Parque
del Buen Retiro named by Madrid's king (Park of the Pleasant Retreat) is
a large and popular, 1.4 km² (350 acre) park in Madrid city center,
not far from the Prado Museum. Once outside the city, Madrid now entirely
surrounds the park. The park was originally the site of a royal palace
built in 1632 under the reign King Philip IV. Most of the palace was destroyed
during the Napoleonic Wars, leaving a space that was eventually opened
to the public in 1868. The few remaining buildings of the palace now house
museum collections. Within the park is the Estanque del Retiro, a large
artificial lake. Next to the lake is the Mausoleum of Alfonso XII, featuring
a semicircular colonnade and a statue of Alfonso on horseback on a tall
pedestal. Around it there are many puppet shows greatly enjoyed by the
children there. There are all manner of street performers and fortune tellers.
Row boats can be rented to paddle about the Estanque. Many families in
Madrid go there on the relaxed summer afternoons.
The
park contains the Palacio de Cristal, a glass pavilion inspired by The
Crystal Palace in London and designed in 1887 by Ricardo Velázquez
Bosco. Velázquez Bosco also designed the park's Palacio de Velázquez.
The park also contains 'El Angel Caído', the only statue in the
world in honour of Lucifer, the fallen angel, as well as the Forest of
the Departed (Bosque de los Ausentes) and memorial monument to commemorate
the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks. |
