Squares of Madrid and Cracow

Plaza Mayor 

     During the first project meeting in Spain our return journey led us to Madrid, where we had to spend a day waiting for the plane. We didn’t have much time to visit the Old Town in a very detailed way. On the other hand, we didn’t want just to walk and look around. For this reason, before going to Spain we asked some people for advice what is worth seeing. One of the most interesting ideas was given to us by Maca. She suggested us to pay attention to the main squares of Madrid and compare them with the main squares in Cracow.
We followed that suggestion and the article is a description of what we’ve noticed. We hope you will find it interesting, because some other participants of the project have visited both Madrid and Cracow as well. 
     Amongst many impressive Madrid squares we have decided to focus on Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, which are the best known squares in the city. We didn’t have any doubts concerning the choice in Cracow, because you can find there one of the biggest squares in Europe (Rynek Główny)  and it plays the dominant role in the city. 

Plaza Mayor (Google maps)

At first, let’s have a look at all these squares from the satellite view. As you can see they differ significantly in terms of shapes and the way of their filling. Plaza Mayor is rectangular and surrounded  tightly by the buildings. There are no larger streets going directly to the square, although it is linked with them via short passages and gates.




Casa de la Panaderia

Plaza was built in the 17th century. Originally, it was a market and sometimes a bullfighting arena or executions place.
The most outstanding palace is Casa de la Panaderia (Bakery House). We visited large tourist information office situated on the ground floor of the building. It must be admitted that location of tourist point is well-chosen, because the square attracts plenty of tourists. It is a relaxing area for them with cafés and restaurants. In the middle of Plaza Mayor there is a statue of king Felipe III on his horse.


Puerta del Sol (Google maps)

Puerta del Sol as got more unusual semi-circular shape, but it looks quite regular from aerial view. Similarly to Plaza Mayor,  in the middle of the square monument commemorating another Spanish king Carlos III is located. At both sides of the square there are two round (shaped) fountains. Puerta del Sol contains also an official of Madrid: a bronze statue of a bear eating fruit from a strawberry tree 'El Oso y El Madroño'. At the square  there is another landmark: eighteenth-century red brick Casa de Correos (the House of Post Office). Today it is the regional seat of the government of Madrid.

Symbol of Madrid

     Puerta del Sol in Spanish means ‘Gate of the Sun’. The name comes from the gate in the city wall that was situated here in the 15th century. Present square was completed in the 19th century and now it lies in the very heart of Madrid. Moreover, it is claimed as the exact centre of Spain. On the pavement you can find a mark of Kilómetro Cero (Kilometre Zero), the point from which distances for the  Spain’s national roads are calculated. 

     Nowadays there is no city wall in Madrid, but in our opinion Puerta del Sol in a way still acts as a gate. Lots of people just pass through the square in all directions. Though, the square is close to other tourist attractions like Opera House, Plaza Mayor or Plaza de la Cibeles. It is not calm and comfortable place to have some rest. The square is a very busy and lively space. We experienced that it is occupied by people day and night. As we stayed in a hostel at the side street of Puerta del Sol it took us over an hour to find free places for lunch in nearby restaurants. In the morning when we left the hostel at 4.00 a.m. to get to the airport and the streets were still full of people.


Kilometro Cero at Puerta del Sol

    The main square in Cracow - Market Square (Rynek Główny) is the oldest amongst described squares. When it was designed in the 13th century, the idea was to create a regular grid layout.

Rynek Główny (Google maps)

However, constructors had to accept some mismatches, because a few buildings and streets had already existed. From aerial view you can see a regular shape of Rynek Główny and its discordances: the orientation of St. Mary’s Basilica at the top of the photo, a funnel-shaped Grodzka street and a tiny St. Adalbert Church near the funnel of Grodzka street.

     Each side of Rynek Główny is 200 metre long, so the square is a really vast space. Nonetheless, you can’t feel it or even see it standing at the square because it is divided in two parts by the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) located exactly at the centre. The Cloth Hall was built in the 14th century and it is claimed to be the world’s oldest shopping mall. It has been operating continuously for 700 years! Nowadays, in numerous merchant stalls inside you can buy typical Polish products like amber, lace and woodwork.

Untypical orientation of St. Adalbert Church at Rynek Główny.
We can see the side and back wall of the church.

      At Rynek Główny there aren’t any monuments of kings, like at squares of Madrid, however the statue of the greatest Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz can be found near the St. Mary’s Basilica. In the past Rynek Główny served as a market and a place of public executions like Plaza Mayor. Moreover, Rynek Główny was located along the route called Royal Road, so regal coronation or funeral processions traversed it. Nowadays, it is a place for various cultural events and public celebrations, for example New Year's Eve Party – similar to Puerta del Sol.



Statue of Adam Mickiewicz was the meeting
point at our project trip (May 2015)

We hope we’ve managed to show you various characteristic features of all three squares. Yet, all of them have some things in common, too. As they are filled with historical buildings, statues, numerous cafes, restaurants and pubs they are foremost meeting points for locals and visitors. For these cities the squares are the hearts. And it is unforgettable experience for tourists to feel them and to hear their beating.




Links:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rynek_Główny_w_Krakowie
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerta_del_Sol
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Mayor
 http://www.mapofpoland.pl/Krakow,zdjecie,42573,Widok-na-Kosciolek-Sw-Wojciecha-z-Wiezy-Mariackiej.html#galeria

The article has been prepared by Agata Janik, Paulina Sapek, Asia Łopuszyńska and Sara Kozieł - students of Gimnazjum nr 2 im. św. Walentego w Bieruniu. Coordinating teacher: Joanna Gawor.