Plaça de Prim, Cultural heritage square in Reus, Spain.
Plaça de Prim is a public square in Reus featuring buildings with eclectic architectural styles that blend elements from different periods. The structures display varied facade details, stonework, and ornamental features arranged around the open central space.
The square is named after General Juan Prim, a 19th century military commander who led modernization reforms across Spain. This naming reflects the importance of his role in shaping the nation's development during that era.
The square was first called plaça de les Monges after a Carmelite convent that covered more than half of today's space; the nuns left for good in 1868 and the revolutionary junta demolished the building. It was then named plaça de la Revolució, and in 1880 the council urbanised it under Joan Grau Ferrer, giving it Prim's name in 1882. During 1936-1939 it was the Plaça Roja.
The square is rectangular and opens onto Carrer de Sant Joan, Carrer de Sant Llorenç, Carrer de Monterols, Carrer de Llovera and the Ravals de Jesús and de Santa Anna. The only porticoed side is the north, where the arcades shelter the former Casino, now a bar-restaurant. The equestrian statue of General Prim stands in the middle of the open space.
The bronze equestrian statue of General Prim was cast at the Masriera i Cia. workshops in Barcelona and set in place in early 1893, but its official inauguration never took place because of political quarrels. The municipal commission in charge of the works was accused of embezzling public funds, and the sculpture was even impounded. The likeness was so close to Puiggener's Prim monument in Barcelona's Parc de la Ciutadella, inaugurated in 1887, that it caused a bitter controversy and years of delay.
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