On my trip to Spain in October, 2024, my first two days were in Madrid, but then on day 3, I took a day trip to Toledo for a change of scenery. The distance from Madrid to Toledo is approximately 45 miles, but the high-speed train got me there in 35 minutes, so it left me a full day to explore. Arriving at the Toledo Railway Station is a nice architectural introduction to the area.
A little history lesson tells me that the first train station was built there in 1858, but the current version was designed in 1919 by Narciso Clavería y de Palacios (1869–1935), a Spanish architect who was known to utilize the Moorish revival style known as “Neo-Mudéjar.” Mudéjar style includes elements such as the horseshoe arch, arabesque tiling, and abstract shaped brick ornamentation for the façade. The picture below shows the interior of the Toledo train station and a series of horseshoe arches. By definition, a “horseshoe arch” (also known as a Moorish arch or a keyhole arch) is when the circular curve is continued below the middle horizontal diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the arch’s full width. In this case, it’s not dramatically narrower, but I think you get the idea.
And if you want to see some gorgeous tile work, check out the variety of patterns shown here, which is duplicated (and can be seen in the picture above as well) at the base of each horseshoe arch. I love this design, and wish there was a way to recreate something like this tile work in my home.
Here’s one of the most-beautiful aspects of the interior, in my opinion: Narciso Clavería y de Palacios took the attention to detail to new heights with his design of the ticket booths and ticket offices in the station. These ticket booths were closed when I took this photo at the end of the day (as I was returning to Madrid), but as you can see, the decorative tile is topped by elaborate wood work, and the ticket window where the clerk would sell tickets features this stained glass window. I’m assuming this stained glass window opens up when a ticket clerk is present, but just taking in the level of detail and beauty for something as simple as a ticket booth, I absolutely love it.
According to his Wikipedia entry, the Toledo train station is Narciso Clavería y de Palacios’ best-known work. There is another smaller railway station at Algodor, between Toledo and Aranjuez, which is also attributed to Clavería, but I did not visit or see that one.
I’ll close out this post with one more picture, showing the exterior of the Toledo Railway Station at night, with the clock tower, decorative stone work, and other architectural details.
