Plaza de la Iglesia

In 1603, the authorities of Tenerife made a decision that changed everything: they designated a specific site in Puerto de la Cruz where a church and square must be built. According to the colonial ordinances of the Spanish Crown, every new town began with a square - it marked the center, and around it grew houses, shops, and life. Thus Plaza de la Iglesia became the birth certificate of Puerto de la Cruz.

Today it is the most carefully maintained garden in the city. Canarian dragon trees, araucarias, Canary palms, and Indian laurels shade the stone pathways, and in the center stands a fountain from 1900 with a stone swan. At Christmas, thousands of red poinsettias cover every patch of green, and the square becomes one of the most beautiful sights in Puerto.

Behind the square stands Parroquia Matriz de Nuestra Senora de la Pena de Francia - the city's most important church, a Monument since 2003. Construction on the site of an old chapel was completed in 1697 thanks to donations from townspeople and merchants. The neo-Gothic tower was added in 1898. Inside: three naves separated by Tuscan-Roman columns, a Mudejar wooden ceiling, and the main baroque altarpiece completed in 1710. The Genoese Madonna dates from 1621. The organs built in Hamburg in 1818 still play - weekend classical music concerts, free entry.

On the side wall of the church hangs a cloak donated by Cuban poet Dulce Maria Loynaz - winner of the Cervantes Prize in 1992. On the other side of the square stands a monument with a bronze bust: Agustin de Bethencourt y Molina (1758-1824), born literally across the street, where Hotel Monopol stands today. First director of the School of Roads and Canals in Madrid, then a general in Tsar Alexander I's army and Director General of the Roads Department of the Russian Empire. He was born on this square.