40°25N 3°45W, pop (2000e) 2 948 000. Industrial capital and largest city of Spain; capital of Madrid province; in C Spain, on R Manzanares; altitude, 655 m/2149 ft, the highest capital city in Europe; archbishopric; airport; railway; metro; two universities (1508, 1968); textiles, engineering, chemicals, leather goods, agricultural trade; site of a Moorish fortress until 11th-c; under siege for nearly three years in the Civil War; capital (replacing Valladolid), 1561; El Escorial, a world heritage site; Royal Palace (18th-c), Prado Museum, Villahermosa Palace, Lazaro Galdiano Museum, El Retiro Park, archaeological museum, national library; Fiesta of Almudena (Nov), pilgrimage of St Isidore (May); terrorist bombings at railway stations killed at least 200 people and injured more than 1400 (Mar 2004).
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Coordinates : 40° 23’N , 3°43′0″W Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) |
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| General information | |||||
| Native name | Villa de Madrid (Spanish) | ||||
| Spanish name | Villa de Madrid | ||||
| Founded | 9th century | ||||
| Postal code | 28001-28080 | ||||
| Area code | 34 (Spain) + 91 (Villa de Madrid) | ||||
| Website | http://www.munimadrid.es/ | ||||
| Administration | |||||
| Country | Spain | ||||
| Autonomous Community | Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid | ||||
| Province | Madrid | ||||
| Administrative Divisions | 21 | ||||
| Neighborhoods | 127 | ||||
| Mayor | Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (PP) | ||||
| Geography | |||||
| Land Area | 607 km² | ||||
| Altitude | 667 m AMSL | ||||
| Population | |||||
| Population | 3,228,359 (2005) | ||||
| - rank in Spain: | 1st | ||||
| Density | 5,198 hab./km² (2005) | ||||
Madrid is the capital of Spain and the third most populous city in the European Union.
As the capital of the Spanish Empire, Madrid is a city of great cultural and political importance.
Following the restoration of democracy in 1975 and Spain's integration into the European Union, Madrid has played an increasing role in European finances, marking the city as one of the most important European metropolises.
See Wiktionary for the name of Madrid in various languages other than English and Spanish.
Names of the city and origin of the current name
There are numerous theories regarding the origin of the name, "Madrid".
History
Middle Ages
Although the site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since pre-historic times, in Roman age his territory belonged to the diocese of Complutum (present Alcalá de Henares). Though Charles favored Madrid, it was his son, Philip II (1527-1598) who moved the court to Madrid in 1561. During the Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), in the 16th/17th century, Madrid had no resemblance with other European capitals: the population of the city was economically dependent on the business of the court itself.
End of Renaissance and early modern Madrid
Felipe V decided that a European capital could not stay in such a state, and new palaces (including the Palacio Real de Madrid) were built during his reign.
The 20th century in Madrid
Isabel II could not calm down the political tension that would lead to yet another revolt, the First Spanish Republic, and the comeback of the monarchs, which eventually led to the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War.
During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, especially after the sixties, the south of Madrid became very industrialized and there were massive migrations from rural environments into the city.
21st century
On 11 March 2004, Madrid was hit by a terrorist attack when terrorists placed a series of bombs on multiple trains during the rush hour, three days before the 14 March 2004 elections.
Madrid has also expressed its desire to become an Olympic city, and became a candidate for the 2012 games, which were awarded to London after Madrid was eliminated in the third round of the ballot.
Economy and demographics
Economy
The village experienced a big development as a consequence of the establishment of the new capital of the Spanish Empire in Madrid. Despite of the current tendency of moving the production centers to industrial parks located in the outskirts of the metropolitan area, the city of Madrid still is the second most important industrial center in the country, only exceeded by Barcelona. Then, to the traditional administrative functions (Madrid houses the central Administration of the State) and financial (Madrid is the headquarter of a high amount of companies that execute their activities all over the country and that receives half of the whole national financial capital) now we can also add others such us: the ring structure of the roads and trains system and the significance of the Barajas Airport.
Demographics
| Evolution 1897 - 2005 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year |
Total municipality |
Total province |
Percent (%) |
| 1897 | 542.739 | 730.807 | 74,27 |
| 1900 | 575.675 | 773.011 | 74,47 |
| 1910 | 614.322 | 831.254 | 73,90 |
| 1920 | 823.711 | 1.048.908 | 78,53 |
| 1930 | 1.041.767 | 1.290.445 | 80,73 |
| 1940 | 1.322.835 | 1.574.134 | 84,04 |
| 1950 | 1.553.338 | 1.823.418 | 85,19 |
| 1960 | 2.177.123 | 2.510.217 | 86,73 |
| 1965 | 2.793.510 | 3.278.068 | 85,22 |
| 1970 | 3.120.941 | 3.761.348 | 82,97 |
| 1975 | 3.228.057 | 4.319.904 | 74,73 |
| 1981 | 3.158.818 | 4.686.895 | 67,40 |
| 1986 | 3.058.812 | 4.780.572 | 63,98 |
| 1991 | 3.010.492 | 4.647.555 | 64,78 |
| 1996 | 2.866.850 | 5.022.289 | 57,08 |
| 2001 | 2.938.723 | 5.423.384 | 54,19 |
| 2004 | 3.099.834 | 5.804.829 | 53,40 |
| 2005 | 3.155.359 | 5.964.143 | 52,90 |
The population of Madrid has experienced increase ever since the city became the national capital.
Parque del Retiro Observatory| 1971-2000 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Ago | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Maximum temperature (ºC) |
9,7 | 12,0 | 15,7 | 17,5 | 21,4 | 26,9 | 31,2 | 30,7 | 26,0 | 19,0 | 13,4 | 10,1 | 19,4 |
|
Minimum temperature (ºC) |
2,6 | 3,7 | 5,6 | 7,2 | 10,7 | 15,1 | 18,4 | 18,2 | 15,0 | 10,2 | 6,0 | 3,8 | 9,7 |
| Rainfall (mm) | 37 | 35 | 26 | 47 | 52 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 28 | 49 | 56 | 56 | 436 |
| 1971-2000 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Ago | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Maximum temperature (ºC) |
10,6 | 12,9 | 16,3 | 18,0 | 22,3 | 28,2 | 33,0 | 32,4 | 27,6 | 20,6 | 14,7 | 11,0 | 20,6 |
|
Minimum temperature (ºC) |
0,3 | 1,5 | 3,2 | 5,4 | 8,8 | 13,0 | 16,1 | 16,0 | 12,7 | 8,3 | 3,8 | 1,8 | 7,6 |
| Rainfall (mm) | 33 | 34 | 23 | 39 | 47 | 26 | 11 | 12 | 24 | 39 | 48 | 48 | 386 |
Administrative divisions
Districts
Madrid is administratively divided into twenty-one districts, that, at the same time, are divided into different neighborhoods (barrios):
Centro: Palacio, Embajadores, Cortes, Justicia, Universidad, Sol.Modern Madrid ranks as one of the most important cities in Europe. In addition, we find the highly ornate Banco de España, the Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes, the Zarzuela theater and the Plaza de Cibeles. however it also contains a number of tourist accommodations, plenty of nightlife (all of Madrid's large goth scene gravitates around Gran Via, for instance), many of Madrid's largest movie theaters and live musical shows. There are also a number of attractive churches, like the Iglesia de San Andres and the Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, as well as Madrid's town palace. There's the Spanish Olympic Committee, the IFEMA (New Madrid Expo) and Juan Carlos I Park, a beautiful park between Campo de las Naciones (Commercial District inside Hortaleza) and Barajas.
Culture
Madrid is one of Spain's most popular destinations, and its well known for the quantity of cultural related attractions and monuments that the city has embraced.
Galleries
Endowed by the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and composed by 3 museums, Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning art museums.
Museums
Museo del Prado National Archaeological Museum of Spain Naval Museum Casa-Museo José Padilla * Casa-Museo Manuel Benedito * Museo de Antropologia Médica * Museo De La Farmacia Hispana * Museo Del Reloj Grassy *City attractions
Plaza Mayor Gran Via Casón del Buen Retiro Palacio Real Templo de Debod El Rastro Puerta del Sol Parque del Buen Retiro Torre España Faro de Moncloa Puerta de Europa Puerta de Alcalá Estadio Santiago Bernabéu Estadio Vicente Calderón Parque de Atracciones de Madrid Plaza de Cibeles Palacio De Liria * Teatro Real Auditorio Nacional de Musica Teatro Monumental Teatro de la Zarzuela Centro Cultural de la Villa Teatro de la Abadía Círculo de Bellas Artes Teatro Español Teatro de la Comedia Cafe Central (Madrid's top Jazz venue.)Places that you need to phone to make an appointment are marked by an asterisk (*)
Other nearby towns are popular as day trips from Madrid, including Toledo, Segovia, Ávila, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, the monastery and palace complex of El Escorial, the former summer home of the royal family at Aranjuez, and Chinchón.
Television
Madrid has two public operative TV channels which are (at least one of them) tunned in on at least the whole Autonomous Community of Madrid, the southern region of Castile-Leon and the northern region of Castile-La Mancha. Most of its programmes are focused on news regarding the Autonomous Community of Madrid as it is a channel not only for those who live in the city, but also to the people who live at the province and whose capital city is Madrid. Instead of being centered on news on Madrid city and its region, it deals with culture and other modern aspects of the city. Nightlife and young cultural awakening flourished after the death of Franco, especially during the 80s while Madrid's mayor Enrique Tierno Galván was in office, called la movida and initially focussed on the Plaza del Dos de Mayo (Malasaña area).
Bullfighting
Madrid hosts the largest Plaza de Toros (bullfighting ring) in Spain, Las Ventas, inaugurated in 1931, and where bullfighting seasons are considered the most important in the world.
Sports
| Club | Sport | League | Stadium | Logo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | Association football | La Liga | Santiago Bernabéu | |
| Atlético Madrid | Association football | La Liga | Vicente Calderón | |
| Real Madrid | Basketball | ACB league | Palacio Vistalegre | |
| MMT Estudiantes | Basketball | ACB league | Madrid Arena |
Madrid is home to Real Madrid, the world's most successful football club (according to FIFA), which plays in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
The city is also host to two basketball teams in the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB league), and the Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, a motorsport race circuit which formerly hosted the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.
Gastronomy
Typical dishes from Madrid are cocido madrileño (stew), callos a la madrileña (tripe stew), sopa de ajo (garlic soup), bacalao a la madrileña (salted cod in a sauce), potaje con garbanzos (chick pea stew). August 6-15, Virgen de la Paloma festivities (Madrid's patron saint) August 7, San Cayetano (Cascorro neighbourhood's patron saint). November 9, Virgen de la Almudena festivities (Madrid's patron saint).
Universities
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is the most prestigious, and largest, public university in Spain and one of the oldest universities in the world..
The Complutense University of Madrid was founded in Alcala de Henares, old Complutum, by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499.
In 1836, during the reign of Isabel II, the University was moved to Madrid, where it took the name of Central University and is located at San Bernardo Street.
In 1970 the Government reforms the High Education, and the Central University become the Complutense University of Madrid.
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
The Autonoma, perhaps Spain's best university for research along with Complutense, was instituted under the leadership of the famous physicist, Nicolás Cabrera.
Known simply as la Autónoma in Madrid, its main site is the Cantoblanco Campus, situated 15 kilometers to the north of the capital (M-607) and close to the municipal areas of Madrid, namely Alcobendas, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Tres Cantos and Colmenar Viejo.
Other universities
Public universities Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Rey Juan Carlos) Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (UAH) Universidad Carlos III () Private universities Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (UAX) Universidad Antonio de Nebrija (Nebrija) Universidad Camilo José Cela (Cela) Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Francisco de Vitoria) Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (UPComillas) Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (UPSAM) Universidad San Pablo (CEU) Escuela de Organización Industrial (EOI) Universidad de Saint Louis () Various Real Conservatorio Superior de Música Escuela Superior de Musica Reina SofiaTransportation
Motorways
The principal motorways of Madrid have a radical route. The most important are the well-known National ones:
| Road | Route |
|---|---|
| A-1 | Madrid-Aranda de Duero-Burgos-Miranda de Ebro-Vitoria-San Sebastián-Irún-France |
| A-2 | Madrid-Zaragoza-Lleida-Barcelona-Girona-France |
| A-3 | Madrid-Valencia |
| A-4 | Madrid-Córdoba-Sevilla-Cádiz |
| A-5 | Madrid-Mérida-Badajoz-Lisbon |
| A-6 | Madrid-Medina del Campo-Benavente-Ponferrada-Lugo-A Coruña |
| A-42 | Madrid-Toledo |
These free motorways operate in parallel to the 'radiales' R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5 which are toll motorways built to decongest traffic in the free ones.
Moreover, Madrid also has a series of ring roads:
| Ring road | Route | Satellite |
|---|---|---|
| M-30 | Delimits the central core and is currently being buried | M-30/Alcalá St. junction |
| M-40 | Surrounds the residential neighbourhoods of the city | M-40/A-3 junction |
| M-45 | Goes round the southeastern part of the city | M-45/A-4 junction |
| M-50 | Surrounds the metropolitan area | M-50/R-5 junction |
| M-60 | A planned new ring road of about 170 km long |
These motorways are used to avoid entering the city anytime one wants to go from one point in the outskirts to the opposite one.
Air
Madrid is served by Barajas International Airport.
Metro
Serving the city's population of some six million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro networks in the world.
Sister cities
| Beijing, China Belgrade, Serbia Berlin, Germany Bordeaux, France Bogotá, Colombia Brussels, Belgium Caracas, Venezuela Havana, Cuba Lisbon, Portugal Managua, Nicaragua Mexico City, Mexico Moscow, Russia New York City, USA Nouakchott, Mauritania Panama City, Panama Paris, France Quito, Ecuador Rabat, Morocco San Jose, Costa Rica Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tripoli, Libya Warsaw, Poland |
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