The Plaza de España, also known as Plaza Nueva, is a neoclassical building that forms a perfect square of 61 metres on each side. The north wing houses the town hall, while access is open through the south, east and west sides. The base of the entire perimeter is formed by arcades with semicircular arches with attached pilasters that are replaced by columns at the entrances.
The façade of the town hall is crowned by a balustrade with vases, a large pediment and the coat of arms of the city in carved stone. The other fronts have only a cornice.
The construction is a mixture of ashlar stone, masonry and brick.
In the municipal session of 15 March 1780, the mayor of Vitoria and Marquis of La Alameda, Ramón María de Urbina, proposed the construction of a new, large and sumptuous square, which would be the starting point for the building of a new city. The aim was to unite the old quarter with the new expansion, as well as to establish the definitive location of the town hall. The square was to be ornamental and similar to other important cities, such as Madrid and Salamanca, which already had a main square.
Its construction began on 17th October 1781, on the 600th anniversary of the founding of Vitoria, according to the project of the architect Justo Antonio de Olaguíbel. Great technical difficulties had to be overcome for its construction, as it was necessary to carry out costly and difficult levelling work in order to overcome a difference in height of almost twenty metres in a small space. This problem was solved with the construction of the buildings known as Los Arquillos. In 1791, the square was inaugurated and on 24th December 1791, the first town council meeting was held in its new location.
The Plaza de España in Vitoria served as a model for those that were later built in San Sebastián and Bilbao.
The paving of the square was replaced in 1992 with stone slabs forming a 16-pointed star pattern.
In 1791 Olaguíbel completed his project, calling it "Plaza Nueva", as opposed to the Plaza Vieja, now known as Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. It was known by that name in the first two decades of the 19th century. Around 1820, the Vitoria authorities of the time chose to call it "Plaza de la Constitución" in honour of "la Pepa", the first Spanish constitution, approved in the Cortes de Cádiz. This name remained in force for a century, until 1927, when it became "Plaza de Alfonso XIII", in honour of the Spanish monarch in power at the time.
When the Second Republic was proclaimed in Spain, on 14 April 1931, several street names existing at that time were changed and, in particular, the "Plaza de Alfonso XIII" saw its name replaced by "Plaza de la República". Five years later, on 26 August 1936, after the military uprising that led to the civil war, it became, for the first time, "Plaza de España", being ratified by the full council once the democratic era had been restored.