Main Square

ES Plaza Mayor | GL Praza Maior

For centuries, the Main Square has been the heart of the historic centre, and still is the main meeting point in the city. Bright, wide and arcaded, it is irregular in shape and has the distinction of being one of the few main squares in Europe with a slightly sloping floor.

The Main Square (formerly Field Square) shelters some of the major monuments of the city. The space is dominated by the façade of the City Hall, designed by Queralt, occupying the only side without arcades. Next to it stands the Old Bishop’s Palace, with which it seems to compete in majesty.

The other three sides are the arches that form the Promenade, a former lane for the aristrocracy reconverted nowadays into one of the downtown’s liveliest areas with its terraces. Above it, the beautiful façades of noble houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, including Fermín García’s house, designed by Vázquez Gulías (now turned into an exhibition space) and decorated with tiles, a beautiful example of Modernist architecture in Ourense.