List of destroyed landmarks in Spain: Difference between revisions

This list of missing monuments in Spain includes buildings, castles, royal palaces, medieval towers, medieval walls and other built structures that no longer exist in Spain.

Real Alcázar de Madrid

• Real Alcázar de Madrid: The defunct Real Alcázar de Madrid was located on the site where now the Royal Palace of Madrid stands. Built as a Muslim fortress in the 9th century, the building was expanded and being improved over the centuries, especially since the 16th century when it became a royal palace according to the choice of Madrid as the capital of the Spanish Empire. Nevertheless, this great building still retained its original name of Alcázar.

Famous both for its artistic richness and its irregular architecture, was the residence of the Spanish Royal Family and the seat of the Court from the dynasty of the Trastámara until its destruction in a fire on Christmas Eve of 1734, under Philip V. Many of its art treasures, including more than 500 paintings were lost, while others might be redeemed (as Las Meninas by Velázquez).

On Christmas Eve of 1734, the Court moved to the Palace of El Pardo, it is declared a terrible fire in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid. The fire, which may have originated in a chamber of the painter of the court the French Jean Ranc, spread rapidly, without being able to be controlled in any moment. it spread over four days and was of such intensity that some objects silver were melted by the heat and the remains of metal (along with precious stones) had to be collected in buckets.

The recovery of many paintings of the Alcázar was left on the back burner, given the difficulties involved in its size and location at various heights and multiple rooms. Some of these paintings were embedded in the walls. Hence a number of paintings that were kept in the building at the time ("The expulsion of the Moors" of Velázquez) is lost, and others (like Las Meninas) unpins frames were saved and thrown through the windows. However, part of the pictorial collections had been previously transferred to the Palace del Buen Retiro, to preserve the renovations that were taking place inside the Royal Alcázar, which saved them from probable destruction.

Extinguished the fire, the building was reduced to rubble. The walls that remained standing had to be demolished, given its state of disrepair. Four years after his disappearance, in 1738, Philip V ordered the construction of the current Royal Palace of Madrid, whose works spread over three decades. The new building was first inhabited by Carlos III in 1764.

Palacio del Real de Valencia

• Palacio del Real de Valencia: The Palacio del Real de Valencia was the former palace of the Kings of Valencia in the "Cap i Casal" (head and common house) of the Kingdom, as it was known in the city. Also known as the "Palace of the 300 keys" in reference to the number of rooms that once had.

Officially its demolition in the War of Independence, March 12, 1810, an alleged military strategy for not to allow a stronghold from where could become strong the invading Napoleonic troops and bomb the city.

Although of little avail, as they attacked by other flank and the Spanish troops ended up giving the city without a fight, to change to go to Alicante, all this despite that in the first siege, the June 28, 1808, Valencia defeated the French led by Moncey in the Towers of Quart, that with many casualties were driven back to Madrid.

Torre Nueva de Zaragoza

• Torre Nueva de Zaragoza: It was locally renowned due to its inclination. Built in the 16th century to give the time to the city, in the construction team attended the three cultures that lived in Aragon: Christian Juan de Sariñena, Jewish Juce de Galí and Muslims Ezmel Allabar and master Monferriz, all under the direction of Gabriel Gombao. Over the years it became the symbol of the city, was the highest Mudéjar tower has been built (80m in 1540) and a diameter of 11 and a half meters, with a floor of 16-pointed star.During the sieges it served for follow the French movements

Shortly after starting already was appreciated the inclination of the tower although it said there was no danger its stability, in 1892 the City Council decided to demolish the tower, justifying the decision with the inclination and the probable ruin of the work. The decision was opposed by many intellectuals and part of the population, but efforts to save it were in vain.

At present, there is only a sculpture of a boy looking at the cusp of the old tower and a star-shaped mark sixteen points on the floor of the square remembers the location of the Torre Nueva.

Palacio del Buen Retiro

• Palacio del Buen Retiro, Madrid: another great royal palace. Built in 1630 by order of Philip IV, It lasted little standing because it was destroyed by the French in the War of Independence. Isabella II tried to rebuild it, but could just demolish almost entirely.

Curiously, the gardens were saved, converted today in the Buen Retiro Park. These were also destroyed during the war by the French, but Ferdinand VII started the rebuilding and ended up becoming what these are today.

The palace itself a small part is preserved. On the one hand, the Salón de Reinos, which for many years housed the Museo del Ejército. The other part that remains is the Casón del Buen Retiro, the former Ballroom of the palace. Today is the Center of Studies of the Prado Museum, and at the time housed the Picasso's Guernica, before being transferred to the Reina Sofía.

• Palacio Arzobispal, Alcalá de Henares: The entire set dating from 1209. Two thirds were destroyed as a result of a devastating fire in 1939, during the Spanish Civil War. What remains is the product of a completely renovation in 1996.

Palacio de Ripalda

• Palacio de Ripalda, Valencia: The Palacio de Ripalda, it was home of the Countess of Ripalda, when she died her heirs sell it. It was demolished in 1969.

• Palacio de Sanchez Dalp, Seville: It was located in the old Plaza de El Duque. In its place is the El Corte Inglés store Plaza del Duque.

• Casino de la Arrabassada, Barcelona: had a great hotel, casino, a botanical garden and one of the most advanced amusement park of its time (and dangerous, because the attractions were no security measures or braking systems or to prevent derailment). Was ended in 1911. the facilities were shoot down in 1940.

• Hotel Florida, Madrid: It was located in the Plaza de Callao, in the center of Madrid. Besides its architectural value, it housed many international journalists during the Civil War, including the famous Ernest Hemingway. Constructed a El Corte Inglés building store after its demolition in 1964.

• Casa Bevan, Málaga.

• Teatro López de Ayala de Badajoz: It suffered a fire in the Civil War. In the 1990s Ibarra & co. were responsible for restoring, this not was restored according to the original building.

• El Gran Hotel de París, Seville: In its place stand an El Corte Inglés store.

• Iglesia del Buen Suceso, Madrid: It was built in 1863 and demolished in 1974.

Eclectic monuments in Galicia

File:Antiguo Edificio Castromil. (derruido a finales de los 70).jpg

Edificio Castromil

• Edificio Castromil, Santiago de Compostela: Located in present Praza de Galicia, which it was demolished in 1970s. Instead it built a little square and an underground parking.

• Edificio Rubira, Vigo: The architect Francisco Hurtado de Saracho is sent by Banco Bilbao to Vigo to find a suitable place to build the new headquarters of the bank site, and the site chosen by the Basque architect would be the Edificio Rubira. His opinion about the construction was that "the building absolutely lacked of style, was a rare thing ..." He concludes that the best option would be to demolish the building and build a new one.

• Iglesia de los Jesuitas, A Coruña: It was located in Rúa Durán Loriga.

• Antiguo Edificio Caixa Galicia, A Coruña: It was located in San Andrés with Rúa Nueva.

• Palace Hotel, A Coruña.

Modernisme monuments

Hotel Internacional

• Hotel Internacional, Barcelona: The Hotel Internacional was one of the buildings that the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner built for the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition in Barcelona (Spain).

The hotel was a building of 5,000 square meters that was built in the record time of 53 days. It was designed as a temporary facility to welcome visitors to the exhibition and was demolished after the event ended.

The building really liked among the people of Barcelona, but the ground was transferred temporarily by Port of Barcelona, and not allowed the purchase or permanent assignment, so it ordered its demolition. Several associations were created to save the building, but were unsuccessful.

• Antigua plaza del ayuntamiento de Valencia: (Spanish for: Old square of the City Hall of Valencia). The entire set, that included the Mercado de Flores, was designed by architect Javier Goerlich in 1933.

• Modernisme buildings and fountains in Albacete: Demolished between the late 1960s and early 1980s.

• Gran Café De París, Seville: The building was built between 1904 and 1906, designed by architect Aníbal González. This work belonged to its brief modernisme period; the building was designed with a metal dome of French style.

Modernisme also was appreciated in its railings with natural motifs. Born as apartment building, while in its low was installed in the Café París which gives its name to the building. The building however change much over the years, its modernisme elements were peeling off the facade, the closing and the wrought and. In the 1920s had lost much of its Modernisme decor. The Gran Café de Paris had in the first floor a billiard room, and was a meeting place for the upper middle class and the bourgeoisie, as well as bullfighters and artists. During the Civil War changed its name to "Café de Roma". Was victim of the pick as many other buildings in the 1970s to make way for the building now occupied by the Burger King of La Campana.

Civil Palaces in Madrid

• Palacio de Medinaceli: Demolished in the 1960s. Now in the site is the Wax Museum of Madrid.

• Palacio Xifré

Neoclassical monuments

• Instituto de Higiene del Dr. Murga, Seville: This Neoclassical building was in street Marqués de Paradas n° 35, close to the old Córdoba Station and belonged to Dr. Leopoldo Murga Machado, founder of the Institute of Hygiene.

This building-minded Roman temple, inspired in the British Museum, was built between 1905-1907 by the architect Francisco Franco Pineda as a residence, clinic, laboratory and scientific agencies of the doctor Murga, who ordered its construction as a private initiative. The garden of the building was flanked by sculptures allegories referring to hygiene and baths. These sculptures, made of stone, were the work of Adolfo López Rodriguez, Sevillian sculptor of the early 20th century.

Since its closure in 1938 was completely abandoned until that its demolition was ordered in 1958, without even mentioning its restoration to adapt it to other uses. the scuptures of the garden also were destroyed in the demolition. Instead was built a new health center.

City Walls and Gates Walls

• Walls of Valencia.
• Walls of Almería: While Almería retains today some of its walled enclosure, as the walls of Jayrán or the Barranco de la Hoya, the vast majority were lost in 1855. It was the beginning of the end of the Horizontal Almería, one that lived up to its name in Arabic "Mirror of the Sea", a Mediterranean white city that loomed to sea and from where it could see the Alcazaba. The City Council of Almería in municipal council approved destroy the walls to give space to the city, and also gave carte blanche to the Almerians so that everyone would make with the materials it wanted, so its demolition was carried out by Almerians themselves.
• Walls of Toledo.
• Walls of Ciudad Real.

Squares

• Plaza de las Descalzas, Madrid: Between other buildings had the Casa del Tesorero with its porticoed facade. Instead in the place is the Caja Madrid building and a El Corte Inglés store.

Big sculptures

• Old Monumento a las victimas del atentado contra Alfonso XIII, Madrid: (Spanish for: "Monument to the victims of the attack against Alfonso XIII"). It was located in Calle Mayor.

Historic neighborhoods

Barrio de La Coracha

• Barrio de La Coracha, Málaga: To overthrow it was the reason of a plan of total sanitation, of the creation of an "district of the arts".
• Barrio de Pozas, Madrid: It demolished this entire triangle shaped-neighborhood and built in its place, the Hotel Husa Princesa and an El Corte Inglés store.

Modern buildings

• Avinguda de la Llum, Barcelona: it was an underground shopping arcade in Barcelona located on Carrer de Pelai, touching La Rambla, between Plaça de Catalunya, Carrer de Balmes and Carrer de Bergara, off the lobby of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, open from 1940 to 1990. Was the first underground shopping arcade of Barcelona and Europe.

• Edificio Pagoda, Madrid: The Edificio Pagoda was built by the architect Miguel Fisac in 1965, it was a totally different from any building that had in Madrid. It was in the street Josefa Valcarcel, next to Arturo Soria, and was clearly visible from the highway of Zaragoza. It was the seat of the Jorba laboratories.

The area where it was had a huge social and economic boom in the years 1980s-90s and land prices soared to very high heights. Despite being an iconic and very liked by the locals, the building owners negotiated its sale and decided that the site was worth more than the building itself and it was in their best interests to demolish it and build a mass of offices.

The city of Madrid did not include the building in the list of protected places in the capital, which would have prevented its demolition. But neither the protests of neighbors, nor the controversy in the press as well as the manifest discomfort of its creator, Fisac, not could prevent its demolition. Between 1 and 4 August 1999, the Pagoda was demolished.