Paseo de la Castellana, commonly known as La Castellana, is a major thoroughfare in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Spain. Cutting across the city from South to North, it has been described as the "true structuring axis" of the city.
History and description
The street was formerly a
thalweg partially along which the Arroyo de la Castellana flowed towards its emptying in the Abroñigal. The ''Fuente Castellana'', which was the main source of the Arroyo de la Castellana and, according to
Cervantes, a spring with "extremely cold waters", was located near the current day plaza de Emilio Castelar.
The waterstream, formerly used as dump, was channeled in 1807. The first stretch of the street (from the Gate of Recoletos to the Fuente Castellana) was built following the western (right) bank of the stream; the works started in early 1833, and inaugurated in October 1833, it was named ''Paseo de las Delicias de la Princesa'' and ''Paseo de las Delicias de Isabel II'' after Princess/Queen
Isabella, although it was popularly known as ''Paseo de la Fuente Castellana''. The
tree planting ensued for some years.
In the 1930s, during the
Second Republic, the Minister
Indalecio Prieto and Architect
Secundino Zuazo gave the necessary boost for the expansion of the street towards the North, linked to the project of
Nuevos Ministerios. Following the Civil War, the Francoist regime resumed the works. During the dictatorship, the stretch north of the crossroads with Raimundo Fernández Villaverde and Joaquín Costa was named "Avenida del Generalísimo". In 1980, following the return of democracy, the
Madrid City Council voted to rename streets throughout the capital, reinstating those had prior to the Second Republic;
these measures, passed with the votes of the
PSOE
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
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* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
and
PCE municipal councillors, were opposed by the
UCD councillors.
La Castellana is prolongation of the
Paseo de Recoletos and the
Paseo del Prado
The Paseo del Prado is one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Spain. It runs north–south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V (also known as Plaza de Atocha), with the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo (the loca ...
, and these three avenues vertebrate the north-south axis of the city. The street starts at
Plaza de Colón
Plaza de Colón (''Columbus Square'', in English) is located in the encounter of Chamberí, Centro and Salamanca districts of Madrid, Spain. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cri ...
,
ending at its junction with the
M-30 ring road,
the so-called Nudo Norte. It passes through the
Plaza de Lima
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
,
Plaza de Cuzco
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings ...
and the
Plaza de Castilla.
The districts of
Chamberí
Chamberí is a district of Madrid, Spain. It is further subdivided into six neighborhoods ( Gaztambide, Arapiles, Trafalgar, Almagro, Ríos Rosas and Vallehermoso). The district junta is headquartered at the . The current urban outline was bo ...
(
Almagro and
Ríos Rosas neighborhoods),
Tetuán (
Cuatro Caminos,
Castillejos and
Almenara neighborhoods) and
Fuencarral-El Pardo (
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...
neighborhood) lie to the West of La Castellana, while the districts of
Salamanca (
Recoletos and
Castellana neighborhoods) and
Chamartín (
El Viso,
Hispanoamérica,
Nueva España and
Castilla neighborhoods) lie to the East.
The financial center of Madrid is located along La Castellana or its immediate proximity, comprising locations such as
AZCA,
Puerta de Europa
The Gate of Europe towers ( es, Puerta de Europa, - Door of Europe-), also known as KIO Towers (''Torres KIO''), are twin office buildings near the Plaza de Castilla in Madrid, Spain. The towers have a height of and have 26 floors. They were co ...
, and the
CTBA.
The street also features several embassies and hotels.
Other landmarks found along this street include the Palacio de Congresos,
the headquarters of the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
,
and the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Gallery
Image:Vista de Madrid - Salamanca 01.jpg, Aerial view (to the South)
Image:Palacio del marqués de Fontalba.jpg, Fontalba Palace
Image:Edificio Castellana 15 (Madrid) 01.jpg, Finnish Embassy
Image:PlazaCastillaMadrid.JPG, Puerta de Europa
The Gate of Europe towers ( es, Puerta de Europa, - Door of Europe-), also known as KIO Towers (''Torres KIO''), are twin office buildings near the Plaza de Castilla in Madrid, Spain. The towers have a height of and have 26 floors. They were co ...
Image:AZCA.c.m.jpg, AZCA
Image:Madrid Cuatro Torres Business Area.jpg, CTBA
See also
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Monument to Isabella the Catholic
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''The Hand'' (Botero), bronze sculpture
References
;Informational notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
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Streets in Madrid
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