Corredera Square

The Plaza de la Corredera is a very well known square in the city of Cordoba, as it is the main square of the city and a tourist attraction for its great history. In addition, today, it is one of the busiest places in the city. It has undergone major renovations over the centuries, with multiple uses, from prison in its subway part, place for acts of faith chosen by the Inquisition, to a market very much in demand in the twentieth century. Here you will find all the information about this great Cordovan square.

Where is the Plaza de la Corredera located?

The Plaza de la Corredera is located in the city of Cordoba, Spain.

History of the Plaza de la Corredera

The Plaza de la Corredera had a dark past in medieval times, with the uses given by the Inquisition for all kinds of torture and public executions. Between 1583 and 1586, the Corregidor’s house and the jail were built in this area.

The square as we know it today was created between 1683 and 1687, since it was used as a bullring and had wooden bleachers that were unreliable for spectators, and the Corregidor ordered the demolition of everything built in the square, except his house and that of Doña Jacinta, in order to put up the square as we know it today. As a curiosity, this leaves today something significant, and is that you can see all the uniform style in the square except these two houses that predate the works carried out.

Later, in the 19th century, the food market was created in it, since José Sánchez Peña, with the help of French capital, reached an agreement in 1896 with the City Hall, granting him the rights to exploit the square for the next 50 years. Due to its poor hygiene, once the agreement was over and after a few years, the market facilities were demolished in 1959. To replace this market, Antonio Cruz Conde, who was the mayor at the time, ordered the construction of a basement in which valuable mosaics were found, exhibited in the Hall of Mosaics of the Alcazar of Cordoba.

When the market was demolished, the architect Víctor Escribano Ucelay removed the plaster from the façade, thinking that this was its original state. However, with the last remodeling, the square was plastered again, painted with red, green and ocher tones.

Its different uses, as you can read below, as well as the large number of important events it has endured, make it one of the most historic squares in Andalusia.

Different uses of the Corredera Square

The Plaza de la Corredera has had different uses throughout history. Most of them were for leisure and commerce, as well as many celebrations of all kinds. But they were not only celebrations, since the French had in it the scaffold in which they executed with gallows or garrotte at the beginning of the 19th century.

The different uses of the Plaza de la Corredera at different times were:

1. Place of innumerable celebrations, as it was in the year 1571, when the victory of Lepanto against the Turks was celebrated in this square by means of a naval combat between several boats of six branches, throwing a great number of rockets to each other.
2. Place chosen by the Inquisition to make their autos de fe.
3. Place for bullfights.
4. Supply market of the city, being a strong commercial enclave in Cordoba.
5. Prison in its basements.
6. Felt and hat factory

As can be seen, it had as many uses as years of history. Thus, this square is the protagonist of long chapters of the history of Cordoba.

Construction of the Plaza de la Corredera

The construction of the Plaza de la Corredera dates back to 1683, the work of the Salamancan architect Antonio Ramos Valdés under the mandate of Francisco Ronquillo Briceño. He built a square that was a semi-regular rectangle 113 meters long and 55 meters wide, at a cost of 752,972 reales and 8 maravedíes.

Roman Circus in Corredera Square

It is believed that the Plaza de la Corredera was created on the site once occupied by the Roman Circus. When they excavated beneath it, mosaics from Roman times were found and are now on display in the Mosaic Room in the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos.

Frequently asked questions about the Corredera Square