Mamelón Square
The Plaza del Mamelón was built at the beginning of the 19th century and landscaped at the beginning of the 20th, it has an area of 6,800 m2.
Its original name was Queen Victoria Avenue, although it has always been popularly known as Mamelón Square. The name Mamelón refers to a low hill and it has been interpreted that during the Arab period, there would have been a mound in that place from where Jerez could be seen.
Since 1952 the statue of Saint John Baptist de La Salle has stood here. The current bronze image is the work of Nuria Guerra Castellano.
This beautiful square was expanded around 1980 after the demolition of a block of homes that separated Mamelón from Alameda Cristina. At its top, a beautiful pond surrounded by vegetation has expanded the horizons of this central green area of the city.
In 2002 and on the occasion of the World Equestrian Games held in the city, the Gran Break sculptural group was added to the carriage, the work of sculptor Eduardo Soriano in the area of the square closest to Alameda Cristina.
The oldest part of the Mamelón, with an almost triangular plan, is surrounded by shady plane trees, of beautiful shape, among which are interspersed old wooden benches that look into the interior of the square. In its central area, surrounding the monument, large Canary Island palm trees grow, which together with the plane trees constitute the primitive trees of the garden. The vertices of the triangle that forms the square are occupied by highly branched dragon trees.
In the grass meadows, different shrub species provide a counterpoint in terms of volumes and colors. Hibiscus or pacific, with beautiful red flowers, grow here next to small groups of Japanese plum or alteas, also known as Syrian roses whose flowers have a soft lilac hue. But without a doubt, one of the most striking shrubs that can be seen here is the acocantera, with delicate white flowers that exhale a sweet aroma and fruits that resemble olives. Tree-like plant species: Banana, Canary Islands palm, Dragon tree, Dwarf palm, Privet, Bitter orange, Calistemon, Pendular mulberry, Palmetto, and Plum. Bushy plant species: Adelfa, Pitosporo, Cordiline, Hibiscus, Syrian Rose, Acocántera, and Bonetero.
