PARQUE DE EL CAPRICHO

Description

Essentials about Parque de El Capricho in brief

Parque de El Capricho is left behind by most visitors to Madrid, as it is located relatively far outside the city center in the suburb of Alameda de Osuna. However, those who have a little more time should still make the trip to Parque de El Capricho, because visitors to the park are rewarded with a truly paradisiacal green space, created by the most famous gardeners and artists of their time at the end of the 18th century.

The history of Parque de El Capricho

The park historically dates back to the Dukes of Osuna, especially to the initiative of Duchess María Josefa Pimentel y Téllez-Girón. After the death of the Duchess, the park began its inexorable decline. After changing hands several times within the Téllez-Girón family, the park was sold to a banking family that owned it until the Spanish Civil War. During the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s, El Capricho became the headquarters of the Republican Army in central Spain, which built a network of bunkers throughout the garden. After the war, the property passed through the hands of several real estate speculators until 1974, when the Madrid City Council acquired the park and began a multi-year restoration.

The layout of Parque de El Capricho

Today, Parque de El Capricho is known for its great botanical, architectural and artistic wealth. Here there are fountains, chapels, squares, temples and the Palace of the Dukes. The park is characterized by three different styles of horticulture. In front of the west side of the palace there is the French part with accurately cut hedges. In the lower part is the Italian section. Here the hedges are mixed with trees and in a labyrinth of laurel trees it is excellent to play hide and seek. The rest of the park is laid out like an English garden, reminiscent of nature in its purest state, inviting you to stroll and relax.

By the way, if you are interested in the secret underworld of the park, you can visit the Republican Army bunker, built during the Spanish Civil War. The shelter, 15 meters underground and 2,000 square meters in size, consisting of seven rooms, is a unique military-historical sight.