Jardín del Salitre, Murcia

Also known as the Jardín de la Pólvora

This is a garden area behind the Museo de la Ciudad in Murcia.

It’s often used for concerts and cultural events, and is a pleasant, shaded area with seating which can be very welcome for weary foot-sore tourists visiting the city.

The Jardín del Salitre is also often called the Jardín de la Pólvora, due to the fact that at the beginning of the 17th century it was the location of a gunpowder factory, the Real Fábrica de la Pólvora y Salitre de Murcia.

Processing and refining of saltpeter (potassium nitrate) to make gunpowder took place in the site from 1654 onwards, and the factory was built close to calle de la Acequia (currently Acisclo Díaz), an area from which large quantities of the raw material were extracted.

During the War of Independence this was the only Spanish factory making powder and shot for the soldiers.

It passed through various private hands until it was handed over to the state in 1885, part of the installations used as residences by soldiers from the powder factory of Javalí Viejo. Perhaps this explains why the area was planted with gardens. In 1987 the garden areas were remodelled when they passed into the hands of the council, and in subsequent years underwent a further process of remodelling to create different public areas, including the Spanish-arab garden, the square with fountain, a fountain with three arches symbolising the three cultures which lived alongside each other in the Segura river valley, the labyrinth of aromatic plants, and the lake which catches water from the substrata of the underground parking area, which irrigates the garden.

Click for map, Jardin del Salitre, Murcia

(Behind Plaza Agustinas and Museo de la Ciudad)