A river runs beneath your feet. The Darro, which flows down the valley between the Albaicín and the Alhambra, crosses this square through a tunnel. Between 1506 and 1515, seventy-two metres of its bed were covered over to create a square worthy of the Christian city, and from 1531 another stretch was covered in front of the palace you see now. Hence its name: Plaza Nueva, the New Square.

1The palace of justice

The stone facade that dominates the square is the Royal Chancery, the Real Chancillería. In 1500 the Catholic Monarchs decided to move to Granada the high court they had created in Ciudad Real; the move took effect in 1505. Its jurisdiction covered the whole Crown of Castile south of the river Tagus. Charles V ordered this palace built in 1531, and it was finished in 1587, under Philip II. It is the city’s most emblematic Mannerist building, with plans by Francisco del Castillo and a courtyard attributed to Diego de Siloé.

The court was abolished in 1834, but the building still dispenses justice: today it is the seat of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia.

2A crossroads

Plaza Nueva is the great crossroads of the historic centre. From here the Cuesta de Gomérez climbs towards the Alhambra, calle Elvira begins and the Carrera del Darro sets off, your next stretch. At the far end, the sixteenth-century church of Santa Ana stands on the site of an old mosque.

A few steps away, calle Calderería Nueva climbs towards the Albaicín between tea houses and shops reminiscent of a souk.

3What to look for

  • The great coat of arms in the centre of the Chancery facade.
  • The balustrade with pinnacles crowning the palace.
  • The tower of Santa Ana, at the far end of the square.

Documented

The Darro was covered over here between 1506 and 1515; the Royal Chancery, moved to Granada in 1505, occupied this palace built between 1531 and 1587.

Sources and credits

Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Granada (Junta de Andalucía); José Manuel Gómez-Moreno Calera, José Policarpo Cruz Cabrera and Ricardo Anguita Cantero, Granada en tus manos. Centro histórico I (2006); Antonio Gallego y Burín, Guía artística e histórica de la ciudad de Granada (Comares).

Photos:

  • Stone facade of the Royal Chancery on Plaza Nueva, with terraces of white parasols in front: Américo Toledano, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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