Valencia is one of the most popular cities in Spain and recieves many tourists a year, that love to explore the city and learn about its history. But it also holds a few surprising secrets that even some native valencians don’t know. If you are interested in learning some of these secrets so you can impress your friends, keep reading and join our city tours while you are learning Spanish!
The most expensive bridge in the world
Valencia has numerous bridges that connect both sides of the city, separated by the river bank. What you probably didn’t know is that for many years one of these bridges was considered the most expensive one in the world. The Flower Bridge’s maintenance used to cost around 5000000€ a year! That was mostly due to changing the flowers three times a year. However nowadays it is far less expensive to maintain due to budget cuts.
(Photo by Victor Gómez)
The Serrano towers had a secret treasure
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the Prado Museum was at risk of bombing so it over 2000 artworks were transported to other places in Spain to keep them safe. Las Meninas, one of Velazquez’s most famous paintings was moved to Valencia and the Serrano Toweres were considered to be the safest place in case of bombings, so the painting was stored there from 1936 to 1937.
(Photo by .Robert. Photography)Marked by the Spanish Civil War
As we said, the Spanish Civil War took place between 1936 and 1939 and even though Valencia wasn’t one of the most destroyed cities in Spain, the effects of the war can still be seen in some buildings. With a total of 442 attacks during the war, the one that is more present in the city is the one that took place May 28th of 1937, when italian aircrafts flying from Palma de Mallorca bombed the city center. Their main goal was bombing the City Hall, which was the republican government headquarters. The facade of the City Hall still shows the markings of that bombing to this day.
(Photo by Gustavo M)
+18 gargoyles
The Lonja de la Seda is one of Valencia’s most famous buildings. It used to be a market place and is nowadays one of the free buildings you can visit in the city, but there is one curious detail that you probably wouldn’t notice at first glance: on the top of its facade there are a series of pornographic gargoyles like a naked woman touching her private parts, an angel putting his penis in a vase and some more.
(Photo by Enrique Domingo)
The magic archway
La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias is one of the most beautiful and recognisable buildings in Valencia. Its modern and futuristic architecture is breathtaking, but it’s also magica. Two archways in the Príncipe Felipe Museum facade are particularly special. When two people are standing at each side of the archway they can hear one another perfectly!
(Photo by Fabrizio Sciami)