NOTES REGARDING HISTORICAL
AND REFORMATION SITES
SPAIN
© 2008 H.G. Harker
August 2008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPAIN ............................................................................................................................. 2
SDA CHURCH OFFICE ............................................................................................... 2
TRAVEL GUIDES ........................................................................................................ 3
SPAIN & ITS HISTORY ............................................................................................... 3
The Spanish Inquisition ............................................................................................ 3
The Spanish Armada................................................................................................ 3
MADRID ...................................................................................................................... 4
The Plaza Mayor ...................................................................................................... 4
The Santa Cruz Palace ............................................................................................ 4
The Puerta del Sol ................................................................................................... 4
The Plaza de España ............................................................................................... 4
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes ......................................................................... 4
The Ejército Museum ............................................................................................... 4
The Plaza de Colón .................................................................................................. 4
The Templo de Debod.............................................................................................. 4
The Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas .......................................................................... 5
SALAMANCA .............................................................................................................. 5
The Plaza Mayor ...................................................................................................... 5
The University of Salamanca.................................................................................... 5
Francisco Ribera ...................................................................................................... 5
The Cathedral of Salamanca .................................................................................... 5
The Roman Bridge (Puente Romano) ...................................................................... 5
The Convent Church of St. Stephen ......................................................................... 6
The House of the Dead ............................................................................................ 6
Clavero’s Tower ....................................................................................................... 6
SEGOVIA .................................................................................................................... 6
SEVILLE ...................................................................................................................... 6
The Cathedral .......................................................................................................... 6
Luis der Alcazar ....................................................................................................... 7
CADIZ.......................................................................................................................... 7
GARGANTA DEL CHORRO ........................................................................................ 7
CORDOBA .................................................................................................................. 7
LA CORUNA................................................................................................................ 7
SPAIN
SDA CHURCH OFFICE
Spanish Union of Churches
Address: Calle Alenza 6; 28003 Madrid, Spain
Phone:
+34 (91) 571-6934
Fax:
+ 34 (91) 571-6938
Email:
Info@unionadventista.es
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TRAVEL GUIDES
 When travelling overseas, the more information that can be obtained prior to
travelling, the more meaningful and profitable will be the travel.
 Dorling Kindesley’s ”Eyewitness Travel Guides” are among the best.
 In these notes, information has come from encyclopaedias, travel guides, travel
brochures, historical reference books etc and puts together items dealing with major
historical events as well as church and Reformation history.
 Some items of outstanding general interest for travellers are included.
SPAIN & ITS HISTORY
 Spain is the land of guitars and bullfights, of flamenco music and fiestas, of grapes
and olives and golden beaches and Moorish architecture.
 It offers something for everyone with its warm Mediterranean climate.
The Spanish Inquisition
 It was established in 1478 by the pope and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel.
 Torquemada became the Inquisitor General.
 The auto-da-fé (show of faith) became a public spectacle.
 The Inquisition operated like a court with at times the Inquisitor General and also the
King and Queen in attendance.
 The Inquisition denied the defendant any counsel.
 It would not divulge the charges against people and tortured them to obtain
confessions.
 Victims were imprisoned, beheaded, hung, or burnt at the stake.
 The inquisitors became known as the Brotherhood of Death.
The Spanish Armada
 Spain took two years to prepare for the onslaught.
 It sailed from Lisbon in May 1588 under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia
with over 130 ships, 8000 seamen and 19,000 soldiers.
 Of these 40 ships were line-of-battle ships.
 The Armada called at La Coruña for refitting after storms and sailed from there in
July,
 Spain decided to invade England because in 1585 England agreed to support the
Dutch Protestant rebels under Spanish rule.
 As well as that, Sir Francis Drake and others had harried and plundered numerous
Spanish galleons homeward bound from the Americas.
 Another reason was that Philip of Spain planned to restore the Catholic faith in
England and would use 30,000 Spanish troops in the Netherlands.
 The English ships were lighter, faster and had better firepower than the Spanish.
 The English ships were directed by Baron Charles Howard with Sir Francis Drake
second in command.
 After engagements off the south coast of England, through the English Channel and
northwards storms took over and only 60 ships made Spain – many of these even
total wrecks.
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MADRID
 Is situated right in the centre of the country at an altitude of 660m.
The Plaza Mayor
 It was originally a bullfight ring from the 17th century.
 It is now the centre of the old city.
 Besides bullfights, executions as well as pageants etc were held here.
The Santa Cruz Palace
 Known here as the Palacia de Santa Cruz.
 It is situated just south of the Plaza Mayor.
 It was originally built as the court prison in the 17th century.
 It is now used by Spain’s Foreign Ministry.
The Puerta del Sol
 It is situated a couple of small blocks northeast from the Plaza Mayor.
 All distances in Spain are measured from here.
 Accordingly it has the 0 km sign here.
 On New Year’s Eve crowds gather here and swallow a grape on each stroke of the
clock to bring good luck for the coming year.
The Plaza de España
 It is situated about 1 km or so northwest from the Plaza Mayor.
 It is an extremely busy intersection.
 A statue of Cevantes – the Spanish Author – is here.
 In front of Cevantes are two of his best known characters – Don Quixote on his
horse and Sancho Panza on his donkey.
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes
 Is a famous art academy and gallery.
 Outside is a statue of Goya.
 It has paintings by Goya, Veláquez, El Greco, Dali, Picasso, Murillo and others.
The Ejército Museum
 It is located at Calle Mendez Nuñez 1.
 It is an army museum in the Bourbon district.
 It features the sword of El Cid in the Sala de Armas.
The Plaza de Colón
 It is situated north on the Paseo de Recolectos.
 It commemorates Christopher Columbus with a tall statue.
 A second monument is a cluster of concrete shapes with quotations regarding his
journey of discovery to America.
The Templo de Debod
 Is situated in the Parque del Oeste
 It is an Egyptian temple from the 4th century BC.
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It was given to Spain for its engineering help in the Aswan Dam project.
The temple comes from the area flooded by the dam/
The Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas
 It is situated on Calle de Alcalá 237.
 It is Spain’s most famous bullring.
 Bullfights are staged from May to October.
SALAMANCA
 Is situated about 160 km northwest of Madrid in central Spain.
The Plaza Mayor
 Is the main square and one of the largest in Spain.
 It was once used for bullfights.
 It is now a place for shopping.
 The Royal Pavilion bounds the square on one side and from here the Royal Family
would sit and watch the happenings in the square.
The University of Salamanca
 It was founded by Alfonso IX of León in 1218.
 It has a façade on the Patio de las Escuelas that is richly decorated.
 It was here that Francisco Ribera attended as a student.
Francisco Ribera
 Was born at Villacastin some 110 km east of Salamanca in 1537.
 He attended the University of Salamanca.
 He studied Latin, Greek and Hebrew at the university.
 He became a Jesuit in 1570.
 As the Jesuit scholar he studied and developed his interpretation of Biblical prophecy
known as Futurism.
 In this he furthered the Counter Reformation as it postponed the elements
attributable to the Papacy to the end of time.
 He commenced his famous commentaries in 1575.
 In 1590 he published a 500-page commentary on the Apocalypse.
 By the time of his death in 1591he had laid the foundation of an interpretation that
would in time be supported by most of the world.
The Cathedral of Salamanca
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This cathedral is really two cathedrals.
The new one was built right beside the old in the 16th century.
The old cathedral is entered through the new.
A statue of a local patron saint – the Virgin of Vega – is made in Limoges enamel.
The Roman Bridge (Puente Romano)
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Was built originally by the Romans in the 1st century AD.
Only 15 of the original 26 arches across the River Tormes remain today.
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The Convent Church of St. Stephen
 Known as the Iglesia Convento de San Estaban.
 It has a relief showing the stoning of Stephen.
 The Claustro de los Reyes has the heads of the prophets on its capitals.
The House of the Dead
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Its name is Casa de las Muertes.
It is situated on Calle Bordadores.
It has small skulls embellishing its façade.
Clavero’s Tower
 This is known as the Torre del Clavero.
 It is the last piece that remains of a palace built here around 1480.
SEGOVIA
 It is located some 80 km northwest of Madrid.
 It is known for the spectacular Roman Aqueduct two tiers high and 728 m long.
 It is like Spain at its best and typical Castile.
 It has the highest concentration of Romanesque churches in all of Europe.
 Note the Alcázar castle at the northwest point of the city.
 Disney used this castle for some of his inspiration on castles.
 It was in this castle that Queen Isabel promised to support Columbus financially in
his quest to discover America.
 The Mint here is the oldest still standing industrial manufacturing plant and dates
from 1583.
 Note the Tower of Hercules – a watchtower of medieval design.
SEVILLE
 Is situated 100 km north of Cádiz (180 km from Gibraltar) and some 450 km
southwest of Madrid.
 This area of Spain is famous for its flamenco music and its bullfighting (April to
October – and mostly on Sunday evenings).
 This port city on the Guadalquivir River was granted the monopoly to trade with the
Americas and became Europe’ s richest port in the early 16th century.
 It was the birthplace of Veláquez – a great 17th century Spanish painter.
 The Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (near the Guadalquivir River – across the
Paseo de Cristobal Colon) has been the scene of bullfights for over 200 years (built
1761).
 The Golden Tower (Torre del Oro) dates from the 13th century and is built on the
banks of the river to give protection to the city.
The Cathedral
 Is situated on the Avenida de la Constitucion.
 It was built on the site of a mosque dating from the 12th century.
 The Bell Tower (La Giralda) is from the Moorish building.
 It has the depiction of Faith.
 The Tomb of Columbus here dates from the 18980’s.
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The University on Calle San Fernando 4 was the former Royal Tobacco Factory
(which made 75% of all cigars in the 19th century).
In front of the Cathedral is the Plaza del Triunfo celebrating the survival of the
earthquake of 1755. A statue of the Virgin Mary is featured.
Luis der Alcazar
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Was born in this city in 1554.
He like Francisco Ribera became a Jesuit and a scholar.
He was the founder of Preterism – the method of interpretation of Biblical prophecy
which pushed the events of the Apocalypse right back into past history.
He wrote a 900-page commentary which was published in 1614 a year after his
death.
CADIZ
 Is situated on the southern coast of Spain some 100 km northwest of Gibraltar and
about the same south of Seville.
 Cádiz claims to be Europe’s oldest city with Hercules as its founder.
 About 1100 BC the Phoenicians established the town, and their rule was followed by
Carthaginians, then Romans and Moors.
 Sir Francis Drake sacked the city in 1587 (one of the causes of the Spanish Armada
sailing to Britain the next year).
 The Museum on the Plaza de Mina has exhibits dating back to Phoenician times.
GARGANTA DEL CHORRO
 Is situated some 35 km north of Málaga and 150 km southeast of Seville and 100 km
west of Granada – just beyond the village of El Chorro.
 This huge chasm – a geographical wonder – up to 180 m deep – is extremely
narrow, in places just 10 m.
 It was formed by the river cutting through a limestone mountain.
 Take a walk along the Camino del Rey – a catwalk that clings to the rocky face and
cross the high level bridge.
CORDOBA
 Is a city in Andalusia some 130 km northeast of Seville.
 It was the birthplace of Seneca, the Stoic philosopher who became Nero’s adviser in
Rome.
 In the days of the Moors, Cordoba was the capital from which they governed most of
the Iberian Peninsula after capturing it in 716 AD.
 Around 1000 AD it was perhaps the largest city of the western world, certainly of
Europe.
 The restored Islamic water wheel , just downstream from the Puente Romano
(Roman Bridge) is well worth a picture
LA CORUNA
 Also known as A Coruña.
 It is situated on the northwest tip of Spain.
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The Spanish Armada refitted here after sailing from Lisbon.
It finally sailed here in July 1588.
The city has the oldest working lighthouse – the Torre de Hércules.
It was built by the Romans and rebuilt in the 18th century.
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