Segundo Ensanche
The Segundo Ensanche is similar in concept and form to Barcelona’s Eixample or Madrid’s Salamanca neighbourhoods. Those areas were clearly studied and admired by Pamplona’s city authorities at the turn of the 20th century. At that time, part of the medieval walls were demolished and the land that had hitherto belonged to the military was released.
In this way, the city architect Serapio Esparza was given free rein for his city expansion project, based on the ideas of the Barcelona architect Ildefonso Cerdá. Esparza planned a neighbourhood comprising 96 housing blocks. Each block was a square with 70 metres on each side, with chamfered corners and a large inner courtyard in the centre.
The neighbourhood’s first stone was laid on 29 November 1920 and it was structured, on one hand, with a large central avenue, Avenida Carlos III, which is now pedestrianised and, on the other, through the current Avenida de la Baja Navarra, which is also the main avenue to Pamplona’s Old Quarter.
In the 1930s, the Segundo Ensanche was extended with Colonia Argaray, comprising single-family houses surrounded by gardens, in the style of Madrid’s Colonia del Viso neighbourhood. Later, at the end of that decade, Colonia de la Calle de la Media Luna, whose houses have a regionalist style, was also created.
Around 24,000 people currently live in the Segundo Ensanche area (Bigarren Zabalgunea in Basque). Nevertheless, many more pass through the neighbourhood every day since it is one of Pamplona’s main shopping and hospitality areas, and has numerous offices and workplaces, mainly in the service sector. Therefore, it is easy to deduce that Pamplona’s Segundo Ensanche is also one of the city’s liveliest areas during the day and also at night.
The boundaries of the neighbourhood are marked by the Citadel to the west, the bullring to the north, the Media Luna park to the east, and Calle del Monte Monjardín and the Juan Pablo II roundabout to the south.
Among the most representative places in the Second Ensanche is the Palace of Navarre, the seat of the Provincial Council. The building predates the neighbourhood’s development (mid-19th century) and was designed by the architect José Nagusia in a Classicist style.
In Pamplona’s Segundo Ensanche, you can also visit the Gayarre Theatre, heir to the old Teatro Principal, rebuilt in the 1930s in the Neoclassical style, next to Avenida de Carlos III.
Nevertheless, the most popular building in the Segundo Ensanche area is clearly the bullring. Built in the 1920s, it was extended and renovated in the 1960s by the architect Rafael Moneo. The bullring is a fundamental part of the San Fermín fiestas, for which Pamplona is famous the world over.
Nearby plans
Related plans
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