Busy at BNE

Anna Ellis

ALMOST 1,700 visited the National Library of Spain (BNE) on April 22 to join in celebrations of International Book Day which took place on April 23.

From before 8.00am (doors opened at 9.00am), and despite the rain, visitors began to arrive.

Tickets were allocated in order of arrival and, in less than three hours, the 1,500 planned tickets had already been distributed.

This situation led the BNE to expand the groups and organise new routes and guides to meet the expectations of all those people who had been left without a pass.

The library was founded by King Philip V of Spain in 1712 as the Palace Public Library.

The Royal Letters Patent that he granted, the predecessor of the current legal deposit requirement, made it mandatory for printers to submit a copy of every book printed in Spain to the library.

In 1836, the library’s status as Crown property was revoked and ownership was transferred to the Ministry of Governance, and renamed the Biblioteca Nacional.

AUTHORITIES in Madrid went into uproar on Wednesday, April 27 after a Chilean artist placed a provocative sculpture in the capital’s iconic Puerta del Sol square.

Nicolás Miranda’s sculpture depicted former Spanish King Juan Carlos aiming a rifle at a larger statue of a bear, which is a beloved emblem of Madrid. The artwork is a clear reference to the disgraced monarch’s love of hunting, which has sparked controversy in the past.

Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, has been heavily criticised for his hunting trips, including one in which he allegedly shot a bear which was tamed using vodka.

The sculpture, made from polyurethane, was placed in the square by artist Nicolás Miranda and remained in place for just 10 minutes before authorities removed it.

However, it has caused a sensation on social media and in the Spanish press. Miranda said that he studied CCTV footage of the square to choose the perfect moment to place the artwork.

The former king’s visit to Spain last week has also prompted renewed criticism, with prosecutors alleging that there are renewed issues with his finances.