Curiosities of Chinchon, part I !!!

Posted in Europe, Madrid, Spain

Great pleasure in bringing you back to my dear Spain! Again, this is a memorable post on wonderful architecturally and historical town, I am updating on a new post on this monument with older pictures ,and new texts and links for you and me, Thanks for those who have follow me thru the years , appreciated. Let me tell you about the curiosities of Chinchon, part I !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

My favorites areas since childhood, Comunidad de Madrid or old Castile, of which Madrid is part and also Chinchon. I have written before on Chinchon, and hope you have read the posts. However, this is the main monument me think, and would like to tell you on this monument recently renovated by the City to continue hosting bullfights.

First a bit of Spanish geography and directions.  Chinchón is located in the region of Las Vegas, 44 km from Madrid. From Madrid you can reach Chinchón by the highway A-3 taking the detour of the M-307, shortly before reaching Arganda. From there take the roads M-311 and then the M-313 to Chinchón. It can also be reached by the A-4, taking the turnoff of the M-404, shortly after Valdemoro, which takes us through Ciempozuelos and Titulcia to Chinchón. From Conde de Casal (next to metro station same name) bus stop in Madrid you can take bus line 337, to Chinchon terminus Valdelaguna.

The Casa de la Cadena in the Plaza del Convento very close to the Plaza Mayor (see post) , It was the lodging place of King Felipe V, as he passed through Chinchón and slept the night of February 25, 1706. It is a baroque building from the late 17C with the orderly facade of three bodies, with access door lintel. For this reason, there is a chain on the door of the house, commemorating this event. It is a three-story building with an aristocratic feel, featuring a sculpted hand tightly holding a cross, accompanied by an inscription. Inside, there is a beautiful courtyard supported by columns, around which the other rooms of this stately home are accessed. Good looking architecture in city center.

The Plaza Mayor is an example of popular architecture. The first houses with arcades and balconies were built in the 15C, and was completely closed in the 17C. It has an irregular and asymmetrical shape, with a simple, clear, orderly, and hierarchical structure that reflects traditional Castilian architecture. The buildings are of three floors, with white houses on arcades, wooden balconies painted in green and red-tiled roofs, it’s like the Middle Ages! See the main arch entering the Plaza Mayor, And 234 green wooden balconies called Claros or clear, supported by standing with shoes type columns offering a breathtaking view of the bullfights and other regularly-held shows on the square. Bars, restaurants and other taverns hide behind the arcades.

The Fuente Arriba or Upper Fountain is perfectly integrated into the Plaza Mayor, a splendid monumental ensemble developed over the 15-17C. The new fountain was designed in 1966, as part of the plaza’s redevelopment, and completed around 1970. This wall fountain,consists of a trough-style basin and a large rectangular front with two spouts. This front is divided into three large sections, delimited by paired pilasters, for a total of six. A continuous cornice runs along the entire top. The fountain is crowned with six stone spheres, one per pilaster, and a circular pediment in the center, which houses a scallop shell. This last piece serves as the crowning element of what can be considered the most valuable artistic feature of the entire fountain: the enormous coat of arms of Chinchón, located in the central section.

The Castillo de los Condes of Chinchon, history tell us that there were two fortresses; The first, apparently, of the 15C and now disappeared. The current castle was built in the second half of the 16C by order of Diego Fernandez de Cabrera and Bobadilla, third count of Chinchón after being the first destroyed during the communal riots. Its last used was a liquor factory, and now it is just there holding fairs and temporary events

The official Castillo de Chinchon for events/festivities : https://www.castillodechinchon.com/

The town of Chinchon on its heritage: https://ciudad-chinchon.com/turismo/conoce-chinchon/lugares-interes/edificios-religiosos.php

The Comunidad de Madrid regional tourist office on Chinchon: https://www.visitmadrid.es/donde-ir/villas-madrid/chinchon

The Madrid tourist office on Chinchon : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/chinchon

There you go folks, a nice day in Chinchon a typical Madrileno town not far from Madrid and yet in the countryside. Wonderful monuments full of nice architecture and great history, worth the detour, me think. Again, hope you enjoy this post on curiosities of Chinchon, part I !!!  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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