Plaza de España, Melilla, Central park in Plaza de España, Melilla.

Plaza de España is a circular square in Melilla's Modernista Ensanche, laid out as a roundabout about eighty metres in radius with three rings of walkways and two gardens between them. At its centre, inside the Parque Hernández, stands the Monument to the Heroes and Martyrs of the Campaigns, a stone base with a bronze sculptural group. Institutional buildings of the early 20th century surround it.

Plaza de España was conceived in 1910 in José de la Gándara's urbanisation project for the Puerta de Santa Bárbara, as the link between Melilla la Vieja and the new Ensanche. In January 1911 Alfonso XIII authorised the demolition of the Campo exterior walls. The Junta de Arbitrios, chaired by General José Villalba Riquelme, approved the works on 18 January 1913; building ran from 22 April 1913 to the inauguration on 23 January 1914.

The park serves as the main gathering place for locals and visitors, where you see families strolling and children playing on weekends. It functions as the green heart of the city and shapes how people experience Melilla's public spaces.

The park is easy to reach on foot and offers plenty of shaded spots under trees, especially on hot days. The pathways are well-maintained and allow for relaxed walks across the entire grounds.

At the centre of the garden stands the Monument to the Heroes and Martyrs of the Campaigns, a stone base topped by a bronze sculptural group honouring soldiers fallen in the North African campaigns, erected in the first third of the 20th century.