,It is the essence and lungs of Madrid, the best known park, a rich history and I lived not far from it, and used to walk its alleys and greens all over , then as an adult came to it on every trip to Madrid as if doing a pilgrimage to a sacred place. It is for me always will be Retiro, my park. The park is 118 hectares or 291,4 acres. It takes its name from Felipe IV royal palace that once stood there.
The Avenida Menéndez Pelayo is between Calle de Alcalá and Avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona. Formerly, the section between the streets of Alcalá and O’Donnell was called Calle Muñoz by the hostel of the same name that was located where the Valencia Tower is today. The rest received the names of Ronda de Vicálvaro , between the Calle de O’Donnell and the Plaza del Niño Jesús, and Ronda de Vallecas, between the Plaza del Niño Jesús and the avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona, because it led to the Camino de Vallecas. In 1915, it received the name of Avenida de Menéndez Pelayo, in memory of the polygraph and historian Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo, One of my dear streets of Madrid, walked all over it. The pics is towards the library in the Retiro park
The Paseo de Fernán Núñez (or de Coches (carriages)).Done in 1874 and vehicules were still permitted on it until 1981. It is a big promenade all along the park. Awesome walks. The Paseo de Fernán Núñez, we can also find with other names such as the Duke of Fernán Núñez, the carriage or carriages. The promenade opens the way from the northern zone, where the Puerta de Madrid at Calle O’Donell is located, to the southwest area where we find the Puerta del Angel Caido , which gives to the Cuesta de Moyano is the senior walk length of those existing in the park. It presents different sections being in its central part where it reaches greater width and that is where it is known as carriage or coches promenade since, according to some authors, the ostentatating families of noble titles walked their carriages and their horses to rival each other, When the months of May and June arrive, the Book Fair is usually held in its southernmost part , One of the most peculiar monuments of Spain, that of the Angel Caido or fallen angel. In its final stretch, if we consider the beginning from Calle O’Donell , the paseo becomes a slight slope down, again full of athletes where the high pines stand out, leading to the astronomical observatory of Madrid and at the Puerta of the Angel Caido. The first count of Fernán Núñez, Alonso Estacio Gutiérrez de los Ríos and Angulo gave or sold its land to the valid of Felipe IV, the Count -Duke of Olivares around 1630 – 1640, for the enjoyment of the court and these lands became the Retiro park. The main artery I would say, wonderful indeed!
The Monument to Campoamor is on Paseo de Fernán Núñez. This sculpture was inaugurated on February 18, 1914 being made in marble and bronze, with dimensions of 4 meters high and 2.36 meters of width. The sculpture represents an allegory having the poet Ramón de Campoamor sitting along with three female figures that represent the three stages of life (youth, maturity and senectud). In his time, he frequented a lot the Retiro park.
The former Zoo of Madrid at Retiro Park has remains of the second-oldest zoo in Europe can be seen within the library gardens. It was known as the Casa de Fieras,or House of Beasts, In 1774, King Carlos III ordered the construction of the House of Beasts, a primitive concept of what we know as a zoo; it was enjoyed by king Fernando VII as well. It was home to lions, tigers, and bears, as well as monkeys, ostriches, a crocodile, and even an elephant. By its final days, the facilities were not large enough to accommodate the growing number of animals. The House of Beasts was permanently closed in 1972 (yes remember I was living in the city) when the current zoo and aquarium were inaugurated at a larger space at the parque Casa de Campo (see posts).
This area has been transformed into pleasant gardens integrated into the rest of Retiro Park, The jardines de Cecilio Rodriguez or gardens of Cecilio Rodriguez ,the gardener of the city build in 1972 with many ornaments and statues ,which today are an extenstion called the Jardines del Architecto Herrero Palacios, Senior Gardener of the Retiro, successor to Don Cecilio Rodríguez. In 2013, the historic zoo was converted to a library and botanical garden. Today, books are stacked on shelves in structures that once caged wild animals. However many of the original structures from the zoo have been preserved. You can still see the old bear cages, the monkey pit, the lion’s den, and remains of the bars through which the great beasts were fed. Nostalgia to be visited by all !!!
The Pabellón de los Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez or Pavilion of the gardens of Cecilio Rodríguez is a modern and simple building framed in the gardens of Cecilio Rodriguez of the Parque del Buen Retiro. An glazed pavilion consisting of two floors built in red brick on a white and gray tile floor. Its interior decoration is typical of a functional space for public acts and events, highlighting its wide luminosity by large windows and diaphanous rooms that can be adapted to different uses. From the second floor there is a panoramic view of the symmetry of the gardens of the same name. Classic and geometric gardens that have central ponds surrounded by cypresses in perfect ways.
The Puerta Sur de los Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez communicates this monumental door for the south the Paseo del Uruguay of the Retiro Park with the gardens of Cecilio Rodríguez, possibly raised and initiated by this gardener around 1929, as a prolongation of the Casa de las Fieras (old zoo) or house of wild beasts, which was restored by himself after the Spanish Civil War.
The Jardín de Vivaces or Garden of Vivaces, a slight slope in which some difficult species grow in Madrid, such as the giant secuoya or the willow-leaf podocarp. In May, dozens of acanthus flourished, a plant in which the Corinthian capital between the holm oaks is inspired.
The medieval Castillete is a small medieval castle originally called the Torre del Retiro or the tower of Retiro with a middle ages aspect with four angle towers, three levels and a flat cover. At the end of the 20C was given to the Meteorological service , Currently it is been renovated for future use.
The Madrid tourist office on the Retiro park : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/parque-del-retiro
There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Madrid, Do not know when we will be back, we sure will have this trip in our hearts forever, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Parque del Buen Retiro of Madrid, part IV !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 