Plaza Zabala

The Zabala Square, in Montevideo

The Plaza Zabala is an elegant tree-lined square in the heart of the ciudad vieja of Montevideo, laid out in 1890 on the site of the former Spanish fort. The Montevideo audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this French-style landscaped garden, dominated by the equestrian statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, founder of the town in 1726.

The garden of the founder of the town

You arrive here on the Zabala Square. It dates from 1890, but the decision to install a square in the very heart of the old town had been taken from 1878, during the dictatorship of the colonel Lorenzo Latorre, who had the former Spanish fort that rose there destroyed. However, it was necessary to wait twelve years for this long abandoned space to be finally laid out. The equestrian statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, who gave his name to the square, was installed there. Zabala was a Spanish military man and colonial administrator, who founded the town of Montevideo in 1726 to counter the Portuguese expansion in the region of the Rio de la Plata; he is considered as the founder of the town. Around his statue, the French landscaper Édouard André, famous designer of gardens, drew an elegant French-style square, with its winding paths, its flowerbeds, its exotic trees and its wrought railings, that contrasts prettily with the regular grid of the old town. Surrounded by fine palaces and private mansions of European inspiration, the Zabala Square is one of the most refined and peaceful corners of the ciudad vieja, where you like to stroll in the shade. It thus combines the memory of the origins of the town and the elegance of a nineteenth-century garden. A French-style square and a memory of the founder, the Zabala Square is a fine stop of the discovery of Montevideo.

What to see

Here you discover an elegant tree-lined square laid out in 1890 on the site of the former Spanish fort, in the heart of the ciudad vieja; dominated by the equestrian statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, founder of Montevideo in 1726, it was drawn in the French style by the landscaper Édouard André, with winding paths, flowerbeds and exotic trees, surrounded by fine palaces. The Zabala Square is a refined corner of Montevideo. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Zabala Square lies in the heart of the ciudad vieja of Montevideo, reachable on foot. It is a public square freely accessible, embellished with paths, flowerbeds and the equestrian statue of Zabala, surrounded by fine palaces. You discover it during a walk in the old town.

Who was Zabala, whose square bears the name in Montevideo?

Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, a Spanish military man and colonial administrator who founded the town of Montevideo in 1726 to counter the Portuguese expansion in the region of the Rio de la Plata; his equestrian statue dominates the square laid out in 1890 on the site of the former fort, drawn in the French style by the landscaper Édouard André.

Where is the Zabala Square in Montevideo?

In the heart of the ciudad vieja of Montevideo, in Uruguay.