Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid ; this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic and cultural centre of the country. The current mayor is Manuela Carmena from the party Ahora Madrid.
The Madrid urban agglomeration has the third-largest GDP in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Madrid is home to two world-famous football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, IAG or Repsol. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the world according to Monocle magazine, in its 2014 index.
Madrid houses the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization, belonging to the United Nations Organization, the Ibero-American General Secretariat, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and the Public Interest Oversight Board. It also hosts major international regulators and promoters of the Spanish language: the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Cervantes Institute and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI and the Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week.
While Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century National Library building containing some of Spain's historical archives; a large number of national museums, and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three art museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which completes the shortcomings of the other two museums. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city. Madrid is the most visited city of Spain.
مجريط Majrīṭ (AFI [madʒriːtˁ]) Is the first documented reference to the city. It is recorded in Andalusian Arabic during the al-Andalus. The name Magerit ([madʒeˈɾit]) was retained in Medieval Spanish. The most ancient recorded name of the city "Magerit" (for *Materit or *Mageterit?) comes from the name of a fortress built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD, and means "Place of abundant water" in Arabic. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins.
According to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor (son of King Tyrrhenius of Tuscany and Mantua) and was named "Metragirta" or "Mantua Carpetana". Others contend that the original name of the city was "Ursaria" ("land of bears" in Latin), because of the many bears that were to be found in the nearby forests, which, together with the strawberry tree (Spanish madroño), have been the emblem of the city since the Middle Ages.
A French expert in ancient Gaulish proposed a Celtic place-name from ritu- 'ford' (Old Welsh rit, Welsh rhyd, Old Breton rit, Old Northern French roy) and a first element, that is not clearly identified *mageto derivation of magos 'field, plain' (Old Irish mag 'field', Breton ma 'place'), or matu 'bear', that could explain the Latin translation Ursalia.
Nevertheless, it is also 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" (a reference to the river that crossed the settlement). Following the invasions carried out by the Germanic Sueves and Vandals, as well as the Sarmatic Alans during the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire no longer had the military presence required to defend its territories on the Iberian Peninsula, and as a consequence, these territories were soon occupied by the Vandals, who were in turn dispelled by the Visigoths, who then ruled Hispania in the name of the Roman emperor, also taking control of "Matrice". In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the name changed to "Mayrit", from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra (referencing water as a 'tree' or 'giver of life') and the Ibero-Roman suffix it that means 'place'. The modern "Madrid" evolved from the Mozarabic "Matrit", which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic.
Although the site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since prehistoric times, and there are archaeological remains of Carpetani settlement, Roman villas, a Visigoth basilica near the church of Santa María de la Almudena and three Visigoth necropoleis near Casa de Campo, Tetúan and Vicálvaro, the first historical document about the existence of an established settlement in Madrid dates from the Muslim age. At the second half of the 9th century, Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba built a fortress on a headland near the river Manzanares, as one of the many fortresses he ordered to be built on the border between Al-Andalus and the kingdoms of León and Castile, with the objective of protecting Toledo from the Christian invasions and also as a starting point for Muslim offensives. 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, and it was integrated into the kingdom of Castile as a property of the Crown. 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, whose administrative district extended from the Jarama in the east to the river Guadarrama in the west. The government of the town was vested to the neighbouring of Madrid since 1346, when king Alfonso XI of Castile implements the regiment, for which only the local oligarchy was taking sides in city decisions. 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.
In 1309, the Courts of Castile were joined in Madrid for the first time under Ferdinand IV of Castile, and later in 1329, 1339, 1391, 1393, 1419 and twice in 1435. Since the unification of the kingdoms of Spain under a common Crown, the Courts were convened in Madrid more often.
During the revolt of the Comuneros, led by Juan de Padilla, Madrid joined the revolt against Emperor Charles V of Germany and I of Spain, but after defeat at the Battle of Villalar, Madrid was besieged and occupied by the royal troops. However, Charles I was generous to the town and gave it the titles of Coronada (Crowned) and Imperial. When Francis I of France was captured at the battle of Pavia, he was imprisoned in Madrid. And in the village is dated the Treaty of Madrid of 1526 (later denounced by the French) that resolved their situation.
The number of urban inhabitants grew from 4,060 in the year 1530 to 37,500 in the year 1594. The poor population of the court was composed of ex-soldiers, foreigners, rogues and Ruanes, dissatisfied with the lack of food and high prices. In June 1561, when the town had 30,000 inhabitants, Philip II of Spain moved his court from Valladolid to Madrid, installing it in the old castle. Thanks to this, the city of Madrid became the political centre of the monarchy, being the capital of Spain except for a short period between 1601 and 1606 (Philip III of Spain's government), in which the Court returned to Valladolid. This fact was decisive for the evolution of the city and influenced its fate.
During the reign of Philip III and Philip IV of Spain, Madrid saw a period of exceptional cultural brilliance, with the presence of geniuses such as Miguel de Cervantes, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Quevedo and Lope de Vega.
The death of Charles II of Spain resulted in the War of the Spanish succession. The city supported the claim of Philip of Anjou as Philip V. While the city was occupied in 1706 by a Portuguese army, who proclaimed king the Archduke Charles of Austria under the name of Charles III, and again in 1710, remained loyal to Philip V.
Philip V built the Royal Palace, the Royal Tapestry Factory and the main Royal Academies. But the most important Bourbon was King Charles III of Spain, who was known as "the best mayor of Madrid". Charles III took upon himself the feat of transforming Madrid into a capital worthy of this category. He ordered the construction of sewers, street lighting, cemeteries outside the city, and many monuments (Puerta de Alcalá, Cibeles Fountain), and cultural institutions (El Prado Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens, Royal Observatory, etc.). Despite being known as one of the greatest benefactors of Madrid, his beginnings were not entirely peaceful, as in 1766 he had to overcome the Esquilache Riots, a traditionalist revolt instigated by the nobility and clergy against his reformist intentions, demanding the repeal of the clothing decree ordering the shortening of the layers and the prohibition of the use of hats that hide the face, with the aim of reducing crime in the city. The reign of Charles IV of Spain is not very meaningful to Madrid, except for the presence of Goya in the Court, who portrayed the popular and courtly life of the city.
On 27 October 1807, Charles IV and Napoleon I signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which allowed the passage of French troops through Spanish territory to join the Spanish troops and invade Portugal, which had refused to obey the order of international blockade against England. As this was happening, there was the Mutiny of Aranjuez (17 March 1808), by which the crown prince, Ferdinand VII, replaced his father as king. However, when Ferdinand VII returned to Madrid, the city was already occupied by Joachim-Napoléon Murat, so that both the king and his father were virtually prisoners of the French army. Napoleon, taking advantage of the weakness of the Spanish Bourbons, forced both, first the father then the son, to join him in Bayonne, where Ferdinand arrived on 20 April.
In the absence of the two kings, the situation became more and more tense in the capital. On 2 May, a crowd began to gather at the Royal Palace. The crowd saw the French soldiers pulled out of the palace to the royal family members who were still in the palace. Immediately, the crowd launched an assault on the floats. The fight lasted hours and spread throughout Madrid. Subsequent repression was brutal. In the Paseo del Prado and in the fields of La Moncloa hundreds of patriots were shot due to Murat's order against "Spanish all carrying arms". Paintings such as The Third of May 1808 by Goya reflect the repression that ended the popular uprising on 2 May.
The Peninsular War against Napoleon, despite the last absolutist claims during the reign of Ferdinand VII, gave birth to a new country with a liberal and bourgeois character, open to influences coming from the rest of Europe. Madrid, the capital of Spain, experienced like no other city the changes caused by this opening and filled with theatres, cafés and newspapers. Madrid was frequently altered by revolutionary outbreaks and pronouncements, such as Vicálvaro 1854, led by General Leopoldo O'Donnell and initiating the progressive biennium. However, in the early 20th century Madrid looked more like a small town than a modern city. During the first third of the 20th century the population nearly doubled, reaching more than 850,000 inhabitants. New suburbs such as Las Ventas, Tetuán and El Carmen became the homes of the influx of workers, while Ensanche became a middle-class neighbourhood of Madrid.
The Spanish Constitution of 1931 was the first legislated on the state capital, setting it explicitly in Madrid.
Madrid was one of the most heavily affected cities of Spain in the Civil War (1936–1939). The city was a stronghold of the Republicans from July 1936. Its western suburbs were the scene of an all-out battle in November 1936 and it was during the Civil War that Madrid became the first European city to be bombed by aeroplanes (Japan was the first to bomb civilians in world history, at Shanghai in 1932) specifically targeting civilians in the history of warfare. (See Siege of Madrid (1936–39)).
During the economic boom in Spain from 1959 to 1973, the city experienced unprecedented, extraordinary development in terms of population and wealth, becoming the largest GDP city in Spain, and ranking third in Western Europe. The municipality was extended, annexing neighbouring council districts, to achieve the present extension of 607 km2 (234.36 sq mi). The south of Madrid became very industrialised, and there were massive migrations from rural areas of Spain into the city. Madrid's newly built north-western districts became the home of the new thriving middle class that appeared as result of the 1960s Spanish economic boom, while the south-eastern periphery became an extensive working-class settlement, which was the base for an active cultural and political reform.
After the death of Franco and the start of the democratic regime, the 1978 constitution confirmed Madrid as the capital of Spain. In 1979, the first municipal elections brought Madrid's first democratically elected mayor since the Second Republic. Madrid was the scene of some of the most important events of the time, such as the mass demonstrations of support for democracy after the foiled coup, 23-F, on 23 February 1981. The first democratic mayors belonged to the leftist parties (Enrique Tierno Galván, Juan Barranco Gallardo), turning the city after more conservative positions (Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún, José María Álvarez del Manzano, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and Ana Botella). Benefiting from increasing prosperity in the 1980s and 1990s, the capital city of Spain has consolidated its position as an important economic, cultural, industrial, educational, and technological centre on the European continent.
Madrid lies on the southern Meseta Central, 60 km south of the Guadarrama mountains and straddling the Jarama and Manzanares river basins. There is a considerable difference in altitude within city limits ranging from 543 m (1,781 ft) to 846 m (2,776 ft) above sea level. Over a quarter of the Madrid municipal area is covered by the largely forested protected area of El Pardo.
Madrid has an inland Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) which transitions to a semi-arid climate (BSk) in the eastern side of the city. Winters are cool due to its altitude, which is approximately 667 m (2,188 ft) above sea level, including sporadic snowfalls and frequent frosts in December and January. Summers are hot, in the warmest month – July -average temperatures during the day ranging from 32 to 33 °C (90 to 91 °F) depending on location, with maximums commonly climbing over 35 °C (95 °F) during frequent heat waves. Due to Madrid's altitude and dry climate, diurnal ranges are often significant during the summer. The highest recorded temperature was on 24 July 1995, at 42.2 °C (108.0 °F), and the lowest recorded temperature was on 16 January 1945 at −10.1 °C (13.8 °F). Although these records were registered at the airport, in the eastern side of the city. Precipitation is concentrated in the autumn and spring, and, together with Athens which has similar annual precipitation, is the driest capital in Europe. It is particularly sparse during the summer, taking the form of about two showers and/or thunderstorms a month.
Madrid derives almost 73.5 percent of its water supply from dams and reservoirs built on the Lozoya River, such as the El Atazar Dam, which was built in 1972 and inaugurated by Francisco Franco. This water supply is managed by Canal de Isabel II, a public entity created in 1851. It is responsible for the supply, depurating waste water and the conservation of all the Comunidad de Madrid region natural water resources.
The population of Madrid has overall increased since the city became the capital of Spain in the mid-16th century, and has stabilised at approximately 3 million since the 1970s.
From 1970 until the mid-1990s, the population dropped. This phenomenon, which also affected other European cities, was caused in part by the growth of satellite suburbs at the expense of the downtown region within the city proper. This also occurred during a period of slowed growth in the European economy.
The demographic boom accelerated in the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century due to immigration in parallel with a surge in Spanish economic growth. According to census data, the population of the city grew by 271,856 between 2001 and 2005.
As the capital city of Spain, the city has attracted many immigrants from around the world. In 2015, about 89.8% of the inhabitants were Spanish, while people of other origins, including immigrants from Latin America, Europe, Asia, North Africa and West Africa, represented 11.2% of the population.
The ten largest immigrant groups include: Ecuadorian: 104,184, Romanian: 52,875, Bolivian: 44,044, Colombian: 35,971, Peruvian: 35,083, Chinese: 34,666, Moroccan: 32,498, Dominican: 19,602, Brazilian: 14,583, and Paraguayan: 14,308. There were 2,476 Japanese citizens registered with the Japanese embassy in Madrid in 1993. There are also important communities of Filipinos, Equatorial Guineans, Uruguayans, Bulgarians, Greeks, Indians, Italians, Argentines, Senegalese and Poles.
Districts that host the largest number of immigrants are Usera (28.37%), Centro (16.87%), Carabanchel (22.72%) and Tetuán (21.54%). Districts that host the smallest number are Fuencarral-El Pardo (9.27%), Retiro (9.64%) and Chamartín (11.74%). Many members of Madrid's Japanese community, particularly those with children, live in Majadahonda, Mirasierra, The Vaguada, and other areas in northwest Madrid, in proximity to the Japanese international school. Central Madrid attracted many Japanese company employees without children due to its proximity to places of employment.
Most people in Madrid are Roman Catholic. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid. In a 2011 survey conducted by InfoCatólica, 57.1% of Madrid residents of all ages identified themselves as Catholic.
The City Council consists of 57 members, one of them being the mayor. The mayor presides over the RKO.
The Plenary of the Council is the body of political representation of the citizens in the municipal government. Some of its attributions are: fiscal matters, the election and deposition of the mayor, the approval and modification of decrees and regulations, the approval of budgets, the agreements related to the limits and alteration of the municipal term, the services management, the participation in supramunicipal organisations, etc. Nowadays, mayoral team consists of the mayor, the deputy mayor and 8 delegates; all of them form The Board of Delegates (the Municipal Executive Committee).
Madrid has tended to be a stronghold of the People's Party (PP, right-wing political party), which has controlled the city's mayoralty since 1989. In the 2007 regional and local elections, the People's Party obtained 34 seats, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE, left political party) obtained 18 and United Left (IU, left political party) obtained 5. In the 2015 elections, however, the PP was the party with the most votes but failed to gain a majority with Ahora Madrid the runner-up. Manuela Carmena, mayoral candidate for Ahora Madrid, was proclaimed mayor after a coalition pact between her party and the PSOE.
Madrid is administratively divided into 21 districts, which are further subdivided into 128 wards (barrios)
The Madrid metropolitan area comprises the city of Madrid and forty surrounding municipalities. It has a population of slightly more than 6.271 million people and covers an area of 4,609.7 square kilometres (1,780 sq mi). It is the largest metropolitan area in Spain and the third largest in the European Union.
As with many metropolitan areas of similar size, two distinct zones of urbanisation can be distinguished:
The largest suburbs are to the South, and in general along the main routes leading out of Madrid.
Submetropolitan areas inside Madrid metropolitan area:
After it became the capital of Spain in the 16th century, Madrid was more a centre of consumption than of production or trade. Economic activity was largely devoted to supplying the city’s own rapidly growing population, including the royal household and national government, and to such trades as banking and publishing.
A large industrial sector did not develop until the 20th century, but thereafter industry greatly expanded and diversified, making Madrid the second industrial city in Spain. However, the economy of the city is now becoming more and more dominated by the service sector.
Madrid is the 5th most important leading Center of Commerce in Europe (after London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam) and ranks 11th in the world.
As the capital city of the Spanish Empire from 1561, Madrid's population grew rapidly. Administration, banking, and small-scale manufacturing centred on the royal court were among the main activities, but the city was more a locus of consumption than production or trade, geographically isolated as it was before the coming of the railways.
Industry started to develop on a large scale only in the 20th century, but then grew rapidly, especially during the "Spanish miracle" period around the 1960s. The economy of the city was then centred on diverse manufacturing industries such as those related to motor vehicles, aircraft, chemicals, electronic devices, pharmaceuticals, processed food, printed materials, and leather goods. Since the restoration of democracy in the late 1970s, the city has continued to expand. Its economy is now among the most dynamic and diverse in the European Union.
As the national capital, Madrid concentrates activities directly connected with power (central and regional government, headquarters of Spanish companies, regional HQ of multinationals, financial institutions) and with knowledge and technological innovation (research centres and universities). It is one of Europe's largest financial centres and the largest in Spain. The city has 17 universities and over 30 research centres. It is the third metropolis in the EU by population, and the fourth by gross internal product. Leading employers include Telefónica, Iberia, Prosegur, BBVA, Urbaser, Dragados, and FCC.
The comunidad de Madrid, containing the city and surrounding areas, had a GDP of €203,626M in 2015, equating to a GDP per capita of €31,812. In 2011 the city itself had a GDP per capita 74% above the national average and 70% above that of the 27 European Union member states, although 11% behind the average of the top 10 cities of the EU. Although housing just over 50% of the region's's population, the city generates 65.9% of its GDP. Following the recession commencing 2007/8, recovery was under way by 2014, with forecast growth rates for the city of 1.4% in 2014, 2.7% in 2015 and 2.8% in 2016.
The economy of Madrid has become based increasingly on the service sector. In 2011 services accounted for 85.9% of value added, while industry contributed 7.9% and construction 6.1%. Nevertheless, Madrid continues to hold the position of Spain's second industrial centre after Barcelona, specialising particularly in high-technology production. Following the recession, services and industry were forecast to return to growth in 2014, and construction in 2015.
Mean household income and spending are 12% above the Spanish average. The proportion classified as "at risk of poverty" in 2010 was 15.6%, up from 13.0% in 2006 but less than the average for Spain of 21.8%. The proportion classified as affluent was 43.3%, much higher than Spain overall (28.6%).
Consumption by Madrid residents has been affected by job losses and by austerity measures, including a rise in sales tax from 8% to 21% in 2012.
Although residential property prices have fallen by 39% since 2007, the average price of dwelling space was €2,375.6 per sq. m. in early 2014, and is shown as second only to London in a list of 22 European cities.
Participation in the labour force was 1,638,200 in 2011, or 79.0%. The employed workforce comprised 49% women in 2011 (Spain, 45%). 41% of economically active people are university graduates, against 24% for Spain as a whole.
In 2011, the unemployment rate was 15.8%, remaining lower than in Spain as a whole. Among those aged 16–24, the unemployment rate was 39.6%. Unemployment reached a peak of 19.1% in 2013, but with the start of an economic recovery in 2014, employment started to increase. Employment continues to shift further towards the service sector, with 86% of all jobs in this sector by 2011, against 74% in all of Spain.
The share of services in the city’s economy is 86%. Services to business, transport & communications, property & financial together account for 52% of total value added. The types of services that are now expanding are mainly those that facilitate movement of capital, information, goods and persons, and "advanced business services" such as research and development (R&D), information technology, and technical accountancy.
Banks based in Madrid carry out 72% of the banking activity in Spain. The Spanish central bank, Bank of Spain, has existed in Madrid since 1782. Stocks & shares, bond markets, insurance, and pension funds are other important forms of financial institution in the city.
Madrid is an important centre for trade fairs, many of them coordinated by IFEMA, the Trade Fair Institution of Madrid. The public sector employs 18.1% of all employees. Madrid attracts about 8M tourists annually from other parts of Spain and from all over the world, exceeding even Barcelona. Spending by tourists in Madrid was estimated (2011) at €9,546.5M, or 7.7% of the city’s GDP.
The construction of transport infrastructure has been vital to maintain the economic position of Madrid. Travel to work and other local journeys use a high-capacity metropolitan road network and a well-used public transport system. In terms of longer-distance transport, Madrid is the central node of the system of autovías and of the high-speed rail network (AVE), which has brought major cities such as Seville and Barcelona within 2.5 hours travel time. Also important to the city's economy is Madrid-Barajas Airport, the fourth largest airport in Europe. Madrid’s central location makes it a major logistical base.
As an industrial centre Madrid retains its advantages in infrastructure, as a transport hub, and as the location of headquarters of many companies. Industries based on advanced technology are acquiring much more importance here than in the rest of Spain. Industry contributed 7.5% to Madrid's value-added in 2010. However, industry has slowly declined within the city boundaries as more industry has moved outward to the periphery. Industrial Gross Value Added grew by 4.3% in the period 2003–2005, but decreased by 10% during 2008–2010. The leading industries were: paper, printing & publishing, 28.8%; energy & mining, 19.7%; vehicles & transport equipment, 12.9%; electrical and electronic, 10.3%; foodstuffs, 9.6%; clothing, footwear & textiles, 8.3%; chemical, 7.9%; industrial machinery, 7.3%.
The construction sector, contributing 6.5% to the city’s economy in 2010, was a growing sector before the recession, aided by a large transport and infrastructure program. More recently the construction sector has fallen away and earned 8% less in 2009 than it had been in 2000. The decrease was particularly marked in the residential sector, where prices dropped by 25%–27% from 2007 to 2012/13 and the number of sales fell by 57%.
A recent study placed Madrid 7th among 36 cities as an attractive base for business. It was placed third in terms of availability of office space, and fifth for easy of access to markets, availability of qualified staff, mobility within the city, and quality of life. Its less favourable characteristics were seen as pollution, languages spoken, and political environment. Another ranking of European cities placed Madrid 5th among 25 cities (behind Berlin, London, Paris and Frankfurt), being rated favourably on economic factors and the labour market, and on transport and communication.
Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning art museums. Best known is the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three museums. The most famous one is the Prado Museum, known for such highlights as Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya's La maja vestida and La maja desnuda. The other two museums are the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, established from a mixed private collection, and the Reina Sofía Museum, where Pablo Picasso's Guernica hangs, returned to Spain from New York after more than two decades.
The Prado Museum (Museo del Prado) is a museum and art gallery that features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection. The collection currently comprises around 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints and 8,200 drawings, in addition to a large number of works of art and historic documents. El Prado is one of the most visited museums in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art. It has the best collection of artworks by Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, Rubens, Titian, Hieronymus Bosch, José de Ribera, and Patinir as well as works by Rogier van der Weyden, Raphael Sanzio, Tintoretto, Veronese, Caravaggio, Van Dyck, Albrecht Dürer, Claude Lorrain, Murillo, and Zurbarán, among others. Among the most famous paintings in this museum are Las Meninas',' The Immaculate Conception, and The Judgement of Paris.
The Reina Sofía National Art Museum (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, abbreviated as MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum is mainly dedicated to Spanish art. Highlights of the museum include excellent collections of Spain's greatest 20th-century masters, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Juan Gris, and Julio González. Certainly the most famous masterpiece in the museum is Picasso's painting Guernica. The Reina Sofía also hosts a free-access library specialising in art, with a collection of over 100,000 books, over 3,500 sound recordings, and almost 1,000 videos.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza) is an art museum that fills the historical gaps in its counterparts' collections: in the Prado's case, this includes Italian primitives and works from the English, Dutch, and German schools, while in the case of the Reina Sofía, the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, once the second largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection, includes Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the second half of the 20th century, with over 1,600 paintings.
The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando) currently functions as a museum and gallery that houses a fine art collection of paintings from the 15th to 20th centuries, including works by Giovanni Bellini, Correggio, Rubens, Zurbarán, Murillo, Goya, Juan Gris, and Pablo Serrano. The academy is also the headquarters of the Madrid Academy of Art. Francisco Goya was once one of the academy's directors, and its alumni include Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Antonio López García, Juan Luna, and Fernando Botero.
The Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of Felipe VI of Spain, but he uses it only for official acts. It is a baroque palace full of artworks and is one of the largest European royal palaces, characterised by its luxurious rooms and its rich collections of armours and weapons, pharmaceuticals, silverware, watches, paintings, tapestries, and the most comprehensive collection of Stradivarius in the world
The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional) collection includes, among others, Pre-historic, Celtic, Iberian, Greek and Roman antiquities, and medieval (Visigothic, Muslim and Christian) objects. Highlights include a replica of the Altamira cave (the first cave in which prehistoric cave paintings were discovered), Lady of Elx (an enigmatic polychrome stone bust), Lady of Baza (a famous example of Iberian sculpture), Biche of Balazote (an Iberian sculpture), and Treasure of Guarrazar (a treasure that represents the best surviving group of early medieval Christian votive offerings and the high point of Visigothic goldsmith's work).
The Museum of the Americas (Museo de América) is a national museum that holds artistic, archaeological, and ethnographic collections from the American continent, ranging from the Paleolithic period to the present day. The permanent exhibit is divided into five major themed areas: an awareness of America, the reality of America, society, religion, and communication.
The National Museum of Natural Sciences (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales) is Spain's national museum of natural history. The research departments of the museum are biodiversity and evolutionary biology, evolutionary ecology, paleobiology, vulcanology, and geology.
The Naval Museum (Museo Naval) is managed by the Ministry of Defense. The museum's mission is to acquire, preserve, investigate, report, and display for study, education, and contemplation parts, sets, and collections of historical, artistic, scientific, and technical works related to naval activity in order to disseminate Spanish maritime history; to help illustrate, highlight, and preserve their traditions; and promote national maritime awareness.
The Convent of Las Descalzas Reales (Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales) resides in the former palace of King Charles I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. Their daughter, Joan of Austria, founded this convent of nuns of the Poor Clare order in 1559. Throughout the remainder of the 16th century and into the 17th century, the convent attracted young widowed or spinster noblewomen. Each woman brought with her a dowry. The riches quickly piled up, and the convent became one of the richest convents in all of Europe. It has many works of Renaissance and Baroque art, including a recumbent Christ by Gaspar Becerra, a staircase whose paintings were painted by an unknown artist (perhaps Velázquez) and that are considered masterpieces of Spanish Illusionistic painting, and Brussels tapestries inspired by paintings of Rubens.
The Museum of Lázaro Galdiano (Museo de Lázaro Galdiano) houses an encyclopaedic collection specialising in decorative arts. Apart from paintings and sculptures, it displays 10th-century Byzantine enamel; Arab and Byzantine ivory chests; Hellenistic, Roman, medieval, renaissance, baroque, and romantic jewellery; Pisanello and Pompeo Leoni medals; Spanish and Italian ceramics; Italian and Arab clothes; and a collection of weapons; including the sword of Pope Innocent VIII.
The National Museum of Decorative Arts (Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas) is one of the oldest museums in the city and illustrates the evolution of the so-called "minor arts" (furniture, ceramics and glass, textile, etc.). Its 60 rooms display 15,000 of the institute's approximately 40,000 total.
The National Museum of Romanticism (Museo Nacional de Romanticismo) contains a large collection of artefacts and art, focusing on daily life and customs of the 19th century, with special attention to the aesthetics of Romanticism.
The Museum Cerralbo (Museo Cerralbo) houses a private collection of ancient works of art, artefact,s and other antiquities collected by Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa, 17th Marquis of Cerralbo.
The National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropología) provides an overview of different cultures, with objects and human remains from around the world, highlighting a Guanche mummy from Tenerife.
The Sorolla Museum (Museo Sorolla) is located in the building in which the Valencian Impressionist painter had his home and workshop. The collection includes, in addition to numerous works by Joaquín Sorolla, a large number of objects that the artist possessed, including sculptures by Auguste Rodin.
CaixaForum Madrid is a post-modern art gallery in the centre of Madrid. It is sponsored by the Catalan-Balearic bank La Caixa and located next to the Salón del Prado. Although the CaixaForum is a modern building, it also exhibits retrospectives of artists from earlier time periods and has evolved into one of the most-visited museums in Madrid. It was constructed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron from 2001 to 2007, who took an unused industrial building and hollowed it out at the base and inside and then added additional floors encased with rusted steel. Next to the gallery is an art installation by French botanist Patrick Blanc of green plants growing on the wall of the neighbouring house. The red of the top floors with the green of the wall next to it form a contrast. The green is in reflection of the neighbouring Royal Botanical Garden.
Major cultural centres organise parallel cultural events housed in unique buildings:
Centrocentro is an exhibition space in Cibeles Palace, formerly the Palace of Communications and now the City Hall. Two social areas have been set up and offer catalogues and publications about current exhibitions and cultural events along the Art Walk. Near these social areas are two large street maps showing the 59 institutions, monuments and buildings of special interest that make the Art Walk such a diverse experience.
The Fine Arts Circle (Círculo de Bellas Artes), built by Antonio Palacios, is one of Madrid's oldest arts centres and one of the most important private cultural centres in Europe. It is a multidisciplinary centre with activities ranging from visual art to literature, science to philosophy, film and to the performing arts. Nowadays it hosts exhibitions, shows, film screenings, conferences and workshops; its radio programming and magazine Minerva play an important part in the country's cultural life.
Matadero Madrid, literally "Madrid Abattoir", is a complex situated by the river Manzanares whose buildings are an architectural ensemble devoted to performance arts, managed and programmed by the Teatro Español (Madrid). Matadero is a flexible area that allows the autonomous operation of three interconnected spaces: a theatre café, which accommodates small-scale shows; a large stage, for all sorts of genres and more experimental options; and a third building for dressing rooms and areas for training, debate, analysis and rehearsing new productions.
Conde Duque cultural centre has expanded the amount of space dedicated to culture and art. The new installations now accommodate a theatre, an exhibition hall and an auditorium with a year-round program.
Other art galleries and museums in Madrid include:
In the year 2006, Madrid was the fourth most-visited city in Europe and the first in Spain, with almost seven million tourists. It is also the seat of the World Tourism Organization and the International Tourism Fair – FITUR.
Most of the tourist attractions of Madrid are in the old town and the Ensanche, corresponding with the districts of Centro, Salamanca, Chamberí, Retiro, and Arganzuela. The nerve centre of the city is the Puerta del Sol, the starting point for the numbering of all city streets and all the country's highways.
The Calle de Alcalá or Alcalá Street leads from the Puerta del Sol from the NE of the city. From the street you get from Plaza de Cibeles. Subsequently, the street reaches the "Plaza de la Independencia", which includes the Puerta de Alcalá and an entrance to the Buen Retiro Park.
The Calle Mayor leads to Plaza Mayor continuing for the so-called Madrid de los Austrias, in reference to the Dynasty of Habsburg – finally reaching Calle de Bailén, near the Cathedral of the Almudena and the church of San Francisco el Grande.
The Calle del Arenal comes to Royal Theatre in Plaza de la Ópera, continuing through Plaza de Oriente, where the Royal Palace is. From there, the Calle Bailen leads to the Plaza de España and the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian temple moved stone by stone to Spain in gratitude for their help in the construction of the Aswan Dam. Also in this square is the start of the Gran Vía street.
Madrid has a considerable number of Catholic churches, some of which are among the most important Spanish religious artworks.
The oldest church that survives today is San Nicolás de los Servitas, whose oldest item is the bell tower (12th century), in Mudéjar style. The next oldest temple is San Pedro el Real, with its high brick tower.
St. Jerome Church is a gothic church next to El Prado Museum. The Catholic Monarchs ordered its construction in the 15th century, as part of a vanished monastery. The monastery's cloister is preserved. It has recently been renovated by Rafael Moneo, with the goal to house the neoclassical collection of El Prado Museum, and also sculptures by Leone Leoni and Pompeo Leoni.
The Bishop Chapel is a gothic chapel built in the 16th century by order of the Bishop of Plasencia, Gutierre de Vargas. It was originally built to house the remains of Saint Isidore Laborer (Madrid's patron saint), but it was used as the Vargas family mausoleum. Inside are the altarpiece and the tombs of the Vargas family, which were the work of Francisco Giralte, a disciple of Alonso Berruguete. They are considered masterpieces of Spanish Renaissance sculpture.
St. Isidore Church was built between 1620 and 1664 by order of Empress Maria of Austria, daughter of Charles V of Germany and I of Spain, to become part of a school run by the Jesuits, which still exists today. Its dome is the first example of a dome drawing on a wooden frame covered with plaster, which, given its lightness, makes it easy to support the walls. It was the cathedral of Madrid between 1885 and 1993, which is the time it took to build the Almudena. The artworks inside were mostly burned during the Spanish Civil War, but it retained the tomb that holds the incorrupt body of Saint Isidore Laborer and the urn containing the ashes of his wife, Maria Torribia.
The Royal Convent of La Encarnación is an Augustinian Recollect convent. The institution, which belonged to ladies of the nobility, was founded by Queen Margaret of Austria, wife of Philip III of Spain, in the early 17th century. Due to the frescoes and sculptures it houses, it is one of the most prominent temples in the city. The building's architect was Fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios, who built it between 1611 and 1616. The façade responds to an inspiring Herrerian style, with great austerity, and it was imitated by other Spanish churches. The church's interior is a sumptuous work by the great Baroque architect Ventura Rodriguez.
In the church are preserved shrines containing the blood of St. Januarius and St. Pantaleon, the second (according to tradition) liquefies every year on the saint's day on 27 July.
San Antonio de los Alemanes (St. Anthony Church) is a pretty 17th-century church that was originally part of a Portuguese hospital. Subsequently, it was donated to the Germans living in the city.
The interior of the church has been recently restored. It has some beautiful frescoes painted by Luca Giordano, Francisco Carreño, and Francisco Rizi. The frescoes represent some kings of Spain, Hungary, France, Germany, and Bohemia. They all sit looking at the paintings in the vault, which represent the life of Saint Anthony of Padua.
The Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida is sometimes named the "Goya's Sistine Chapel". The chapel was built on orders of King Charles IV of Spain, who also commissioned the frescoes by Goya. These were completed over a six-month period in 1798. The frescoes portray miracles by Saint Anthony of Padua, including one that occurred in Lisbon but that the painter has relocated to Madrid. Every year on 13 June, the chapel becomes the site of a lively pilgrimage in which young unwed women come to pray to St. Anthony and ask for a partner.
San Francisco el Grande Basilica was built in neoclassical style in the second half of the 18th century by Francesco Sabatini. It has the fifth largest diameter dome to Christianity. (33 metres (108 feet) in diameter: it's smaller than the dome of Rome's Pantheon (43.4 metres or 142.4 feet), St. Peter's Basilica (42.4 metres or 139.1 feet), the Florence Cathedral (42 metres or 138 feet), and the Rotunda of Mosta (37.2 metres or 122.0 feet) in Malta, but it's larger than St. Paul's Cathedral (30.8 metres or 101 feet) in London and Hagia Sophia (31.8 metres or 104 feet) in Istanbul).
The church is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, who according to legend was established in Madrid during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Its sumptuous interior features many artworks, including paintings by Goya and Zurbarán.
The Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena is the episcopal seat of the Archdiocese of Madrid. It is a temple 102 metres (335 feet) long and 73 metres (240 feet) high, built during the 19th and 20th centuries in a mixture of different styles: neoclassical exterior, neo-Gothic interior, neo-Romanesque crypt, and neo-Byzantine apse's paints. The cathedral was built in the same place as the Moorish citadel (Al-Mudayna). It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II on his fourth trip to Spain on 15 June 1993, thus becoming the only Spanish cathedral dedicated by a pope.
The Church of La Concepción is a neogothic catholic church, opened in 1914.
Madrid has been one of the great centres of Spanish literature. Some of the best writers of the Spanish Golden Century were born in Madrid, including: Lope de Vega (Fuenteovejuna, The Dog in the Manger, The Knight of Olmedo), who reformed the Spanish theatre, a work continued by Calderon de la Barca (Life is a Dream), Francisco de Quevedo, Spanish nobleman and writer famous for his satires, which criticised the Spanish society of his time, and author of El Buscón. And finally, Tirso de Molina, who created the famous character Don Juan. Cervantes and Góngora also lived in the city, although they were not born there. The homes of Lope de Vega, Quevedo, Gongora and Cervantes are still preserved, and they are all in the Barrio de las Letras (District of Letters).
Other writers born in Madrid in later centuries have been Leandro Fernandez de Moratín, Mariano José de Larra, Jose de Echegaray (Nobel Prize in Literature), Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Dámaso Alonso, Enrique Jardiel Poncela and Pedro Salinas.
The "Barrio de las Letras" (District of Letters) owes its name to the intense literary activity developed over the 16th and 17th centuries. Some of the most prominent writers of the Spanish Golden Age settled here, as Lope de Vega, Quevedo or Góngora, and the theatres of Cruz and Príncipe, two of the major comedy theatres of that time. At 87 Calle de Atocha, one of the roads that limit the neighbourhood, was the printing house of Juan Cuesta, where the first edition of the first part of Don Quixote (1604) was published, one of the greatest works of Spanish literature. Most of the literary routes are articulated along the Barrio de las Letras, where you can find scenes from novels of the Siglo de Oro and more recent works like "Bohemian Lights".
Madrid is home to the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, an internationally important cultural institution dedicated to language planning by enacting legislation aimed at promoting linguistic unity within the Hispanic states; this ensures a common linguistic standard, in accordance with its founding statutes "to ensure that the changes undergone [by the language] [...] not break the essential unity that keeps all the Hispanic".
Madrid is also home to another international cultural institution, the Instituto Cervantes, whose task is the promotion and teaching of the Spanish language as well as the dissemination of the culture of Spain and Hispanic America.
The National Library of Spain is the largest major public library in Spain. The library's collection consists of more than 26,000,000 items, including 15,000,000 books and other printed materials, 30,000 manuscripts, 143,000 newspapers and serials, 4,500,000 graphic materials, 510,000 music scores, 500,000 maps, 600,000 sound recording, 90,000 audiovisuals, 90,000 electronic documents, more than 500,000 microforms, etc.
The nightlife in Madrid is one of the city's main attractions. Tapas bars, cocktail bars, clubs, jazz lounges, live music venues, flamenco theatres, and establishments of all kinds cater to all. Every night, venues pertaining to the Live Music Venues Association La Noche en Vivo host a wide range of live music shows. Everything from acclaimed to up-and-coming artists, singer-songwriters to rock bands, jazz concerts or electronic music sessions to showcase music at its best.
Nightlife and young cultural awakening flourished after the death of Franco, especially during the 80s while Madrid's mayor Enrique Tierno Galván (PSOE) was in office. At this time, the cultural movement called La Movida flourished, and it initially gathered around Plaza del Dos de Mayo. Nowadays, the Malasaña area is known for its alternative scene.
Some of the most popular night destinations include the neighbourhoods of Bilbao, Tribunal, Atocha, Alonso Martínez or Moncloa, together with the Puerta del Sol area (including Ópera and Gran Vía, both adjacent to the popular square) and Huertas (Barrio de las Letras), destinations which are also filled with tourists day and night. The district of Chueca has also become a hot spot in the Madrilenian nightlife, especially for the gay population. Chueca is popularly known as the gay quarter, comparable to The Castro district in San Francisco.
What is also popular is the practice of meeting in parks or streets with friends and drinking alcohol together (this is called botellón, from botella, 'bottle'), but in recent years, drinking in the street is punished with a fine of €600.
Usually in Madrid people do not go out until later in the evening and do not return home until early in the morning. A typical evening out could start after 12:00 AM and end at 6:30 AM.
The city has venues for performing alternative art and expressive art. They are mostly located in the centre of the city, including in Ópera, Antón Martín, Chueca and Malasaña. There are also several festivals in Madrid, including the Festival of Alternative Art, the Festival of the Alternative Scene.
The neighbourhood of Malasaña, as well as Antón Martín and Lavapiés, hosts several bohemian cafés/galleries. These cafés are typified with period or retro furniture or furniture found on the street, a colourful, nontraditional atmosphere inside, and usually art displayed each month by a new artist, often for sale. Cafés include the retro café Lolina and bohemian cafés La Ida, La Paca and Café de la Luz in Malasaña, La Piola in Huertas and Café Olmo and Aguardiente in Lavapiés.
In the neighbourhood of Lavapiés, there are also "hidden houses", which are illegal bars or abandoned spaces where concerts, poetry readings and the famous Spanish botellón (a street party or gathering that is now illegal but rarely stopped).
The Auditorio Nacional de Música is the main venue for classical music concerts in Madrid. It is home to the Spanish National Orchestra, the Chamartín Symphony Orchestra and the venue for the symphonic concerts of the Community of Madrid Orchestra and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. It is also the principal venue for orchestras on tour playing in Madrid.
The Teatro Real is the main opera house in Madrid, located just in front of the Royal Palace, and its resident orchestra is the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. The theatre stages around seventeen opera titles (both own productions and co-productions with other major European opera houses) per year, as well as two or three major ballets and several recitals.
The Teatro de la Zarzuela is mainly devoted to Zarzuela (the Spanish traditional musical theatre genre), as well as operetta and recitals. The resident orchestra of the theatre is the Community of Madrid Orchestra.
The Teatro Monumental is the concert venue of the RTVE Symphony Orchestra.
Other concert venues for classical music are the Fundación Joan March and the Auditorio 400, devoted to contemporary music.
Madrid hosts the largest plaza de toros (bullring) in Spain, Las Ventas, established in 1929. Las Ventas is considered by many to be the world centre of bullfighting and has a seating capacity of almost 25,000. Madrid's bullfighting season begins in March and ends in October. Bullfights are held every day during the festivities of San Isidro (Madrid's patron saint) from mid May to early June, and every Sunday, and public holiday, the rest of the season. The style of the plaza is Neo-Mudéjar. Las Ventas also hosts music concerts and other events outside of the bullfighting season.
Since Spain legalised same-sex marriage in July 2005, Madrid has become one of the largest hot spots for LGBT culture. With about 500 businesses aimed toward the LGBT community, Madrid has become a “Gateway of Diversity”.
Madrid’s Pride Parade began in 1977, in the Chueca neighbourhood, which also marked the beginning of the gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual rights movement after being repressed for forty years in a dictatorship. This claiming of LGBT rights has allowed the Pride Parade in Madrid to grow year after year, becoming one of the best in the world. In 2007, this was recognised by the European Pride Owners Association (EPOA) when Madrid hosted Europride, the Official European Pride Parade. It was hailed by the President of the EPOA as “the best Europride in history”. In 2017, Madrid plans on celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first Pride Parade with WorldPride Madrid 2017. This festival will be the host of many conferences, seminars, workshops, cultural and sports activities, and a “kids and family pride” that will be a source of education. The hope for this event is that its legacy will show the world a multicultural, diverse, and tolerant society.
Madrid is home to La Liga football club giant Real Madrid, who play their home games at the Santiago Bernabéu. Their supporters are referred to as Madridistas or Merengues (Meringues). Real Madrid was selected as the best club of the 20th century (FIFA Club of the Century), being the current leader of the European teams ranking and the most valuable sports team in the world. Real are the current holders of the European Cup having won the competition a record 12 times. They are also the current holders of La Liga with their 2017 title being their 33rd.
Their successful hometown rivals, Atlético Madrid, are also well-supported in the city and play their home games at the Wanda Metropolitano. Their supporters are referred to as Atléticos or Colchoneros (The Mattressers), in reference to the team's red and white jersey colours. Atlético is considered a European elite team, having reached in the last five seasons, two UEFA Champions League finals. Historically, Atletico has won 10 national league titles and 10 national cup titles.
The final matches for the UEFA Euro 1964 and the 1982 FIFA World Cup, were held at Bernabéu, thus making Madrid the first city in Europe to host both a UEFA European Championship and a FIFA World Cup final. Some of Spain's top footballers are Madrilenians (born in Madrid), including Real Madrid former captains Emilio Butragueño (and co-teammate of La Quinta del Buitre, "The Vulture's Cohort"), Raúl or Iker Casillas and Atlético Madrid player Fernando Torres.
Madrid boasts a prominent place in Spanish basketball, with two clubs in the country's top-level Liga ACB. Real Madrid's basketball section has won a record 9 Euroleague Championships, 33 Spanish Leagues and 27 Spanish Cups, having achieved 3 Triple Crowns. Madrid's other professional basketball club is Estudiantes that have won 3 Spanish Cup championships. Both teams play their home games at the Palacio de Deportes.
State Education in Spain is free, and compulsory from 6 to 16 years. The current education system is called LOE (Ley Orgánica de Educación).
Madrid is home to a large number of public and private universities. Some of them are among the oldest in the world, and many of them are the most prestigious universities in Spain.
The "National Distance Education University", in Spanish Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) has as its mission the public service of higher education through the modality of distance education. Facts and data about UNED: At more than 205,000 students (2015), UNED has the largest student population in Spain and is one of the largest universities in Europe. Since 1972, UNED has sought to translate into action the principle of equal opportunity in access to higher education through a methodology based on the principles of distance learning and focused on the needs of the student. UNED is the leader in the implementation of cutting edge technologies applied to learning, with the largest offer of virtual courses in Spain.
The Complutense University of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) is the second largest university in Spain after UNED Spanish open University and one of the oldest universities in the world. It has 10,000 staff members and a student population of 117,000. Nearly all academic staff are Spanish. It is located on two campuses, in the university quarter Ciudad Universitaria at Moncloa in Madrid, and in Somosaguas. The Complutense University of Madrid was founded in Alcalá de Henares, old Complutum, by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499. Nevertherless, its real origin dates back to 1293, when King Sancho IV of Castile built the General Schools of Alcalá, which would give rise to Cisnero's Complutense University. During the course of 1509–1510 five schools were already operative: Artes y Filosofía (Arts and Philosophy), Teología (Theology), Derecho Canónico (Canonical Laws), Letras (Liberal Arts) and Medicina (Medicine). In 1836, during the reign of Isabel II, the University was moved to Madrid, where it took the name of Central University and was located at San Bernardo Street. Subsequently, in 1927, a new University City (Ciudad Universitaria) was planned to be built in the district of Moncloa-Aravaca, in lands handed over by the King Alfonso XIII to this purpose. The Spanish Civil War turned the University City into a war zone, causing the destruction of several schools in the area, as well as the loss of part of its rich scientific, artistic and bibliographic heritage. In 1970 the Government reformed the High Education, and the Central University became the Complutense University of Madrid. It was then when the new campus at Somosaguas was created to house the new School of Social Sciences. The old Alcalá campus was reopened as the independent UAH, University of Alcalá, in 1977. Complutense also serves to the population of students who select Madrid as their residency during their study abroad period. Students from the United States for example, might go to Madrid on a program like API (Academic Programs International) and study at Complutense for an intense immersion into the Spanish Language. The beautiful setting of the campus allows students living temporarily in Madrid to have access to all of the city's public features including Retiro Park, El Prado Museum, and much more. After studying at the University, students return home with a fluent sense of Spanish as well as culture and diversity.
The Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), is the top technical university in Spain. It is the result of the merge of different Technical Schools of Engineering.
The Autonomous University of Madrid (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) was instituted under the leadership of the famous physicist, Nicolás Cabrera. The Autonomous University is widely recognised for its research strengths in theoretical physics. Known simply as La Autónoma in Madrid, its main site is the Cantoblanco Campus, situated 10 miles (16 km) to the northeast 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. Located on the main site are the Rectorate building and the Faculties of Science, Philosophy and Fine Arts, Law, Economic Science and Business Studies, Psychology, Higher School of Computing Science and Engineering, and the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education. La Autónoma is considered the institution to study Law in Spain, even is ranked in first place over private and public universities such as Comillas Pontifical University or Charles III University. The Medical School is sited outside the main site and beside the Hospital Universitario La Paz.
The Charles III University of Madrid (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), whose philosophy is to create responsible free-thinking people with a sensitivity to social problems and an involvement in the concept of progress based on freedom, justice and tolerance. The undergraduate degrees in Business Administration, Economics is ranked first among those offered by public and private universities in Spain, and its Master and PhD programs also rank top in the country. The Department of Economics is among the 50 best worldwide, and in the top 10 in Econometrics.
Some other prestigious universities include University of Alcalá (Universidad de Alcalá) (public), rebuilt at Alcalá de Henares in 1975; King Juan Carlos University (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos) (public), which is the second largest university in Madrid (by enrolment); and the Comillas Pontifical University (Universidad Pontificia Comillas) (private), involved in a number of academic exchange programmes, work practice schemes and international projects with over 200 Higher Education Institutions in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia.
Other universities in Madrid are: Alfonso X University, Antonio de Nebrija University, Camilo José Cela University, Francisco de Vitoria University, European University of Madrid, Pontifical University of Salamanca–Madrid Campus, Saint Louis University Madrid Campus and San Pablo CEU University (all of them private).
Madrid is also home to the Queen Sofía College of Music (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía), the Madrid Royal Conservatory (Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid)
IE Business School (formerly Instituto de Empresa) has its main campus on the border of the Chamartín and Salamanca districts of Madrid. IE Business School recently ranked #1 in WSJ's 2009 rankings for Best MBA Programs under 2 years. It scored ahead of usual stalwarts, INSEAD and IMD, giving it top billing among International MBA programs. Although based in Barcelona, both IESE Business School and ESADE Business School also have Madrid campuses. These three schools are the top-ranked business schools in Spain, consistently rank among the top 20 business schools globally, and offer MBA programs (in English or Spanish) as well as other business degrees. Other Madrid business schools and universities that have MBA programs include:
Madrid is served by several roads and three modes of public surface transport, and two airports, one of them being almost two different airports. A great many important road, rail and air links converge on the capital, providing effective connections with other parts of the metropolitan region and with the rest of Spain and other parts of Europe.
Commuters and other local travellers have available a high-capacity metropolitan road network, Madrid is the centre of the most important roads of Spain. The road network within the Madrid region includes nine radial autovías (fast dualled highways). In 2016 it was announced that Madrid will stop the use of all diesel powered cars and trucks within the next decade.
Also Madrid road network includes four orbital ones at different distances from the centre.
Due to the large amount of traffic, new toll highways were built parallel to the main national freeways (A1...A6). Their names are R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 and provide a paid alternative to the often overcrowded free radials.
There are four major components of public transport, with many intermodal interchanges.
One is the Metro, the second longest metro system in Europe at 294 kilometres (183 miles).
Another is the Cercanías local railways, used for long distances inside Madrid, is faster than the Metro and has less stops inside the centre of the city, this system has several connections with Metro and Light Metro, consisting of nine lines totalling 382 kilometres (237 miles) and 98 stations.
Madrid has four lines of Light Metro with several connection with Metro and also with Cercanias.
Finally there is a dense network of bus routes, run by the municipal body Empresa Municipal de Transportes, or EMT, which operate 24 hours a day, in the night are special lines called "N lines". There are two types, the red and blue buses inside the city (with more than 200 bus lines), the green buses which has route with the neighbourhoods outside the centre of the city (with 459 suburban bus lines), and the (yellow) Airport Express bus. Also several neighbourhoods has its own bus lines for the mobility inside them
Almost half of all journeys in the metropolitan area are made on public transport, a very high proportion compared with most European cities.
Madrid has 15723 taxis around all the city.
In terms of longer-distance transport, Madrid is the central node of the system of autovías, giving the city direct fast road links with most parts of Spain and with France and Portugal. It is also the focal point of one of the world's three largest high-speed rail systems, Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), which has brought major cities such as Seville and Barcelona within 2.5 hours travel time. There are now 2,900 kilometres (1,800 miles) of AVE track, connecting Madrid with 17 provincial capitals, and further lines are under construction.
Also Spain business are designing new high speed trains which will be the new generation AVE 104 like Talgo AVRIL.
Madrid is also home to Madrid-Barajas Airport, the sixth-largest airport in Europe, handling over 40M passengers annually, of whom 70% are international travellers, in addition to the majority of Spain’s air freight movements. Madrid’s location at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula makes it a major logistical base. Madrid-Barajas Airport has 4 Terminals and also the terminal 4S, called Satellite terminal, this terminal is 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the terminal 4 and connected by an Automated People Mover System (AMP) train.
A second commercial airport for Madrid, the Ciudad Real Central Airport is under the process of reopening after years of closure due to financial difficulties of the airport's former parent company.
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