Plaza de Concepción Arenal

Concepción Arenal square
	Concepción Arenal square in 2023
Native name	Plaza de Concepción Arenal (Spanish)
Type	plaza
Maintained by	Pontevedra City Council
Location	Pontevedra, Spain
Postal code	36002
Coordinates	42°25′58″N 8°39′00″W / 42.432667°N 8.650056°W
Construction
Completion	1908

The Plaza de Concepción Arenal is an early 20th-century square in the Spanish city of Pontevedra, on the edge of the A Moureira area.

Origin of the name

The square owes its name to the Galician writer and activist Concepción Arenal (1820–1893), who lived in Pontevedra at 27 Oliva Street between 1889 and 1890, where she organised a prestigious meeting of intellectuals.^[1]^[2]

History

The square was created following the construction of the nearby Barca bridge. On 17 July 1904, the Pontevedra City Council, on the occasion of the improvement of the street system in the area with the imminent opening of this bridge over the River Lérez and the Ria de Pontevedra, proposed the creation of a square at the junction of Alfonso XIII and Herreros streets, on a plot of land donated by José Riestra López, Marquis of Riestra.^[3]^[4]

The square was located in an expanding part of the city, as the construction of the nearby bridge was accompanied by the building of the new Saint Ferdinand barracks between 1905 and 1909, whose long side façade on the General Martitegui street provided access to the new square from the España square.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[1]

Work on the square was completed in 1908, as evidenced by the municipal plenary session of 17 March 1908, which decided to name the new square Concepción Arenal.^[3]

The Concepción Arenal square was completely refurbished in the 21st century, becoming semi-pedestrianised and configured around a central roundabout. Work began in 2005 and was completed in 2006. It was reopened to restricted traffic on 27 April 2006.^[9]^[10]

Description

The square, which covers 2,500 m², has an irregular circular shape and the six streets of Alfonso XIII, de la Barca, General Martitegui, Herreros, Condesa de Pardo Bazán and Jofre de Tenorio converge there.^[3]^[9]

The square is semi-pedestrianised and has a circular configuration with several concentric circles in the paving, the central point of which is a pedestrian roundabout crossed by several paths, with five columns of floodlights, lawns and trees.^[11]^[12] Around this roundabout, there is a single circular lane for vehicles with a speed limit of 20 km/h, which distributes the limited traffic from the surrounding streets.^[13] The square is paved with sepia-coloured cobblestones, bordered by circular and horizontal granite strips that structure the design. On the eastern side of the square is a large granite platform, situated at a higher level, which acts as a small square within the square and is equipped with benches. It is framed by granite walls and, on its western side, offers a kind of small viewpoint over the roundabout, whose front wall bears an inscription in Galician that recalls the writer to whom the square is dedicated: "Concepción Arenal 1820-1893. Abride escolas e han pechar os cárceres" (Open schools and you will close the prisons).^[14]

The Concepción Arenal square boasts a number of trees: a palmate maple and greenery in the central roundabout, as well as a red maple and two silver maples at one end of the paved square on the east side.^[15]

The square is surrounded by modern buildings averaging six and seven storeys high, and is dominated on the south side by the Froebel School building.^[16] This building, approved for construction in 1910 after the purchase of land from the Marquis of Riestra, was designed in 1914 and dedicated to the new Froebel teaching system. Work began in 1924 and was completed in 1936. It has two floors and a basement, as well as corner towers. It anticipates rationalist forms and has a multitude of large, symmetrical windows set vertically to bring lots of light into the classrooms. Inside, the building has a large glazed courtyard with perimeter arcades.^[17]

Gallery

Concepción Arenal square with the Froebel school building on the right
The square with the inscription dedicated to Concepción Arenal
Froebel school Building

References

^ ^a ^b "La vida de Concepción Arenal en Pontevedra". Faro (in Spanish). 10 March 2013.
^ "Cuando Concepción Arenal vivió en Pontevedra". Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 1 December 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c Juega Puig 2000, p. 72.
^ "Ruta por la Galicia de Concepción Arenal". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 27 February 2020.
^ "En febrero empezarán las obras de cantería del cuartel de San Fernando". El Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 3 November 1905.
^ "Bonifacio Menéndez Conde inspeccionará las obras del nuevo cuartel". El Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 10 October 1908.
^ "Ingenieros militares supervisan las obras de San Fernando". El Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 14 October 1908.
^ "Finalizadas las obras del nuevo cuartel de San Fernando". El Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 23 March 1909.
^ ^a ^b "La plaza de Concepción Arenal se reabre hoy al tráfico con importantes cambios circulatorios". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 27 April 2006.
^ "Pedrosa critica el diseño de la plaza Concepción Arenal". El Correo Gallego (in Spanish). 15 May 2006.
^ "Nuevo diseño para la plaza de Concepción Arenal". Faro (in Spanish). 29 October 2005.
^ "Deciden acondicionar la glorieta de Eduardo Pondal tras 7 años con la rotonda de plástico". Faro (in Spanish). 29 March 2007.
^ "El diseño de Concepción Arenal admite todos los sentidos de tráfico". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 26 January 2006.
^ "El inicio del asfaltado, programado para mañana". Faro (in Spanish). 11 April 2006.
^ Blanco Dios & Castro González 2010, p. 41,44,45.
^ "Plaza de España, Concepción Arenal y calles aledañas". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 13 November 2004.
^ Fontoira Surís 2009, p. 423.

Blanco Dios, Jaime Bernardo; Castro González, Amancio (2010). As árbores da cidade de Pontevedra (in Galician). Pontevedra: Concello de Pontevedra. p. 41; 44–45. ISBN 978-84-606-5147-5.
Fontoira Surís, Rafael (2009). Pontevedra monumental (in Galician). Pontevedra: Diputación de Pontevedra. p. 423. ISBN 9788484573272.
Juega Puig, Juan (2000). As rúas de Pontevedra (in Galician). Pontevedra: Diputación de Pontevedra. pp. 71–72. ISBN 84-8457-044-4.