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_10.jpg) View of the square in October 2009 | |
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| Type | urban square |
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| Location | Sol,Centro,Madrid,Spain |
| Major junctions | Mayor,Arenal,Preciados,Carmen,Montera,Alcalá,San Jerónimo,Espoz y Mina,Carretas,Correo |
ThePuerta del Sol (Spanish:[ˈpweɾtaðelˈsol],English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square inMadrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre (Km 0) of the radial network ofSpanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of theTwelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live since 31 December 1962 on major radio and television networks includingAtresmedia andRTVE.
The Puerta del Sol originated as one of the gates in the city wall that surrounded Madrid in the 15th century. Outside the wall, medieval suburbs began to grow around the Christian Wall of the 12th century. The name of the gate came from the rising sun which decorated the entry, since the gate was oriented to the east.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the area was an important meeting place: as the goal for the couriers coming from abroad and other parts of Spain to the Post Office, it was visited by those eager for the latest news. The stairs to the Saint Philip church at the square were known as theGradas de San Felipe, and were among the most prolificmentideros de la Corte (this Spanish idiom sounds as "lie-spreaders of the Court", but it is related with the verbmentar, "to say about someone", notmentir, "to lie", so it is more appropriately translated as "places of the City where people gossip").
The House of the Post Office was built by French architectJacques Marquet between 1766 and 1768. The building was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security inFrancoist Spain. It is currently the seat of the Presidency of theMadrid Community.
The Puerta del Sol has seen protests against the2004 Madrid bombings on commuter trains, and Spain's involvement in theIraq War.[1] In 2011, the square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoinganti-austerity movement in Spain. The demonstrations included camping in the middle of the plaza, which began on 15 May 2011 amidst the election campaign for city halls and Autonomous Communities governments and which was fueled by social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The demonstrations then spread to more than sixty other cities throughout Spain. Since 12 June 2011, the square has held a free-standing domed structure made from pallets, which served as an information point for the15-M Movement. This continued throughout the summer of 2011 until the dawn of 2 August, when the national police decided to evict the structure and protestors. Currently[when?], dozens of committees have their assemblies in the square.[citation needed]
Despite once being the meeting point of the six major radial roads of Spain, in 2020 the square was pedestrianized and closed to most traffic. Exceptions are made for supplies to shops, emergency services andblood donation campaigns.[2]
During New Year's Eve 2018–2019, the clock of the Puerta del Sol for the first time in history rang the bells according to the schedule of theCanary Islands. After the traditional twelve strokes of midnight, the clock delayed itself one hour to adjust to Canary Islands time, and also gave the chimes at the same time as the archipelago.[3]
The Puerta del Sol contains a number of well known sights both domestically and internationally associated with Spain. On the south side, the oldPost Office was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security inFrancoist Spain. The basement of theDGS (Spanish:Dirección General de Seguridad,lit. 'General Directorate of Security') was infamous for being a place wheredissidents to the regime were subjected to torture. The building now serves as the office of thePresident of Madrid, the head of theregional government of theAutonomous Community of Madrid (not to be confused with the Madrid City Council, which is housed in thePalacio de Cibeles). There are twocommemorative plaques in the front of the Royal House of the Post Office: one is devoted to the neighbours of Madrid whorose up against theNapoleonic invasion of Spain on May 2, 1808; the other one is a memorial of the victims of the 2004 Madrid bombings. In 2020, another plaque was added, commemorating those who died during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Also on its south side, the square holds a mounted statue ofCharles III of Spain, nicknamed "el rey alcalde" ("the mayor-king") due to the extensive public works program he set in motion. The famousTío Pepe lighted sign was above the square's eastern building between theCalle de Alcalá and theCarrera de San Jerónimo (Apple Store today) for a long time, now is on top of the former Paris Hotel. Also on the east side lies thestatue of The Bear and the Strawberry Tree (in Spanish,el Oso y el Madroño), the heraldic symbol of Madrid. Until 2009, the statue stood on the north side at the entrance toCalle del Carmen. TheMariblanca (a female figure named for its white marble) is a copy of a statue (possibly of Venus, and so the restored pedestal claims), which marks the place of a former fountain displaying that figure.
Thekilómetro cero is a plaque on the ground directly north of the Post Office serving as the symbolic center of Spain, and the point from which kilometer distances are numbered in theSpanish road system.
ThePuerta is located in the very heart of Madrid. It serves as the kilometre zero from which all radial roads in Spain are measured. This is demonstrated by a plaque on the floor of the square, marking the exact point of Km.0. This was established in 1857,[4] setting six major radial roads, clockwise:
The old plaque was replaced in 2009, as it had become faded after years of foot traffic. It is also the reference for street numbers in Madrid, which begin at the street-end that is closest to Puerta del Sol.
Immediately to the southwest lies thePlaza Mayor; thePalacio Real, the official home of theRoyal Family, is further west.Parliament and the museum district are to the east and the train stationAtocha is to the southeast.
Under the square lies apublic transport hub served by lines 1, 2 and 3 of theMadrid Metro. Acommuter service was inaugurated on 27 June 2009, four years behind schedule. The lateness of the construction was in part due to the discovery of the remains of the Church of Our Lady of Good Success during the excavation of the main chamber. The new station connects the Puerta to Madrid's commuter rail system and, by extension, to Spain's railroads via direct connections toAtocha andChamartín railway stations[1].
The square connects several commercial and recreational areas together, and thus both it and the surrounding streets consist mainly of shopping establishments catering to locals andtourists alike, like the severalEl Corte Inglés department store buildings in Preciados Street, La Mallorquina cafe, and numerous, ever-changing restaurants. The area remains active late into the night and early morning since nearby bars and dance clubs often onlystart entertainment at 1 am. Street music is also common in the area.
Side streets close to the square also contain residential flats, some small offices, and touristhostels.
Media related toPuerta del Sol at Wikimedia Commons
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40°25′01″N3°42′13″W / 40.41694°N 3.70361°W /40.41694; -3.70361
