The opening of the last stretch of the Paseo Marítimo revealed an unknown face of the city, which allows you to admire walking the strength and immensity of the Atlantic Ocean .
History
The origins of the current promenade are in the early 20th century projects of a promenade, a ring road on the A Coruña peninsula. In the 1945 Cort Plan , a road was proposed from San Roque along the coast to the Tower of Hercules to the port , but this project was not carried out. In 1948 in the Alignment Planning this project is spoken of again. In 1956, already in force the Law of the Ground, the General Plan of 1967 was approved concretizing a road without pedestrian priority. The 1985 Urban Planning Plan set out plans for protection, conservation and improvement in the area of ??the current promenade. In 1986 introduced the so-called "project Bofill " based mainly on interventions in the port area. Many proposals of which were rejected for being too groundbreaking with the aesthetics of the city.
The promenade was built by the Port of A Coruña, the City Council of A Coruña, the State Coast Demarcation and the General Directorate of Roads of the Ministry of Public Works and the Environment ( Ministry of Public Works ).
The promenade was built in parts unrelated to each other. Chronologically the successive phases were:
Paseo Marítimo Orzán-Riazor, was built by the City Council of A Coruña and the Ministry of Public Works. It had a budget of 1,240 million pesetas paid 50% by each institution. The first stone was laid by Minister Javier Sáenz de Cosculluela on September 10, 1990 and the inauguration took place on July 14, 1992 with the presence of Minister Josep Borrell .
Parrote area, built by the Port of A Coruña.
Orillamar (Orzán-Riazor link with Parrote) at a cost of 3,094 million pesetas. Built by the city council, the General Directorate of Roads and the General Directorate of Coasts. The council has put in 1 32 million pesetas, land and the management of the expropriations. The remaining money was provided by the other institutions. Work began in 1993 and was inaugurated on February 26, 1996.
Oza - Os Castros , built by the port of A Coruña along with Oza beach .
Outside of San Roque , opened on May 8, 1995, funded plans ERDF and the council itself.
San Roque to Portiño , opened in 2004.
The last section unites the Portiño and Goods , where it was arrived in 2011.
The promenade runs along the entire coastal strip of the municipality except for the areas of As Xubias and the port area.
Hodonymy
The walk between Berbiriana beach and Rubine Avenue is dedicated to Pedro Barrié de la Maza and then begins Buenos Aires Avenue , which was named after a request from Galician emigrants, after the Argentine capital dedicated a street to Concepción Arenal .
In 2006 the section between Berbiriana and the Parrote was baptized with the name of the ex - mayor Francisco Vázquez The section surrounding the Millennium has been named after its author, Gerardo Porto , since 2010, and the section between Os Rosales and O Portiño has been named Fernando Suárez since 2012 as an honor to the administrator of Cociña Económica.
The part between Riazor and the avenue of Gerald Port is the avenue of San Roque de Fóra.
Points of interest
Starting from the western area, on the coastal border with Arteixo , the promenade connects many outstanding elements:
The walk begins near the Bens WWTP , where the wastewater from the region of A Coruña is treated . From this area you can see the islands of San Pedro and Mount San Pedro , which can be accessed from the promenade via a panoramic elevator . In the park there is an important battery of deactivated artillery, built in the 1920s by the Vickers house, and which played a deterrent role during World War II . There is also a viewpoint at the top, restaurant and cafeteria. Following the route of the promenade is the Millennium Obelisk , installed to welcome the 21st century.and the Sports City of Riazor , with the stadium and the sports palace , original works by the architect Rey Pedreira .
In the cove of the Orzán the Coiraza is observed, last vestige in the zone of the wall of Corunna , in which the flags of Galicia and Spain wave permanently . A monument to the Heroes of Orzán, drowned during rescues, was installed at the site: the three policemen who died in 2013 while trying to save a student, in addition to Juanito Darriba (1896) and Francisco Alcaraz (1897). Other nearby sculptures are those dedicated to catalinas , the sea and surfing, by José Castiñeiras Iglesias. In front of the armor is the IES Eusebio da Guarda , a 19th century buildingdesigned by Faustino Domínguez Coumes-Gay and whose main façade faces the Plaza de Pontevedra , where there is an important urban bus stop.
On the promenade are two of the Science Museums of A Coruña : the Aquarium Finisterrae and the "Domus" or Casa do Home . This was the first interactive museum in the world dedicated exclusively to humans , housed in a renowned building signed by architect Arata Isozaki . In this section is also the Tower of Hercules , the main symbol of the city, a World Heritage Site . It is the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world and the current façade dates from the last years of the 18th century .
In the section open to the estuary is the back of the Santo Amaro Cemetery , where prominent illustrious Galicians, such as Eduardo Pondal or Manuel Murguía , are buried .
In the area around the Old City is the park of A Mestranza, in which is, in a building formerly dedicated to artillery park, the rectory of the University of A Coruña , as well as the Military Museum next to the ruins of the convent of San Francisco , the Hospital Abente y Lago , former Military Hospital, and the Luis Seoane Foundation building , located on a wall that served as a coastal defense. From its vicinity you can access the Castle of Santo Antón , the current headquarters of the archaeological museum , which is part of the city's former maritime defense. In the area of ??the Paseo del Parrote, where you can see more sections of the wall are the Hotel Finisterre and the sports center "La Solana".
In addition, the promenade serves as access to the main beaches of A Coruña .
The Paseo can be divided by its aesthetics in several sections:
From the border with Arteixo to Portiño. Unfinished pedestrian area. It is the most remote and least urbanized coastal area of ??the municipality.
From the Portiño to the Monte de San Pedro panoramic lift , the road for vehicles, which is ballasted, is separated from the sidewalk. This is the youngest section, which runs through the less urbanized areas of the coast of A Coruña.
Avenidas de Fernando Suárez García, Gerardo Porto, San Roque de Fóra and Paseo de Ronda: From the Elevator to the Pazo dos Deportes in Riazor, the road generally has two lanes in each direction and has a bike lane.
Avenidas de Buenos Aires and Pedro Barrié de la Maza and Rúa do Matadoiro: From the Pavilion to the Aquarium Finisterrae the road maintains all four lanes and since 2012 has a bike lane. Here begins the tram, which at first is separated from regular traffic, but then joins it. In this section, the first replacement of the well-known and controversial balustrade was made, which was replaced by stairs and a metal fence. It has characteristic white luminaires, with a spherical lamp.
Avenida do Alcalde Francisco Vázquez: From the Aquarium to the Castle is perhaps the best known section, as it is the one that gives access to the Tower of Hercules . The roadway is four lanes in total. Recover the bike lane and continue the tram. Its 1300 red streetlights, of nineteenth-century style with half-height glazes made by the artist Julia Ares, are noteworthy . Some of these streetlights were removed as part of the wall protection plan.
Section of the Parrote of the Avenue of the Mayor Francisco Vázquez: From the Castle to the Parrote the roadway happens to have a lane by sense, and continues the bicycle lane. The construction of a tunnel and an underground car park in the area partially suppressed surface wheeled traffic.
Oza area, Oza nas Xubias beach . Sports sailing area and leisure place.
Since its inauguration, the promenade has been adapted and modified according to the uses that the city has been giving to the infrastructures. So the tourist tram route initially with Parrote up from the Riazor in 2014 was limited to the route from the Tower of Hercules toward Riazor for its low usage costs and posed. Also the promenade itself and its furniture were exchanged. Every winter the beaches of Riazor and Orzán were protected from the waves by making heaps of sand to break the waves, but in some cases part of the furniture of the promenade was shattered by the waves. In 2015 the lighthouses on the fences were removed. Part of these stone walls were replaced by others in stainless steel and in Riazor area have come to remove leaving access to the beach clean of obstacles.
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NOTE: You can mark this WM with the photo of any point of the 13 Km if the Walk.