The Alameda de Hércules is a promenaded public garden ( built in 1574) with eight rows of poplars trees, in the historic center of Seville, southern Spain. Is the oldest public garden in Spain and Europe. It is located between the river Guadalquivir and the Macarena neighborhood.

History

The Alameda's history began when the lower arm of the river Guadalquivir, which once reached from the Alameda, crossing Plaza Nueva, and eventually ending in the district of Arenal, was cut off by a damn in 1383. While the damn cut off the river it left a swampy wetland due to frequent rises in the river.
In 1574, the Count of Barajas further diverted the water by building irrigation channels and fountains and planting lines of trees. In 1574, four columns were placed to mark off the promenade which had been found in the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to Hercules which once stood in that part of the city on Mármoles street. On two of the columns statues were placed, one of Julius Caesar (referred to as the restorer of Hispalis - the Latin name for Seville) and one of Hercules (who according to legend was the founder of Seville). In the second half of the eighteenth century two more statues, lions with shields representing Seville and Spain were placed on the remaining columns at the other end of the promenade.
Despite the damn and irrigation channels the Alameda remained one of the most flooded areas of the city because of its proximity to the river and its low elevation. For example, in 1649 the fateful year of the Great Plague of Seville it was reported that the Alameda was so flooded that people were navigating it on boats
In 1878 the pedestals of the columns were protected from the public by gates. In 1885 a marble fountain was placed near the lion's columns which was popularly known as la Pila del Pato (the duck pile) which, in the sixteenth century, was located in the Plaza de San Francisco behind the city counsel. It was later moved again and can now be found in the Plaza de San Leandro.
In the late nineteenth century the Alameda was at its height, having been converted into a promenade filled with theaters and kiosks and having become a social center for the city's upper classes. All of this changed after the Spanish_civil_war.
In the 20th century, La Alameda lost its genteel appeal and sunk progressively into disrepute, often cited as an area troubled by prostitution and drug use. According to data from 1989, the area was once home to as many as 35 brothels.