Plaza Miserere
Encyclopedia
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
s of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. It is located in the heart of the Balvanera
Balvanera
Balvanera is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Origin of Name and Alternative Names:The official name, Balvanera, is the name of the parroquia centered around the church of Nuestra Señora de Balvanera, erected in 1831.The zone around Corrientes avenue is known as Once after Plaza Once de...
neighborhood. It was supposed to be the name of the Line A
Line A (Buenos Aires)
Line A is the oldest line of the Buenos Aires Metro. This historic line runs from Plaza de Mayo to Carabobo, and is scheduled to be extended towards San Pedrito station....
—Buenos Aires Metro
Buenos Aires Metro
The Buenos Aires Metro , locally known as Subte is a mass-transit system that serves the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first station of this network opened in 1913, the first of its kind in South America, the Southern Hemisphere and the entire Spanish-speaking world...
station located below it, but the station is more popularly known as Plaza Once, and is located alongside the Once de Septiembre Station
Estación Once
Once railway station is a large railway terminus in central Buenos Aires, Argentina.The station, inaugurated on December 20, 1882, is located in the barrio of Balvanera immediately north of Plaza Miserere, a large public square...
of the Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
The Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento , named after the former Argentine president, statesman, educator, and author Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, was one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the Argentine railway network in 1948...
(Sarmiento railroad).
The plaza lies on the former site of a mansion known as the Quinta de Miserere. Around 1814, it was known as Mataderos de Miserere (Slaughterhouses of Miserere), Hueco de los corrales (Hole of the corrals) in 1817, and Mercado del Oeste (Western Market) by 1850. It was also known as Mercado (or Plaza) 11 de septiembre (11th of September Market or plaza); the name Plaza Miserere dates from 1947.
The plaza was the site of skirmishes during the British invasions
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
of 1806. It was the site of the defeat of the troops under Santiago de Liniers
Santiago de Liniers
Jacques de Liniers was a French officer in the Spanish military service, and a viceroy of the Spanish colonies of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. He is more widely known by the Spanish form of his name, Santiago de Liniers...
during the second invasions of 1807.
The market functioned until 1882, when Mayor Torcuato de Alvear
Torcuato de Alvear
Torcuato de Alvear y Saenz de la Quintanilla was a 19th century Argentine conservative politician. He was the son of soldier and statesman Carlos María de Alvear and father of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, president of Argentina from 1922 to 1928.In 1880 Buenos Aires was declared the capital city...
began the demarkation of the plaza. In 1913, it underwent an important remodeling when the Buenos Aires Metro
Buenos Aires Metro
The Buenos Aires Metro , locally known as Subte is a mass-transit system that serves the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first station of this network opened in 1913, the first of its kind in South America, the Southern Hemisphere and the entire Spanish-speaking world...
station was built underneath.
The current design is from 1923, the mausoleum of Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...
, the first Constitutional President of Argentina, was added in 1932, where his ashes remain despite his wish that they not stay in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.