Palacio de Cristal del Retiro

In the central part of the Buen Retiro Park, on the bank of an artificial pond, there is an amazing structure called the Crystal Palace (Palacio de Cristal del Retiro). The palace was designed by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco in 1887 as a pavilion for an exhibition representing the flora of the Philippine Islands.

The Spanish architect was inspired by a similar structure erected in 1851 in Hyde Park, London, designed by Joseph Paxton. The British Crystal Palace hosted a technical exhibition, and 3 years later the pavilion was moved to Upper Norwood, south of London, where it was destroyed by fire in 1936.

The building is made in the form of a metal frame, completely covered with glass panels.

The friezes are decorated with ceramics by Daniel Zuloaga.

Arched galleries on steel columns have a height of 14.61 meters.

The building is crowned by a 22.6-meter-high dome.

The glass structure is completely illuminated by the sun's rays, and in summer it is simply impossible to stay in it.

The palace is also notable for the fact that on May 10, 1936, the first President of the Second Republic, Manuel Azaña Díaz, was elected here - there was no suitable auditorium in Madrid that could accommodate a joint meeting of deputies and commissars. In 1975, a complete restoration of the building was carried out and it was restored to its original appearance. Now the Palace is jointly owned by the Madrid City Hall and the Reina Sofia Museum. The pavilion hosts exhibitions of contemporary art.