1.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
2.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
3.
Madrid Metro
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The Madrid Metro is a metro system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 7th longest metro in the world, having a length of 293 km. The Madrid Metro operates every day from 6 am until 1,30 am, a light rail system feeding the metro opened in 2007 called Metro Ligero. The Cercanias system works in conjunction with the metro servicing commuter train services to, some underground stations are large enough to hold public events, such as the three-day fitness festival in May 2011, which attracted 2,600 visitors. One station contains a 200-square-meter archaeological museum, the Madrid Metro has 1,698 escalators, the most of any system in the world. The first line of the Madrid metro opened on 17 October 1919 under the direction of the Compañía de Metro Alfonso XIII, the Madrid Metro is the first metro system in Spain and the second in the Spanish-speaking world after the Buenos Aires Underground. It was constructed in a section and the stations had 60 m platforms. The enlargement of this line and the construction of two others followed shortly after 1919, in 1924, traffic in Madrid switched from driving on the left, to driving on the right, but the lines of the Madrid Metro kept operating on the left hand side. In 1936, the network had three lines and a line between Opera and Norte railway station. All these stations served as air raid shelters during the Spanish Civil War, after the Civil war, the public works to extend the network went on little by little. In the 1960s, a railway was constructed between Plaza de España and Carabanchel, linked to lines 2 and 3. A fifth metro line was constructed as well with narrow section but 90 m platforms, shortly after opening the first section of line 5, the platforms in line 1 were enlarged from 60 to 90 m, closing Chamberí station since it was too close to Iglesia. Chamberí has been closed ever since and has recently opened as a museum. In the early 1970s, the network was expanded to cope with the influx of population. New lines were planned with large 115 m platforms, lines 4 and 5 were enlarged as well. In 1979, bad management led to a crisis, Works already started were finished during the 1980s and all remaining projects were abandoned. After all those projects,100 km of track had been completed. At the beginning of the 1990s, control of the network was transferred to a public enterprise, more large-scale expansion projects were carried out
4.
Las Ventas
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Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is a famous bullring located in Madrid, Spain. Situated in the Guindalera quarter of the district of Salamanca, it was inaugurated on June 17,1931 and it has a seating capacity of 25,000. This bullring was designed by the architect José Espeliú in the Neo-Mudéjar style with ceramic incrustations, the seats are situated in ten tendidos. The price of the seats depends upon how close they are to the arena, the bullfighting season starts in March and ends in October, bullfights are held every day during the San Isidro Fiesta, and every Sunday or holiday during the season. Bullfights start at 6 or 7pm and last for two to three hours, Las Ventas is located in the east of Madrid. From 1913 to 1920, the national passion gained such an important status that Madrids former main bullring in Carretera de Aragón was not big enough. It was José Gómez Ortega Joselito who declared that a new monumental bullring had to be built, to open this part of Spains heritage and his friend the architect José Espeliú began to work on the project. A family called Jardón donated the land to the Madrid Provincial Council, the deputation accepted the proposal on November 12,1920. On March 19,1922, in the center of the prospective arena. The construction of the bullring would cost 12 million pesetas, Las Ventas was finished in 1929 and two years later, June 17,1931, a charity bullfight was held with a full-capacity crowd to inaugurate it. Bullfighting stopped during the Spanish Civil War and did not resume until May 1939, there is a Pasodoble called Plaza de las Ventas and the composer Maestro Manuel Lillo dedicated to this arena. Las Ventas is divided into a ring or arena, and a group of zones called patios and its architecture is Neo-Mudéjar, with ceramic representations of the heraldic crests of the different Spanish provinces. The arena has a diameter of 60 meters, the seating capacity is divided into 10 tendidos, some of them in the shade and the rest in the sun. The president of the corrida sits in the 10th Tendido, the Royal Box is of outstanding design, with its Mudéjar architecture, a complete bathroom and a lift. Opposite to the Royal Box, in the grandstand roof, is the clock. The bullring has five gates, plus three more called toriles, from where the bulls enter the arena, the gate of the cuadrillas, between tendidos 3 and 4, has access to the horse yard. Inside this door, the starts and the picadores come out from here to the arena. The dragging gate, that leads to the room, is between tendidos 1 and 2
5.
Buen Retiro Park
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The Buen Retiro Park is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th century, the Buen Retiro Park is a large and popular 1.4 km2 park at the edge of the city centre, very close to the Puerta de Alcalá and not far from the Prado Museum. A magnificent park, filled with sculpture and monuments, galleries. The park is surrounded by the present-day city. The royal family had a built as part of the church. 1556–1enue |avenues]] of trees were laid out, Buen Retiro was described as The world art wonder of the time, probably the last great creation of the Renaissance in Spain. Buen Retiro became the center of Habsburg court life at a time when Spain was the foremost power in the world, during the reigns of Philip IV and Charles II several magnificent plays were performed in the park for the royal family and the court. Philip V ordered the creation of a parterre, the only French-style garden in the complex, during the reign of Ferdinand VI, Buen Retiro was the setting for magnificent Italian operas. Charles III saw to the beautification of its perimeter, replacing the old walls with elegant wrought-iron railings, juan de Villanuevas Astronomical Observatory was built during the reign of Charles IV. The Buen Retiro Palace was used until the era of Charles III, most of the palace was destroyed during the Peninsular War with the First French Empire. The reign of Queen Isabella II saw profound changes in the Retiro, the gardens eventually passed to public ownership in 1868, at the time of the overthrow of Queen Isabella. In 1883 it hosted the Exposición Nacional de Minería, el Retiro gradually became the green heart of the city. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Monument to Alfonso XII of Spain was erected next to the pond, countless statues, fountains and commemorative monuments have filled the park and converted it into an open-air sculpture museum. The nineteen-thirties and forties witnessed the creation of new gardens attributed to Chief Gardener Cecilio Rodriguez who designed, close to the northern entrance of the park is the Estanque del Retiro, a large artificial pond. Next to it is the monument to King Alfonso XII, featuring a semicircular colonnade and it is claimed that this statue is the only known public monument of Satan. The few remaining buildings of the Buen Retiro Palace, including Casón del Buen Retiro, the Casón has a collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings, including art by the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla. The Ejército, one of Spains foremost Army museums, has moved to Toledo, since assuming its role as a public park the late 19th century, the Parque del Retiro has been used as a venue for various international exhibitions. Built along with its artificial pond in 1887 for the Philippine Islands Exhibitions, the landscape-style gardens located in the former Campo Grande are also a reminder of the international exhibitions that have taken place here in the past
6.
Puerta del Sol
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The Puerta del Sol is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre of the network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the eating of the Twelve Grapes. The New Years celebration has been broadcast live on television since 31 December 1962. The Puerta del Sol originated as one of the gates in the city wall that surrounded Madrid in the 15th century, outside the wall, medieval suburbs began to grow around the Christian Wall of the 12th century. The name of the came from the rising sun which decorated the entry. The stairs to the Saint Philip church at the square were known as the Gradas de San Felipe, the House of the Post Office was built by French architect Jacques Marquet between 1766 and 1768. The building was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and State Security during the Francisco Franco dictatorship and it is currently the seat of the Presidency of the Madrid Community. The Puerta del Sol contains a number of well known sights both domestically and internationally associated with Spain, on the south side, the old Post Office serves as the office of the President of Madrid, the head of the regional government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. Also on its side, the square holds a mounted statue of Charles III of Spain. The famous Tío Pepe lighted sign was above the eastern building between the Calle de Alcalá and the Carrera de San Jerónimo for a long time, now is on top of the former Paris Hotel. Also on the east side lies the statue of The Bear and the Strawberry Tree, until 2009, the statue stood on the north side at the entrance to Calle del Carmen. The Mariblanca marks the place of a former fountain, the kilómetro cero is a plaque on the ground directly north of the Post Office serving as the symbolic center of Spain. Sol has seen protests against the terrorism perpetrated the March 11th attacks on commuter trains, in 2011, the square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Spanish democracy demonstrations. The demonstrations then spread to more than sixty other cities throughout Spain, since 12 June 2011, the square has held a free-standing domed structure made from pallets, which served as an information point for the 15-M Movement. This continued throughout the summer of 2011 until the dawn of 2 August, currently, dozens of committees have their assemblies in the iconic square. The Puerta is located in the heart of Madrid. Immediately to the southwest lies the Plaza Mayor, the Palacio Real, parliament and the museum district are to the east and the train station Atocha is to the southeast
7.
Districts of Madrid
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Madrid, the capital city of Spain, is divided into 21 districts, which are further subdivided into 128 wards. Each district is governed by a body named Junta Municipal de Distrito, residents of Madrid are typically called Madrileños. The modern metropolis is home to three million people. Some of the most well-known neighbourhoods in Madrid are listed below and this district contains the large Plaza de Colón. This plaza commemorates Christopher Columbus, who was responsible for ushering in the Spanish imperial golden age of the 16th and 17th centuries, Atocha covers a large area and is bordered by the Huertas and Lavapiés neighbourhoods. It contains several cultural institutions, including the Reina Sofía Museum. Also located here is the bus terminal and the Atocha Railway Station. This was the site of the train bombings carried out on March 11,2004. Atocha was also the site of the 1977 Massacre of Atocha, located in the Cuatro Caminos ward, AZCA is the financial center of Madrid. The area is populated by skyscrapers, among them Torre Picasso at 157 metres, Edificio BBVA at 107 metres, the skyscraper Torre Windsor once stood here as well, until it burned completely on the night of 12 February 2005. A large El Corte Inglés department store consisting of three interconnected buildings is located here. The area is linked to Barajas Airport by metro line 8 at the Nuevos Ministerios station. Its the Parkour centre of Madrid, the CTBA is composed of the four tallest skyscrapers in Madrid. The tallest is Torre Bankia, once known as the Torre Respol and it was designed by Sir Norman Foster, and is the third tallest skyscraper in Europe. Torre de Cristal, or Crystal Tower, is only 0.6 metres lower than Torre Bankia, at 249.4 metres, Torre PwC is the third tallest in Madrid, at 235 metres, and was designed by Enrique Alvarez & Carlos Rubio. The fourth skyscraper is Torre Espacio, or Space Tower and it is 223 metres tall and it was designed by I. M. Pei. The four skyscrapers were finished in 2008, chueca is well known as a centre of gay culture in Madrid. This small area is notable for housing the Congress of Deputies, known as the Congreso de los diputados, other notable sites include the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Banco de España, the Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes, the Zarzuela Theater and the Plaza de Cibeles
8.
Las Acacias (Madrid)
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Las Acacias is a ward of Madrid belonging to the district of Arganzuela. Its code number is 22 and, as of 2006, its population was of 37,727, Acacias is located in city center and is crossed, at its south-eastern borders, by the river Manzanares. Acacias borders with the districts of Centro, Carabanchel and with the Arganzuelan wards of Imperial, Palos de Moguer, Las Delicias, Las Acacias is served by the Metro Line 5 stations of Puerta de Toledo, Acacias and Pirámides. It is also served by the Cercanías stations of Pirámides and Embajadores, orthophoto of the district of Arganzuela
9.
Universidad (Madrid)
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Universidad is an area of Madrid with a creative and countercultural scene. Malasaña is to the west of Chueca and to the east of Argüelles and it is surrounded by several metro stations and is a central neighbourhood of Madrid. Residents include Esperanza Aguirre, the former President of the Community of Madrid, amongst other politicians and it was the center of the movida movement in late 1970s and 1980s Madrid. Malasaña is a vibrant neighborhood and a center for the phenomenon, full of lively bars. Its creative and counter-cultural roots, which stretch back several decades, have led to the areas distinctly unique musical and its streets are currently being renovated, making it a much more attractive quarter. Its one of the areas for partying the night away. The areas center is the Plaza del Dos de Mayo and this plaza hosts a large festival on the same day. Botellons are common in this neighbourhood, large ones were held in Plaza de dos de Mayo before the police stopped the nightly practice after a festival turned awry in 2006. Botellon´s involving up to 200 people happen and the plaza where it changes depending on how the police crack down on them. The night life is diverse in Malasaña, though the most common themes are non-pretentious style places, mixed places and colourful or bohemian cafes. There are one or two bars for hard rock and metal, house, nudists, BDSM, gothic, Latin, classic, 1980s, hip-hop, commercially, Malasaña has many fashion boutiques as well as shops for design and niche market products. They are often cutting-edge shops or feature progressive designers and products and they are often economical and rarely mainstream. There are many second-hand vintage shops, used book stores and unique gift shops, rents are high for small space and some buildings are very exclusive. Malasaña is mentioned in a song by Manu Chao, surf instrumental Farawel Malasaña by Bambi Molesters from Croatia, parts of the neighbourhood closer to Gran Via are frequented by the solo aspect of night life including sex clubs, sex shops and street activity. Drugs are rarely sold openly on the due to police crackdowns in the early 2000s. It is common for women and men to illegally sell beer openly all over the neighbourhood. Although popularly known as barrio Malasaña, it is known by residents as Maravillas, Malasaña is named after a 15-year-old girl Manuela Malasaña who once lived on San Andrés street. She was executed by the French following the uprising in 1808, today, there is a street named in her honour very close to the roundabout Glorieta de Bilbao
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