1.
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
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Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
3.
Community of Madrid
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The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and its capital is the city of Madrid, which is also the capital of the country. The Community of Madrid is bounded to the south and east by Castile–La Mancha and to the north and west by Castile and it was formally created in 1983, based on the limits of the province of Madrid, until then conventionally included in the historical region of New Castile. The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain with 6,369,167 inhabitants mostly concentrated in the area of Madrid. It is also the most densely populated autonomous community, Madrids economy is of roughly equal size to Catalonias, which remains Spains largest. Madrid thus has the highest GDP per capita in the country, some notable discoveries of the region the bell-shaped vase of Ciempozuelos. During the Roman Empire, the region was part of the Citerior Tarraconese province, except for the south-west portion of it and it was crossed by two important Roman roads, the via xxiv-xxix (joining Astorga to laminium and via xxv, and contained some important conurbations. The city of Complutum became an important metropolis, whereas Titulcia, during the period of the Visigothic Kingdom, the region lost its importance. The population was scattered amongst several small towns, Alcalá de Henares was designated the bishopric seat in the 5th century by orders of Asturio, archbishop of Toledo, but this event was not enough to bring back the lost splendor of the city. The centre of the peninsula was one of the regions of the Al-Andalus until the 11th century when it became important. The Muslim governors created a system of fortresses and towers all across the region with which they tried to stop the advance of the Christian kingdoms of the north. The fortress of Mayrit was built somewhere between 860 and 880 AD, as a walled precinct where a military and religious community lived, and it soon became the most strategic fortress in defense of the city of Toledo above the fortresses of Talamanca de Jarama and Qal-at-Abd-Al-Salam. In 1083, king Alfonso VI of Castile conquered the city of Madrid, Alcalá de Henares fell in 1118 in a new period of Castilian annexation. The feudal and ecclesiastical lords came into constant conflict with the different councils that had granted the authority to repopulate. Specifically, Alcalá de Henares was under the hands of the archbishopric of Toledo, Castilian monarchs showed a predilection for the center of the peninsula, with abundant forests and game. El Pardo was a region visited frequently by kings since the time of Henry III, the Catholic Monarchs started the construction of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. In the 16th century, San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built, besides its growing political importance, it also became a cultural center with the foundation of the University of Alcalá de Henares in 1508. In 1561, King Philip II made Madrid the capital of the empire, the surrounding territories became economically subordinated to the town itself, even beyond the present day limits of the Community of Madrid
4.
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
5.
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
6.
Barrio de La Latina (Madrid)
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La Latina is a neighbourhood in the centre of Madrid, Spain. La Latina occupies the place of the oldest area in Madrid and it is administratively locked almost entirely within the district of Palacio in Centro. It was named after the old hospital, founded in 1499 by Beatriz Galindo La Latina, as such, the effect is often that of a traditional pueblo rather than the heart of a major city. Its configuration overlaps almost perfectly with the first walled enclosures of the fortress, Almudena -. Its streets have felt the presence of all events that took place in Madrid in all periods. In this sense it can be said that La Latina constitutes a part of the true historic center of Madrid. They consist of four or five floors, further divided into flats according to the increase in height, generally devoting the entire first floor to residence for the owner and the rest to rentals. Similar to the rest of Madrid, the integration of new buildings is present, sometimes breaking the cityscape with their ten stories, health problems, lack of historical consciousness and mid-twentieth century aesthetics led to the demolition of the original market. A mid-twentieth century concrete structure boasting a great vaulted ceiling replaced it, there are currently unfunded plans for a modern market with roof-top public space to replace it. Currently the Citys draft amendment of the la Cebada market and attached facilities, has been stalled due to financial problems facing the town hall. There is currently a local, community-based movement to revive the space as has occurred in other Madrid markets, there is a historical explanation for the two Caves, currently two streets that run almost parallel filled with shops and entertainment venues. These originally marked the access holes dug under the wall that allowed access in, in the seventeenth century, merchants coming from different areas around Madrid to sell in the market stayed in inns, taverns and hostelries on these streets. Travellers and their horses stayed in facilities governed by their countrymen and these facilities grew in quality and services creating a leisure shopping framework tailored to these visitors with fresh money and little social control. In and around this area are the origins of Madrid and its difficult to put precise boundaries on La Latina, because, like its immediate neighbors, streets are narrow and winding. There are quite a few spots, though the neighborhood is best known as having one of the best concentrations of tapas bars. There are also a number of churches, like the Iglesia de San Andres. Plaza de la Paja is another interesting and entertaining spot of this neighborhood, on the other side, La Latina borders with Plaza Mayor and overlaps with the ancient part of the town, El Madrid de los Austrias, where the Palacio Real is located. La Latina has developed a gay area centered on Calle Calatrava, with many bars, the popular La Paloma festival in August is also very popular among the gay community and takes place along Calatrava and surrounding streets
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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
8.
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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