The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen
autonomous communities
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. It is located in the centre of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
, and of the
Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest municipality 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
Castilla–La Mancha
Castilla–La Mancha (, , ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, it was created in 1982. The government headquarters are in Toledo, and ...
and to the north and west by
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
. It was formally created in 1983, based on the limits of the province of Madrid, which was until then conventionally included in the historical region of
New Castile.
The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain with 6,661,949 (2019) inhabitants mostly concentrated in the
metropolitan area of Madrid
The Madrid metropolitan area is a monocentric metropolitan area in the centre of the Iberian peninsula, around the municipality of Madrid, Spain. It is not related to any sort of administrative delimitation, and thus, its limits are ambiguous.
...
. It is also the most densely populated autonomous community. In absolute terms, Madrid's economy has been, since 2018, slightly bigger in size than that of
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
. Madrid has the highest
GDP per capita in the country.
It contains three
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s: the
Monastery and Royal Site of El Escorial, the University and historic centre of
Alcalá de Henares, and the cultural landscape of
Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
. In addition, the is part of the transnational
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe world heritage site.
Geography
![Comunidad de Madrid relieve location map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Comunidad_de_Madrid_relieve_location_map.jpg)
Despite the existence of a large city of 5 million people, the Community of Madrid still retains some remarkably unspoiled and diverse habitats and landscapes. Madrid is home to mountain peaks rising above 2,000 m,
holm oak dehesas and low-lying plains. The slopes of the
Guadarrama mountain range
The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gr ...
are cloaked in dense forests of
Scots pine
''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...
and Pyrenean
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
. The
Lozoya Valley supports a large
black (monk) vulture colony, and one of the last bastions of the
Spanish imperial eagle
The Spanish imperial eagle (''Aquila adalberti''), also known as the Spanish eagle or Adalbert's eagle, is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The binomial commemorates Prince Adalbert of Bavaria. Due to its distinct “epaule ...
in the world is found in the Park Regional del Suroeste in dehesa hills between the Gredos and Guadarrama ranges. The recent possible detection of the existence of
Iberian lynx
The Iberian lynx (''Lynx pardinus'') is a wild cat species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In the 20th century, the Iberian lynx population had declined because of overhun ...
in the area between the
Cofio and
Alberche rivers is testament to the biodiversity of the area. Taking advantage of the orography, there are several reservoirs and local dams, with the
Santillana reservoir
Santillana reservoir, also known as Manzanares el Real reservoir ( es, embalse de Santillana or ''embalse de Manzanares el Real''), is a body of water along the Manzanares river located in the municipalities of Manzanares el Real and Soto del Real ...
being the largest.
![Circo y cima de Peñalara1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Circo_y_cima_de_Pe%C3%B1alara1.JPG)
When looking at a map of the Province of Madrid, it can be seen that it is almost an equilateral triangle, in whose center would be the city. First, by the western side, it borders the "
Sistema Central
The Central System, Spanish and pt, Sistema Central, is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. The 2,592 m high Pico Almanzor is its highest summit.
The Central System is located just north of the 40th parallel a ...
" (the
Guadarrama mountain range
The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gr ...
), the southern border features a protrusion following the
Tagus River
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...
in order to include the royal site of
Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
in the region; the eastern edge of the triangle comes from the rupture of the fluvial river basins. This autonomous community is located in the basin of the Tagus River. The Tagus passes through the southern border of the Autonomy in its path west toward the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, draining the waters of the
Jarama River
Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares River, Manzanares is a tribut ...
(collecting in turn the waters of the
Lozoya, the
Guadalix
The Guadalix is a river of Spain located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, a right-bank tributary of the Jarama.
It springs out of the Sierra de Guadarrama, in the valley flanked by the , el , the Alto de la Genciana and the Cordal de la Va ...
, the
Manzanares, the
Henares
The Henares () is a river in Spain, tributary of the Jarama. It has its source in the Sierra Ministra, in the village of Horna, near Sigüenza, in the province of Guadalajara. Its tributaries are the Torote, the Sorbe, the Cañamares, the S ...
and the
Tajuña
The Tajuña (; from the Latin ''Tagonius'') is a river in central Spain, flowing through the provinces of Guadalajara and Madrid. It is a tributary of the river Jarama which in turn is a tributary of the Tagus. It rises in the Sierra de Solorio, n ...
), the
Alberche and the
Guadarrama
Guadarrama is a town and municipality in the Cuenca del Guadarrama comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain.
Its population is 13,032 (winter, according to a 2006 census); the population swells to approximately 60,000 in summer.
Its name co ...
in the Community.
![Capra pyrenaica, La Pedriza, Madrid, España, 2016 09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Capra_pyrenaica%2C_La_Pedriza%2C_Madrid%2C_Espa%C3%B1a%2C_2016_09.JPG)
This autonomous community also includes the exclave of
Dehesa de la Cepeda (part of the municipality of
Santa María de la Alameda), a mostly open-area geographically located between the provinces of
Ávila
Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila.
It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...
and
Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...
in the autonomous community of
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
.
Province of Madrid occupies a surface area of approximately (1.6% of all Spanish territory). More specifically, the exact position of Madrid is 3° 40´ of longitude west of
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
, England, and 40° 23´ north of the equator.
Most of province lies between 600 and 1,000 m above sea level. However, there the altitude ranges from the 2,428 metres of
Peñalara and the 430 metres of the Alberche river when it leaves
Villa del Prado into the province of Toledo. Other considerable heights, as well as being famous, are the Bola del Mundo ("Ball of the World") in
Navacerrada, at a height of 2,258 m, the
Siete Picos
The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gr ...
("Seven Peaks") in
Cercedilla, at 2,138 m, and the
Peña Cebollera (2,129 m) at the northernmost end of the province, a
tripoint
A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...
between the Madrid region and the provinces of Segovia and Guadalajara.
;Fauna
Among the protected species of birds nesting in the region stand out the
Spanish imperial eagle
The Spanish imperial eagle (''Aquila adalberti''), also known as the Spanish eagle or Adalbert's eagle, is a species of eagle native to the Iberian Peninsula. The binomial commemorates Prince Adalbert of Bavaria. Due to its distinct “epaule ...
, the
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...
, the
Bonelli's eagle
The Bonelli's eagle (''Aquila fasciata'') is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an ...
, the
cinereous vulture
The cinereous vulture (''Aegypius monachus'') is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of , ...
, the
peregrine falcon and the
black stork
The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...
.
Exotic invasive species of birds and mammals in the region include the
red-eared slider
The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, ...
, the
monk parakeet
The monk parakeet (''Myiopsitta monachus''), also known as the Quaker parrot, is a species of true parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is a small, bright-green parrot with a greyish breast and greenish-yellow abdomen. Its average lifespan is 20 ...
, the
common snapping turtle, the
rose-ringed parakeet
The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...
, the
American mink
The American mink (''Neogale vison'') is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink i ...
and the
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
. Species described as "out of place" and with an increasing population include the
black-headed gull
The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds r ...
, the
lesser black-backed gull
The lesser black-backed gull (''Larus fuscus'') is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It has increased dramatically in North America, most common alo ...
, the
great cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
and
Eurasian collared dove
The Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto'') is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it ha ...
, while the emblematic
iberian ibex
The Iberian ibex (''Capra pyrenaica''), also known as the Spanish ibex, Spanish wild goat, or Iberian wild goat, is a species of ibex endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Four subspecies have been described; two are now extinct. The Portuguese subs ...
is presented as a case of a species "gone out of control" in
La Pedriza
La Pedriza is a geological feature on the southern slopes of the Guadarrama mountain range of great scenic and leisure interest. Access is from Manzanares el Real, a municipality in the northwest of the Community of Madrid (Spain). Geological for ...
following its
re-introduction
Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...
in the region in 1990 after roughly a century disappeared from the Madrilenian mountains.
The mountain amphibians living at a high altitude include the
fire salamander, the
marbled newt
The marbled newt (''Triturus marmoratus'') is a mainly terrestrial newt native to western Europe. They are found in the Iberian Peninsula and France, where they typically inhabit mountainous areas.
Habitat and distribution
The marbled newt is ty ...
, the
alpine newt
The alpine newt (''Ichthyosaura alpestris'') is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and thro ...
, the
iberian frog
The Iberian frog (''Rana iberica''), also known as Iberian stream frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitats are rivers, mountain streams and swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss, intr ...
, the
European tree frog
The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa,Frost, Darrel R. ''Amphibian Species of the World''. Allen Press, Inc., 1985, p. 126. but b ...
or the
common midwife toad
The common midwife toad (''Alytes obstetricans'') is a species of midwife frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). It is found in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United ...
. At a middle elevation in the mountain reaches close to water streams there are species such as the
Bosca's newt
Boscá's newt (''Lissotriton boscai'', formerly ''Triturus boscai'' ), also known as the Iberian newt, is a species of newt in the family Salamandridae. The species is found in Portugal and western Spain.
Etymology
The specific name ''boscai'' ...
, the
southern marbled newt, the
mediterranean tree frog
The Mediterranean tree frog (''Hyla meridionalis''), or stripeless tree frog, is a species of frog found in south-west Europe and north-west Africa. It resembles the European tree frog, but is larger (some females are up to long), has longer h ...
or the
iberian midwife toad. The
common parsley frog and the ''Alytes obstetricans pertinax'' dwell in the limestone lowlands near the Tagus in the south-east of the region. Among the all-around amphibians adaptable to different heights stand out the
natterjack toad
The natterjack toad (''Epidalea calamita'') is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length, and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back and parallel paratoid ...
, the
common toad
The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...
and the
iberian green frog. Other species with a wide distribution range (although in this case restricted by altitude) are the
gallipato, the
iberian spadefoot toad, the
iberian painted frog
The Iberian painted frog (''Discoglossus galganoi'') is a species of frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). It is found in Portugal and Spain, where its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-t ...
, and the
Spanish painted frog.
![Psammodromus algirus 2601](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Psammodromus_algirus_2601.jpg)
Regarding the reptiles, species such as the
Cyren's rock lizard, the
European wall lizard
''Podarcis muralis'' (common wall lizard) is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in tota ...
, the
iberian emerald lizard
The Iberian emerald lizard (''Lacerta schreiberi''), also known commonly as Schreiber's green lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.
Etymology
The specific name, ''schreiberi ...
, the
deaf adder or snakes such as the
smooth snake
The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...
or the ''
Vipera latastei
''Vipera latastei'', known as Lataste's viper, the snub-nosed viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . and the snub-nos ...
'' dwell in the mountain heights. At the lower reaches of the mountains the
European pond turtle
The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Western Palearc ...
and the
Brediaga's skink can be found, while the
western false smooth snake is restricted to areas in the south of the region. Among the species of all-around reptiles, adaptable to different biomes stand out the
Spanish pond turtle
The Iberian pond turtle (''Mauremys leprosa''), also known as the Mediterranean pond turtle or Mediterranean turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa.
Subspec ...
, the
salamanquesa, the
western three-toed skink, the
spiny-footed lizard
''Acanthodactylus erythrurus'', Common name, commonly known as the spiny-footed lizard, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Lacertidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to northwestern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.:fr:Edwin ...
, the
ocellated lizard
The ocellated lizard or jewelled lizard (''Timon lepidus'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae (wall lizards). The species is endemic to southwestern Europe.
Common names
Additional common names for ''T. lepidus'' include eyed liza ...
, the
Algerian sand racer
''Psammodromus algirus'', known Common name, commonly as the Algerian psammodromus, the Algerian sand racer, and the large psammodromus, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Lacertidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to wester ...
,
Spanish psammodromus
''Psammodromus hispanicus'', the Spanish psammodromus, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae.
It is found in France, Portugal, and Spain.
Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, sandy shores, ...
, the ubiquitous
iberian wall lizard, the
iberian worm lizard
The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (''Blanus cinereus'') is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia. The Iberian worm lizard is locally known as ''cobra-ceg ...
, the ''
Coronella girondica
:''Common names:'' southern smooth snake, Riccioli's snake.''
''Coronella girondica'' is a species of harmless snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southern Europe and northern Africa. No subspecies are recognized as being v ...
'', the
Montpellier snake
''Malpolon monspessulanus'', commonly known as the Montpellier snake, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake.
Geographic range
It is very common in Spain, Portugal and Northwest Africa, being also present in the southern Mediterranean ...
;
grass snake
The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.
Subspecies
Many subspecies are recognized ...
and the
viperine snake.
The fish species are affected by the high number of reservoirs in the region. Among the threatened species in the rivers stand out the
European eel, the
iberian barbel
The Iberian barbel (''Luciobarbus comizo'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is here placed in ''Luciobarbus'' following the IUCN, but that genus is very closely related to the other typical barbels and perhaps better c ...
, the ''
Squalius alburnoides
''Squalius alburnoides'' is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitats are rivers and intermittent rivers. It may be threatened by habitat loss.
This species is a highly peculiar fish in r ...
'', the ''
Cobitis calderoni'' and, potentially, the ''
Chondrostoma lemmingii''. Conversely the set of invasive species of fish includes
pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
,
black bullhead catfish,
pumpkinseed
The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...
,
zander
The zander (''Sander lucioperca''), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, ruffes and darters. It is found in freshwater and brackish habitats in western Eurasia. It is a popul ...
,
common bleak and
black-bass.
;Vegetation
![Hayedo de Montejo y su especial Microclima](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Hayedo_de_Montejo_y_su_especial_Microclima.jpg)
In the vicinity of the mountain peaks, oromediterranean vegetation such as ''
Agrostis truncatula'', ', ', ', ', ''
Minuartia recurva'', ''
Pilosella vahlii'', ''
Plantago holosteum'' and the ''
Thymus praecox
''Thymus praecox'' is a species of thyme. A common name is mother of thyme, but "creeping thyme" and "wild thyme" may be used where ''Thymus serpyllum'', which also shares these names, is not found. It is native to central, southern, and western ...
'' is common. Below the summit line, shrubby species such as the and the
common juniper
''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the c ...
as well as the
Scots pine
''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...
take over. There are also masses of
black pine and the
pyrenean oak
''Quercus pyrenaica'', commonly known as Pyrenean oak, is a tree native to southwestern Europe and northwestern North Africa. Despite its common name, it is rarely found in the Pyrenees Mountains and is more abundant in northern Portugal and nort ...
situated above the domain of the holm oak.
![Arganda_del_Rey_(39301482444)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Arganda_del_Rey_%2839301482444%29.jpg)
Eurosiberian flora is not common in the region, and species such as the
moor birch and the
silver birch
''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...
are restricted to very specific humid valley areas with special climate conditions.
The climax vegetation in the ''campiña'' is the
holly oak
''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the '' Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer.
Description
An evergreen ...
. Some of the species that take over when the holly oak forest degrades are the
"sticky shrub", the , the
French lavender, the ''
Thymus mastichina'' and the ''
Thymus zygis''.
The lower reaches of Guadarrama Mountain Range are populated by species such as the ''
Juniperus thurifera
''Juniperus thurifera'' (Spanish juniper) is a species of juniper native to the mountains of the western Mediterranean region, from southern France (including Corsica) across eastern and central Spain to Morocco and locally in northern Algeria. ...
'', the
maritime pine
''Pinus pinaster'', the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the south Atlantic Europe region and parts of the western Mediterranean. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings.
Description
''Pinus pinast ...
, the
Portuguese oak, the
stone pine; only in the somewhat more humid westernmost end of the region, near the , there are forests of
chestnut tree
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
.
54,4% of the surface of the region is soil categorised as forest areas of which the 51.4% (27.7% of the total of the region) it is already covered by forests, so there is room for tree re-population. The first modest efforts towards tree re-population were taken in the Lozoya Valley in the late 19th century intending to achieve a purer water from the river, that provided the capital with water for consumption. However the bulk of the process took place after the Spanish Civil War, with a largely successful repopulation with several species of
conifers.
Climate
The Madrid region features a climate marked by dry summers, while average temperature varies with altitude, marking different climate subtypes. Most of the region (including the capital) has a climate intermediate between a
hot-summer mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Csa'') and a
cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(Köppen ''BSk''), with a dry summer and a moderate to low amount of rain primarily distributed throughout the rest of the year (in the case of the capital, roughly an equinoctial pattern of precipitation maximums), as well as summer temperature averages over 22 °C (with daily maximums consistently surpassing 30 °C in July and August). The areas at a higher altitude close to the
Sierra de Guadarrama
The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de G ...
feature a colder climate, also generally with more precipitation (particularly in the winter), with climate subtypes ranging from the ''Csa'' to the warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: ''Csb'') and the
dry summer continental climate (Köppen: ''Dsb'') on the peaks of the mountain range, with temperature averages below freezing point during January and February in the later case.
History
Prehistory
![Campaniforme Ciempozuelos (M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Campaniforme_Ciempozuelos_%28M.A.N._Inv.32252%29_01.jpg)
The territory of the Community of Madrid has been populated since the
Lower Paleolithic, mainly in the valleys between the rivers of
Manzanares,
Jarama
Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...
, and
Henares
The Henares () is a river in Spain, tributary of the Jarama. It has its source in the Sierra Ministra, in the village of Horna, near Sigüenza, in the province of Guadalajara. Its tributaries are the Torote, the Sorbe, the Cañamares, the S ...
, where several archaeological findings have been made.
Some notable discoveries of the region the bell-shaped vase of Ciempozuelos (between 1970 and 1470 BCE), from the
Bell beaker culture
The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from ar ...
.
Romans and visigoths
![ComplutumEstaciones](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/ComplutumEstaciones.jpg)
During the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, the region was part of the
Citerior Tarraconese province, except for the south-west portion of it, which belonged to
Lusitania. It was crossed by two important Roman roads, the ''via xxiv-xxix'' (joining
Astorga to
laminium and ''via xxv'' (which joined
Emerita Augusta and
Caesaraugusta), and contained some important conurbations. The city of
Complutum (today
Alcalá de Henares) became an important metropolis, whereas
Titulcia
Titulcia is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain.
History
Supposedly of Roman origin, Titulcia is situated on the ancient military road from Emerita Augusta and Cesaraugusta (now Zaragoza). With the arrival of the Arabs, the city w ...
and
Miaccum were important crossroad communities.
During the period of the
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
, the region lost its importance. The population was scattered amongst several small towns. Complutum 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.
Al-Andalus
The centre of the peninsula (the Middle Mark of
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
or ''aṯ-Ṯaḡr al-Awsaṭ'') became a strategic military post in the 11th century. The Muslim rulers created a defensive 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'' (Madrid) was built somewhere between 860 and 880 AD, as a walled precinct where a military and religious community lived, and which constituted the foundation of the city. It soon became the most strategic fortress in defense of the city of Toledo above the fortresses of
Talamanca and Qal'-at'-Abd-Al-Salam (Alcalá de Henares). In 1083 (or 1085)
Alfonso VI
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
took the city of Madrid in the context of his wider campaign to conquer Toledo. Alcalá de Henares fell in 1118 in a new period of Castilian annexation.
Christian repopulation
The recently conquered lands by the Christian kingdoms were desegregated into several constituencies, as a consequence of a long process of repopulation that took place over the course of four centuries. The feudal and ecclesiastical lords came into constant conflict with the different councils that had been granted the authority to repopulate.
In the 13th century, Madrid was the only town of the current-day region that preserved its own juridical personality, at first with the Old ''
Fuero
(), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ; all ...
'' (Charter) and later with the Royal ''Fuero'', granted by
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...
in 1262 and ratified by
Alfonso XI
Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...
in 1339. On the other hand, the town of
Buitrago del Lozoya
Buitrago del Lozoya () is a municipality of the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Sierra Norte. The town is one of the few in the community that have maintained its walls, which are of Moorish orig ...
, Alcalá de Henares and
Talamanca de Jarama
Talamanca de Jarama is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain.
Sights include the Romanesque church of San Juan Bautista, the a 17th-century Carthusian monastery and the ''Ábside de los Milagros'' (also known as ''El Morabito''), wh ...
, which were rapidly repopulated until that century, were under the dominion of the feudal or ecclesiastical lords. Specifically, Alcalá de Henares was under the hands of the
archbishopric of Toledo and remained so until the 19th century.
Around the town of Madrid, an administrative territory was created known as ''Tierra de Madrid'' (Land of Madrid), the origin of the province that included the areas of the current municipalities of San Sebastián de los Reyes, Cobeña, Las Rozas de Madrid, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Torrejón de Velasco, Alcorcón, San Fernando de Henares, and Griñón.
Madrid was in constant strife with the powerful council of
Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...
, whose jurisdiction extended south of the
Guadarrama Mountains
The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gr ...
; they both fought for the control of the Real de Manzanares, a large
comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
(shire) that was finally given to the
House of Mendoza
The Mendoza family was a powerful line of Spanish nobles. Members of the family wielded considerable power, especially from the 14th to the 17th centuries in Castile. The family originated from the village of Mendoza (Basque ''mendi+oza'', 'c ...
.
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, in the 14th century. The
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...
started the construction of the
Royal Palace of Aranjuez
The Royal Palace of Aranjuez ( es, Palacio Real de Aranjuez) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It is located in the town of Aranjuez (Madrid), Spain. Established in the 16th century as a royal hunting lodge, the pal ...
. In the 16th century,
San Lorenzo de El Escorial
San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Moun ...
was built and became another royal site of the province.
Early modern period
![Dibujo madrid 1562](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Dibujo_madrid_1562.JPG)
The town of Madrid, which was one of the eighteen cities with the right to vote in the
Cortes of Castile
The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house).
The Congress of Deputies meets i ...
, was seat of the Courts themselves on several occasions and was the residence of several monarchs, amongst them the emperor
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
who reformed and expanded the ''Alcázar'' or Castle of the city. Alcalá de Henares grew in importance as cultural center since the foundation by the
Cardinal Cisneros
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
of
its university.
In 1561, King
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
made Madrid the capital of the
Hispanic Monarchy. The surrounding territories became economically subordinated to the town itself, even beyond the present day limits of the Community of Madrid. But it was not a unified region as several lords and churches had jurisdiction over their own autonomous territories.
During the 18th century, the fragmented administration of the region was not solved despite several attempts. During the reign of
Philip V Philip V may refer to:
* Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC)
* Philip V of France (1293–1322)
* Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598)
* Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
, the ''intendencia'' was created as a political and administrative division. Nonetheless, the ''intendencia'' of Madrid did not fully solve the problem, and the region was still fragmented into several small dominions even though some processes were centralized. This territorial dispersion had a negative effect on its economic growth; while the town of Madrid received economic resources from the entire country as the capital, the surrounding territories—in hands of noblemen or the clergy—became impoverished.
During the eighteenth century, the town of Madrid was transformed through several grandiose buildings and monuments as well as through the creation of many social, economic, and cultural institutions, some of which are still operating. Madrid grew to a population of 156,672 inhabitants by the end of the eighteenth century.
Province
The current territory of the region was roughly defined with the
1833 reorganization of Spain into provinces promoted by
Javier de Burgos
Francisco Javier de Burgos y del Olmo (22 October 1778—22 January 1848) was a Spanish jurist, politician, journalist, and translator.
Early life and career
Born in Motril, into a noble but poor family, he was destined for a career in th ...
, in which the province of Madrid was classified in the region of
New Castile (lacking the later any sort of administrative institution at the regional level nonetheless). The government institution at the provincial level was the
deputation (''diputación''). In addition to the former body, another provincial political authority was the
civil governor discretionarily designated by the central government. A modest change to the 1833 provincial boundaries that concerned Madrid took place in 1850, when the small municipality of
Valdeavero (19 km
2), until then part of the
province of Guadalajara
Guadalajara () is a province of Spain, belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. As of 2013 it had a population of 257,723 people. The population of the province has grown in the last 10 years. It is located in the centre of ...
, joined the province of Madrid.
![Canal de Isabel II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Canal_de_Isabel_II._Puente-acueducto_de_la_Sima%2C_Charles_Clifford.jpg)
One of the limits so far for the growth of the capital, water supply, experienced a substantial change in 1858 following the arrival to the city of Madrid of water from the
Lozoya River
The Lozoya River () is a river flowing near the centre of Spain. It originates at a high altitude in the Sistema Central and cuts downward through steep rocks to flow into the Jarama River, a major tributary of the Tajo, the longest river on ...
with the inauguration of the bringing of the
Canal de Isabel II Canal de Isabel II (CYII) is the only company that manages the water supplies for Madrid, Spain. It is owned by the Autonomous Community of Madrid
The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communiti ...
.
![Ericsson factory in Getafe, Spain - Manufacturing of telephone lines (1924)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Ericsson_factory_in_Getafe%2C_Spain_-_Manufacturing_of_telephone_lines_%281924%29.jpg)
In decadence since the middle 18th century, the city of
Alcalá de Henares, experienced a relative demographic and economic upturn in the second half of the 19th century, based on its newly acquired condition of military outpost, to which an embrionary industrial nucleus was also added.
During the reign of
Ferdinand VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
the south of the province was made up of small agricultural settlements of limited population. Among them, Getafe stood out in population, and became the seat of a
judicial district
A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction.
By region Europe Austria
In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" (german: Gerichtsbezirk) refers ...
in 1834, with the main economic activity of the former jurisdiction still being non-irrigated agriculture.
Rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
arrived in 1851, with the
Strawberry train, the railway connecting Madrid and
Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
.
![Edificio de la Diputación Provincial de Madrid 1939](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Edificio_de_la_Diputaci%C3%B3n_Provincial_de_Madrid_1939.jpg)
During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
(1936–1939), the territory was divided by the battlefront, with the southwest of the province controlled by the
rebel faction
The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup ...
, and the capital as well as a great part of the rest of the province by the
side loyal to the Republic. The city of Madrid was target of many bombings during the conflict, becoming the first big city in Europe to suffer such systematic and massive air attacks.
Since the 1970s, a process of a population transfer from the capital to the rest of municipalities of the metropolitan area emerged. This process accelerated when the autonomous community was founded, and it took placed along a strong decrease of birth rates.
Autonomous community
The creation of the contemporary Community of Madrid was preceded by an intense political debate. Autonomous communities were to be created by one or more provinces with a distinct regional identity. Since the 1833 provincial organization, Madrid was part of the
historical region
Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soc ...
of
New Castile along with the provinces of Guadalajara, Toledo, Cuenca and Ciudad Real. Thus, it was first planned that the province of Madrid would be part of the future community of Castile–La Mancha (which was roughly similar to New Castile, with the addition of
Albacete
Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.
Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the ...
) but with some special considerations as the home of the national capital.
[Sid, Blanca]
Sinópsis del estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad de Madrid
. Gestión Parlamentaria de la Asamblea de la Comunidad de Madrid. Accessed on: 2008-04-08 The other provinces that were to become part of the autonomous community of
Castile–La Mancha expressed fears of inequality if Madrid were associated with them. These provinces opposed such a special status, and after considering other options for Madrid—like its inclusion in the community of Castile and León or its constitution as an entity similar to a
federal district
A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...
.
[—it was decided that the province of Madrid would become a single-province autonomous community by virtue of Article 144 of the Constitution, which empowers the Cortes to create an autonomous community in the "nation's interest" even if it did not satisfy the requirement of having a distinct historical identity. Thus, in 1983, the Community of Madrid was constituted and a Statute of Autonomy was approved taking over all the competences of the old "''Diputación Provincial''" and the new ones the Statute considered.
]
During the first 25 years of the "autonomic" period, this autonomous community accounted for the biggest economic growth in Spain, becoming a platform for the internationalisation of the Spanish economy
The economy of Spain is a highly developed social market economy. It is the world's sixteenth-largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest in Europe. Spain is a member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as the Organization for Eco ...
, featuring a marked preponderance of the service sector. By the turn of the 21st century, a strong boost to the construction sub-sector also took place. During this period the Community of Madrid stood out due to its role as centre for welcoming immigration, due to its condition as transport node vis-à-vis the Spanish geography, and due to its condition as scientific and cultural centre of the country.
Government and politics
Autonomous institutions of government
Like the rest of autonomous communities, the Community of Madrid is organized politically within a parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
; that is, the head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
—known as the "president"—is dependent on the direct support from the autonomous legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
, whose members elect him by a majority.
The Statute of Autonomy of the Madrid Autonomous Community is the fundamental organic law in conjunction with (and subordinated to) the Spanish constitution
The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was e ...
. The Statute of Autonomy establishes that the powers through which the self-government of the autonomous community is exercised are the following institutions:
* The Assembly of Madrid
The Assembly of Madrid or Madrid Assembly ( es, Asamblea de Madrid) is the unicameral autonomous legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983.
It is elected every four years duri ...
, a directly elected body, represents the people of Madrid and exercises the legislative power
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...
of the community in approving and supervising the budget and in coordinating and controlling the actions of the government. The seat of the Assembly is located in Madrid, in the district of Puente de Vallecas
Puente de Vallecas (''Bridge of Vallecas'') is one of the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, Spain. It forms, with the district of Villa de Vallecas
Villa de Vallecas (''Village of Vallecas'') is one of the 21 districts of the city of Madrid, S ...
. The members of the legislature (currently 132) are elected through proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
with closed-party lists and a 5% electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
in a single region-wide constituency. The last election took place on 26 May 2019.
* The President of the Community of Madrid
The president of the Community of Madrid is the highest-ranking officer of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and the head of the executive branch. The office is currently held by Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the People's Party.
Origins and election ...
is the supreme representative of the autonomous community and the ordinary representation of the State. It presides and heads the activities of the Madrilenian autonomous government, designates and dismisses the vice-presidents and the ministers (''consejeros'') which conform an executive cabinet. The investiture of the regional president, who is nominated as candidate by the Speaker of the Assembly among its members after holding consultations, is voted by a qualified majority of the plenary of the legislature (or, failing to achieve the former, a simple majority of 'yes' votes in a second round voting 48 hours later) and then formally appointed by the King through a Royal Decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
. The seat of the Presidency is the Real Casa de Correos
The Royal House of the Post Office (Spanish: ''Real Casa de Correos'') is an eighteenth century building in Puerta del Sol, Madrid. It was built for the postal service, but currently serves as the office of the President of the Community of Madrid ...
located at the Puerta del Sol
The Puerta del Sol (English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clo ...
at the center of Madrid. Since 2019, the president is Isabel Díaz Ayuso
Isabel Natividad Díaz Ayuso (; born 17 October 1978) is a Spanish politician and journalist serving as the president of the Community of Madrid since 2019. She is the president of the People's Party (Spain), People's Party of Madrid.
A member ...
, of the People's Party (PP).
* The Government of the Community of Madrid
The Government of the Community of Madrid ( Spanish: ''Gobierno de la Comunidad de Madrid'') is the collegiate body charged with the executive and administrative functions of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain. Until the 1998 reform of the ...
is the collegiate body that heads the politics and the executive and administrative powers of the community. The incumbent Council of Government comprises the President, the Vice-President (assuming additional competences) and twelve more ministers.
Delegation of the Central Government
Since the creation of autonomous communities, the Government of Spain
gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua
, image =
, caption = Logo of the Government of Spain
, headerstyle = background-color: #efefef
, label1 = Role
, data1 = Executive power
, label2 = Established
, d ...
appoints a special representative to each region, the Government Delegate, part of the Peripheral State Administration. Unlike other single-province autonomous communities, the Government also appoints the Government Sub-delegate, the successor office to the provincial civil governor. The seats of both the delegation and the subdelegation are located at the in Madrid.
Administrative divisions
The Community of Madrid, following the long-standing form of local government in Spain
Local government in Spain refers to the government and administration of what the Constitution calls "local entities", which are primarily municipalities, but also groups of municipalities including provinces, metropolitan areas, comarcas and manco ...
, is divided administratively into 179 municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
(featuring 801 towns and entities). Its municipalities comprise 2.2% of the Spanish territory (8110). It is ranked 23rd amongst Spanish provinces in number of municipalities, which is slightly above average.
The average is 165 municipalities by province. The ''ayuntamiento
''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain:
* ca, ajuntament ().
* gl, concello ().
* eu, udaletxea (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin Amer ...
'', presided by its ''alcalde'' (Mayor) is the formal institution charged with the government and administration of most municipalities. The municipal councillors forming the deliberative assembly of the ''ayuntamiento'' are directly elected through proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
with closed party lists and a 5% electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
. In turn, the councillors are charged with electing from among themselves (by default candidates are the head of each electoral list) the Mayor presiding over the ''ayuntamiento''.
There are twenty judicial districts
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
(''partidos judiciales''), whose seats correspond to the municipalities of Alcalá de Henares, Alcobendas
Alcobendas () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid.
It forms an urban continuum with the neighbouring municipality of San Sebastián de los Reyes. The affluent residential area of La Moraleja lies within the municipal lim ...
, Alcorcón, Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
, Arganda del Rey
Arganda del Rey () is a municipality and city of Spain located in the Community of Madrid.
Geography
Located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, the city lies at roughly 613 metres above sea level, not far from the junction of the J ...
, Collado Villalba
Collado Villalba () is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, in central Spain. It is located 40.3 kilometres north-west of the city of Madrid, at an altitude of 917 meters above sea level. It has a population of 63,679 (2019), with a popula ...
, Colmenar Viejo
Colmenar Viejo is a town and municipality of about 48,614 inhabitants, located in the Community of Madrid, Spain, 30 kilometers north of Madrid on the M-607 motorway. It belongs to the comarca of Cuenca Alta del Manzanares.
Main sights
In the ...
, Coslada
Coslada () is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain.
The is located in Coslada, which has become a major logistics hub in the country. Due to the area's close proximity to the Madrid–Barajas Airport ...
, Fuenlabrada
Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality.
Placename
The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...
, Getafe
Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality.
Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...
, Leganés
Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popul ...
, Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Majadahonda
Majadahonda () is a municipality in Spain, situated northwest of Madrid, in the Community of Madrid.
It lies alongside the motorway A6 Madrid-A Coruña.
The Puerta de Hierro university (public) hospital was relocated to Majadahonda from the wes ...
, Móstoles
Móstoles () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. With over 200,000 inhabitants, it is the region's second most populated municipality after Madrid. Móstoles was a small town for a long time, but expanded rapidly in the ...
, Navalcarnero
Navalcarnero is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located about from Madrid.
Sights include the church of Inmaculada Concepción.
History
By the end of 1499 the city of Segovia founded the location of Navalcarnero, to put an en ...
, Parla
Parla () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the southern part of the region, approximately 20 km from the capital, Madrid.
History
Origins
Earliest evidence of human occupation includes stone tools m ...
, San Lorenzo de El Escorial
San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Moun ...
, Torrejón de Ardoz
Torrejón de Ardoz () is a municipality of Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid.
The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), an agency of the European Union, is located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is also the location of the headquarters of ...
, Torrelaguna
Torrelaguna () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It covers an area of 43.40 km2. , it has a population of 4,724.
History
Public transport
Torrelaguna has three line buses. They are:
Line 197: Torrelaguna - Madrid (Pl ...
, Valdemoro
Valdemoro is a municipal district, located in the Southern zone of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain. Located 27 kilometers from the capital, Valdemoro is officially part of the comarca of La Sagra, though it is generally also included ...
and Valdaracete (the historical judicial district of San Martín de Valdeiglesias is no longer a judicial district as of 1985). These jurisdictions relate to the judicial administration, with their seat having at least one court of first instance
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...
.
Economy
Madrid is the autonomous community with the highest income per capita
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
in Spain at €35.041 ($42.800) in 2018 - significantly above the national average and ahead of the Basque Country, with €33.223, Navarra
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
, €31,389, and Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, €30.426.[http://www.ine.es/prensa/np901.pdf ] In that year, the GDP growth was 1.0%. Madrid has a GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of €
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
230.8 billion ($281 billion) as of 2018; making it the largest economy of Spain, ahead of Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, where regional GDP amounted to €228.7 billion and the most populated Spanish region, Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
(€160.6 billion).
In 2005, the Community of Madrid was the main receptor of foreign investment in the country, at 34.3% of the total. The community ranks 34th amongst all European regions (evaluated in 2002), and 50th amongst the most competitive cities-regions worldwide, ahead of Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, the other two largest metropolitan areas
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
of Spain. The strengths of the economy of the community are its low unemployment rate, its high investment in research, its high development, and the added-value services therein performed. Its weaknesses include the low penetration of broadband and new technologies of information and an unequal male to female occupation.
The service, construction, and industry sectors are prominent in Madrid's commercial productive structure. According to the ''Directorio Central de Empresas'' (Central Companies Directory of the INE), Madrid's active businesses stand in third place nationally in terms of numbers as at 1 January 2006. The branches of activity with most active businesses are other business activities, retail trade, construction, wholesale trade, hospitality, property activities, land transport, and pipeline transport.
Madrid's levels of industrial activity set it at fourth place in Spain. The following areas predominate in terms of business numbers: publishing and graphic arts, manufacture of metal products (except machinery and equipment), manufacture of furniture and other manufacturing industries, wearing apparel and fur industry, and food product industry. The province also boasts a higher concentration of high and medium technology activities and services than the rest of Spain. This is the case in the following areas: manufacture of office machinery and IT equipment; manufacture of electronic products, manufacture of radio equipment, and devices; manufacture of medical and surgical, precision, optical and timekeeping equipment and instruments; post and telecommunications; IT activities; and research and development.
Regional authorities have put a notable effort in the development of logistics infrastructures in both the region of Madrid and the city proper. These include the Coslada Dry Port, the freight zone of the Madrid-Barajas Airport, Mercamadrid, the logistics centre, the Villaverde's Logistics Centre and the Vicálvaro's Logistics Centre to name a few. Overall, logistics companies has greatly developed along the A-2
A2, A02, A002, A², A.II or A-2 may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* British NVC community A2 (Lemna minor community), a plant community
* A2, the second anal vein in the Comstock-Needham system of insect wing segment naming
Genes and proteins
* ...
highway (Coslada, San Fernando de Henares
San Fernando de Henares is a municipality in Spain, in the province and autonomous community of Madrid. It has an area of 39.9 km² and 41,380 inhabitants. Its agricultural production includes olives, cereals, vegetables, cattle and wool. Its ...
, Torrejón de Ardoz
Torrejón de Ardoz () is a municipality of Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid.
The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), an agency of the European Union, is located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is also the location of the headquarters of ...
) in the eastern part of the region, the so-called "Henares Corridor" to become what has come to be termed as the "golden mile" of logistics and e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managem ...
in Spain.
The unemployment rate stood at 10.0% in 2019 and was lower than the national average.
Demographics
The Community of Madrid is the third most populous region in Spain, after Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
and Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, and the most populous province, with 6,661,949 inhabitants. Population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
is 829.62 hab/km2, much higher than the national average of 93.8 hab/km2. Population density varies with the community itself; the municipality of Madrid has a density of 5,300 hab/km2, whereas the Sierra Norte has a population density of less than 10 hab/km2. The vast majority of the population lives in the capital and its metropolitan area, which is the most populated in Spain.
Madrid also has the greatest population density in Spain. Its inhabitants are mainly concentrated in the capital (which is the Spanish city with the highest resident population) and in a series of municipalities (Móstoles
Móstoles () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. With over 200,000 inhabitants, it is the region's second most populated municipality after Madrid. Móstoles was a small town for a long time, but expanded rapidly in the ...
, Alcalá de Henares, Fuenlabrada
Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality.
Placename
The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...
, Leganés
Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popul ...
, Alcorcón, Getafe
Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality.
Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...
, Torrejón de Ardoz
Torrejón de Ardoz () is a municipality of Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid.
The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), an agency of the European Union, is located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is also the location of the headquarters of ...
, and Alcobendas
Alcobendas () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid.
It forms an urban continuum with the neighbouring municipality of San Sebastián de los Reyes. The affluent residential area of La Moraleja lies within the municipal lim ...
), as opposed to in rural areas with low population density. Its citizens have diverse origins, and Madrid is the province with the highest number of residents born outside its territory and with the largest foreign population (13.32%). It is a focus of attraction for those migrating for reasons of employment. Population growth in Madrid is mainly due to the arrival of foreigners.
For most of its history, the Community of Madrid has been overwhelmingly Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, with minority Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
populations.
The Community of Madrid is the EU-Region with the highest average life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
at birth. The average life expectancy was 82.2 years for males and 87.8 for females in 2016.
;Foreign population
As of 2018, the region had a foreign population of 826,456. The largest groups of foreigners were those of Romanian, Moroccan, Chinese, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Venezuelan and Italian citizenship.
Education
State Education in Spain is free and compulsory from six to sixteen years of age. The current education system is called LOMLOE (Ley Orgánica 3/2020, de 29 de diciembre, por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación).
Levels
*From three to six years - Educación Infantil (Preparatory School)
*From six to twelve years - Educación Primaria (Primary School), years first through sixth
*From twelve to sixteen years - Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (Compulsory Secondary School), years first through fourth
*From sixteen to seventeen years - Bachillerato (Post-Compulsory School), years first and second
Children from three to five years old in Spain have the option of attending the pre-school
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary scho ...
stage, which is non-compulsory and free for all students. It is regarded as an integral part of the education system with infantil classes in almost every primary school. There are some separate Colegios Infantiles or nursery schools.
Spanish students aged six to sixteen undergo primary and secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
education, which are compulsory and free of charge. Successful students are awarded a Secondary Education Certificate, which is necessary for entering further (optional) education as is Bachillerato for their University or Formación Profesional (vocational studies).
Once students have finished their Bachillerato, they can take their University Entrance Exam (Pruebas de Acceso a la Universidad, popularly called ''Selectividad'') which differs greatly from region to region.
The secondary stage of education is normally referred to by its initials, e.g. ESO or Educación Secundaria Obligatoria for secondary education.
EducaMadrid
is the educational platform that offers teachers and students in these and other non-university studies (professional studies, arts, languages, adult education and others) a virtual environment with all the necessary Internet services, in compliance with GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation on data protection and privacy in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of EU privacy law and of human rights law, in parti ...
. It is safe, free, sustainable and based on Open source software
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open ...
.
Universities
Madrid is home to a large number of public and private universities.
The Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loc ...
is one of the most prestigious, and the largest, university in Spain 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
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
in 1499. Nevertherless, its real origin dates back from 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 & 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. The Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
turned the University City into a war zone, with several faculties sustaining severe damage during the conflict. By 1943 the Central University started to be known as the University of Madrid.
In 1970 the University of Madrid was renamed to Complutense University of Madrid. It was then when the new campus at Somosaguas was created in order to house the new School of Social Sciences. The old Alcalá campus was reopened as the independent University of Alcalá
The University of Alcalá ( es, Universidad de Alcalá) is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a ...
in 1977.
Another important university is the Autonoma, perhaps Spain's best university for research along with the Complutense, was instituted under the leadership of the famous physicist, Nicolás Cabrera
Nicolás Cabrera (1913–1989), was a Spanish physicist who did important work on the theories of crystal growth (specifically the Burton–Cabrera–Frank theory) and the oxidisation of metals. He was the son of another famous Spanish physic ...
. The Autonoma 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 15 kilometers to the north of the capital (M-607) and close to the municipal areas of Madrid, namely Alcobendas
Alcobendas () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid.
It forms an urban continuum with the neighbouring municipality of San Sebastián de los Reyes. The affluent residential area of La Moraleja lies within the municipal lim ...
, San Sebastián de los Reyes
San Sebastián de los Reyes (colloquially called "Sanse") is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1492, it is located north of Madrid.
Geography
It forms an urban continuum with the neighboring Alcobendas,
Transpor ...
, Tres Cantos
Tres Cantos is a municipality of Spain located in Community of Madrid.
Originally belonging to Colmenar Viejo, it seceded from the latter municipality in 1991, becoming the youngest municipality in the region. The urbanised area was conceived as ...
and Colmenar Viejo
Colmenar Viejo is a town and municipality of about 48,614 inhabitants, located in the Community of Madrid, Spain, 30 kilometers north of Madrid on the M-607 motorway. It belongs to the comarca of Cuenca Alta del Manzanares.
Main sights
In the ...
.
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. The Medical School is located outside the main site and beside the Hospital Universitario La Paz.
Other local universities, among many others, are the Technical University of Madrid
The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Te ...
, as the result of merging the different Technical Schools of Engineering; the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, founded in 1499; the Carlos III, 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 and the Universidad Pontificia Comillas
Comillas Pontifical University ( es, Universidad Pontificia Comillas) is a private Catholic higher education institution run by the Spanish Province of the Society of Jesus in Madrid Spain.
The university is involved in a number of academic exch ...
, involved in a number of academic exchange programmes, work practice schemes and international projects with over 200 Higher Education Institutions in Europe, South America, North America, and Asia.
Other universities in Madrid: Rey Juan Carlos University (public), Alfonso X El Sabio University, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, Universidad Camilo José Cela
The University Camilo José Cela (UCJC) is a private university established in 2000 and based in Madrid, Spain.
Its main campus, located in Madrid-Villafranca, includes undergraduate studies (bachelor's degrees) in five integrated faculties (Comm ...
, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Francisco de Vitoria University ( es, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria) is a private university located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is a Roman Catholic institution run by the Legion of Christ. It is named after ...
, Universidad Europea de Madrid
European University of Madrid (''Universidad Europea de Madrid'' in Spanish language, UEM) is a private university in Madrid, Spain.
History
Founded in 1995, the school was purchased in 1999 by Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. In 2004, Sylvan L ...
, and Universidad San Pablo
Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to:
Places
* Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico
* Universidad (Madrid)
Football clubs
* Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
...
(all of them private).
Madrid is also home to the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, and many other private educational institutions.
Transportation
Air
Madrid is served by Barajas International Airport
Barajas may refer to:
*Barajas (Madrid), the district of Madrid in which the airport lies
** Barajas (Madrid Metro), station along Line 8 of the Madrid Metro
**Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, principal airport of Madrid, Spain
*Barajas (a ...
. Barajas is the main hub of Iberia Airlines
Iberia (), legally incorporated as ''Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A. Operadora, Sociedad Unipersonal'', is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Founded in 1927 and based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from i ...
and consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe, the Americas, and the rest of the world. Current passenger volumes range upwards of 52 million passengers per year, putting it in the top 10 busiest airports in the world. Given annual increases close to 10%, a new fourth terminal has been constructed. It has significantly reduced delays and doubled the capacity of the airport to more than 70 million passengers per year. Two additional runways have also been constructed, making Barajas a fully operational four-runway airport.
Commuter rail
Cercanías Madrid is the commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
service that serves Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, the capital of Spain, and its metropolitan area. It is operated by Cercanías
The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...
, the commuter rail division of Renfe, the former monopoly of rail services in Spain. The system is infamous for being the target of 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings. The attacks triggered a small reduction in the ridership of the system, but it is still the most used and most profitable (by 2004) of the commuter rail services in Spain. The total length spans .
Spain's railway system, the ''Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles'' ( Renfe), operates the vast majority of Spain's railways. In Madrid, the main rail terminals are Atocha in the south and Chamartín in the north.
High-speed rail
The crown jewel of Spain's next decade of infrastructure construction is the Spanish high-speed rail network, Alta Velocidad Española AVE
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
. Currently, an ambitious plan includes the construction of a network, centered on Madrid. The overall goal is to have all important provincial cities be no more than four hours away from Madrid and no more than six hours away from Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. As of 2008, AVE
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
high-speed trains
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
link Madrid-Atocha station to Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, Málaga, and Toledo in the south, Valencia, Albacete, Cuenca and Alicante in the east, and to Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
, Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...
, Girona, Leida, Huesca and Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in the north-east. AVE
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
trains also arrive to Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...
, Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
, Zamora and León.
Already connected by tunnels used by conventional rail lines, a tunnel link connecting the Atocha and Chamartín stations with high-speed rail services is finished but, as of August 2019, yet to be inaugurated.
Metro
Serving the city's population of some six million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
networks in the world. With the addition of a loop serving suburbs to Madrid's south-west "Metrosur", it is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
, second only to London's Underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground ...
. In 2007, Madrid's metro system was expanded, and it currently runs over of line. The province of Madrid is also served by an extensive commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
network called Cercanías
The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...
.
Metro fees are regulated by the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid
The Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM; literally: ''Regional Consortium of Transportation for Madrid'') is an autonomous body created by Spanish law 5/1985 which is tasked with coordinating the public transport operations across mu ...
(CRTM) jointly with fees for commuter rail, bus transport and light-rail.
Culture
Symbols
The flag, coat of arms and hymn of the Community of Madrid were set through the regional Law 2/1983 published in the official regional gazette on 24 December 1983:
;Flag
The flag is described as follows: "''the flag of the Community of Madrid is crimson red, with seven silver five-pointed star
A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture.
Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and s ...
s, arranged 4 and 3 on the centre of the canvas''". According to the law, the flag should wave both at the outdoors (occupying a preferential place next to the flag of Spain) and at the indoors of every public building of the autonomous administration as well as every public building of the municipal administrations located within the territory of the autonomous community.
;Coat of arms
The arms are described as follows:
"''The coat of arms of the Community of Madrid features just one partition gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple).
In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
, and on it, two paired, embattled, turreted, castles or, with port and windows tinctured azure, masoned sable, surmounted by seven five-pointed stars argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
arranged four and three on chief.''" The crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
describes the heraldic representation of the royal crown of Spain.
;Hymn
The official anthem was defined along the flag and coat of arms. However it has very limited institutional use, and thus, it is barely known.
Cuisine
Although the region does not produce enough food to be self-sufficient, the varied territory of the region outside the urbanised centre provides enough food commodities to create its own cuisine: cheese of Campo Real
Campo Real is a town of around 6000 people in Spain, around 20 kilometers east of Madrid.
It includes a notable church, the Iglesia de Santa Maria del Castillo.
The town was first recorded as Aldea Campo, during the Moorish period it was known a ...
, vine with Vinos de Madrid
Vinos de Madrid is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP), located in the southern part of the region of Madrid ( Spain). It covers 54 municipalities and is divided into the three sub-zones (Arganda, Navalcarnero, and San Martín), ...
DO, strawberries and aspargus from Aranjuez, muskmelon
''Cucumis melo'', also known as melon, is a species of '' Cucumis'' that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. The fruit is a pepo. The flesh is either sweet or bland, with or without a musky aroma, and the rind can be smooth (such a ...
s from Villaconejos, artichoke
The globe artichoke ('' Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green artich ...
s from Ciempozuelos
Ciempozuelos () is a municipality in Spain located in the Community of Madrid. The municipality spans across a total area of 49.64 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 25,104.
Geography
The municipality is located in ...
, '' judiones'' from Montejo de la Sierra
Montejo de la Sierra is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain.
References
Municipalities in the Community of Madrid
{{Madrid-geo-stub ...
, garlic from Chinchón
Chinchón () is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Located 50 km south-east of the city of Madrid, the municipality covers an area of 115.91 km2. , it has a population of 5,239. Its historic centre, with a nota ...
, chickpeas from Navalcarnero
Navalcarnero is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located about from Madrid.
Sights include the church of Inmaculada Concepción.
History
By the end of 1499 the city of Segovia founded the location of Navalcarnero, to put an en ...
, lentil
The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...
s from Colmenar de Oreja
Colmenar de Oreja is a town and municipality of the Las Vegas comarca, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It was subject to a seven-month siege in 1139.
Location
It is located in the hydrographic plateau of the rivers Tagus and Tajuña, ...
, cauliflower from Griñón
Griñón () is a municipality of the Community of Madrid
The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central ...
or a number of vegetables from the Alberche Valley.
In addition, due to the rich restaurant business in the region, "all the regional cuisines of Spain are represented in Madrid" according to . As the madrilenian cuisine has absorbed much from the rest of regional cuisines of Spain, there is ambiguity when it comes to define the former; however, dishes such as the ''cocido madrileño
(; "Madrid stew") is a traditional chickpea-based stew from Madrid, Spain. A substantial dish prepared with meat and vegetables, it is most popular during the winter but is served throughout the year in some restaurants. Initially it was a di ...
'', the '' potaje de garbanzos'', the ', the ''sopa de ajo
Garlic soup is a type of soup using garlic as a main ingredient. In Spanish cuisine, ''sopa de ajo'' (soup of garlic) is a traditional garlic soup made with bread and egg poached in chicken broth, and laced with garlic and sherry.
By country ...
'' or the ''tortilla de patatas
Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla is a traditional dish from Spain. Celebrated as a national dish by Spaniards, it is an essential part of the Spanish cuisine. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, optionally including onion. It is of ...
'' are considered part of the madrilenian cuisine regardless of their geographical specificity. By April 2011 the region had over 40,0000 bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
s, 2,700 coffee shops
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
and nearly 10,000 restaurants.
Religion
The majority of the religious population is Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Community of Madrid. According to a 2019 CIS poll, 18.9% of the surveyed people in the region identified as practising Catholic and 43.0% as non-practising Catholic. The most important religious minorities are evangelicals, Jews and Muslims.
Among the evangelical denominations the following denominations stand out:
Spanish Evangelical Church The Spanish Evangelical Church ( es, Iglesia Evangélica Española ''IEE is a united denomination; Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Congregationalists participated in the merger. It was established in the wake of religious tolerance in Spain ...
(IEE), several Presbiterian or Reformed Churches, the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church
, native_name_lang =
, image = File:Sello-iere comunion784x1181.jpg
, imagewidth = 150px
, alt =
, caption = Seal of Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church
, abbreviation = SREC
, ty ...
(IERE), Baptist and Free churches (Unión Evangélica Bautista Española, Federación de las Iglesias Evangélicas Independientes de España), the Asambleas de Hermanos), Pentecostal Church
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement es (Asambleas de Dios, Iglesia de la Biblia Abierta, Iglesia Filadelfia, Iglesia Cuadrangular), Charismatic church
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...
es (Iglesias de Buenas Noticias, Asamblea Cristiana, Asamblea para la Evangelización Mundial para Cristo), minor churches such as The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
, Mennonite Churches and Hermanos en Cristo), non-grouped evangelical churches, and adventist churches. Pentecostal churches have lately experienced a notable growth due to the arrival of immigrants from Latin-America. Evangelicals also have a notable following among the Romani population. The Muslim population includes the first contemporary Muslims in Spain (who came from Middle East and had middle class university background), converts (chiefly sunni Muslims) and representatives of a second arrival of Muslim economic migrants (with more of an economic migrant profile than the first wave).
Since the second half of the 20th century the Jewish population in the region grew due to both Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
that came from the MENA
MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
, as well as exiles from Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
(mostly Argentinians) primordially Ashkenazim
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
.
There are also Greek, Romanian and Russian orthodox Christians, Jehovah Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christian denomination with Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of appr ...
(15,031 according to 2001 estimations) and Mormons (6,700 according to 2007 estimations). There are some buddhists (the majority of which have Spanish citizenship and are from the middle to uppermiddle class), and small minorities of believers of religions of vedic origin: hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
(primordially Sindhis), sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
, Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna may refer to:
* International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a group commonly known as "Hare Krishnas" or the "Hare Krishna movement"
* Hare Krishna (mantra)
The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the (" ...
and Brahma Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.[Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...]
. Other confessions, often derided as "cults" (''sectas'') in the country, such as the Unification movement
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
and Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
, have a marginal presence.
Feasts
The regional day is the 2 May, commemorating the Dos de Mayo Uprising
On the 2 and 3 May 1808 the Dos de Mayo or Second of May Uprising of 1808 took place in Madrid, Spain. It was a rebellion by civilians alongside some military against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a heavy-hand repress ...
of the citizens of Madrid against the French occupation in 1808 that triggered the wave of insurrections marking the beginning of the Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
. It is a public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...
in the Community of Madrid since 1984, when it was approved by the regional legislature and sanctioned as law.
A floral tribute is traditionally offered to the fallen "heroes" by the regional authorities. The ceremony of presentation of commemorative medals to stand out individuals also take place on this day in the Royal House of the Post Office
The Royal House of the Post Office (Spanish: ''Real Casa de Correos'') is an eighteenth century building in Puerta del Sol, Madrid. It was built for the postal service, but currently serves as the office of the President of the Community of Madri ...
.
Sports
According to a 2010 study by the National Sports Council
The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ...
(CSD), madrilenians led the country in terms of grassroots sports practice.
Roughly a 52% of the regional population between 15 and 75 years old practised one sports modality, while a 10% of the population between 15 and 75 years old practised two or more sports. The most practised sports modalities were: fitness gymnastics (43.6%), football (22.1%), swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
(20.7%), cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
(19.6%), jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...
/running (16.2%), padel
Padel ( es, Pádel) is a racket sport typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court. Scoring is the same as normal tennis, and the balls used are similar but with a little less pressure. The main ...
(9.9%), athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
(8.3%), basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(6.9%), other football modalities (6.6%), hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
(6.1%), martial arts (4.5%), body-building (3.5%), shooting
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...
/hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
(0.9%) and recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing fo ...
(0.2%).
Association football is the most popular sport in Spain in terms of passive following. The Madrid Football Federation
The Royal Madrid Football Federation ( es, Real Federación de Fútbol de Madrid; RFFM) is the governing body of the sport of football in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Its headquarters are in the city of Madrid.
Functions
Below the national lev ...
is the governing body of the sport of football in region. The Community of Madrid has its own autonomous team, the Madrid autonomous football team
The Madrid autonomous football team is the regional football team for the Community of Madrid, Spain. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, because the Community of Madrid is represented internationally by the Spain national football team. The ...
, taking part in friendly fixtures. It currently has 2 top flight men's football teams: Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. The first of them, Real Madrid, has become one of the most valuable sports teams in the planet.
The regional administration had its own big track and field stadium, " La Peineta", inaugurated in 1994. It was later transferred to the Madrid City Council, becoming the center of two unsuccessful bids of the city of Madrid to the Summer Olympics.
International relations
;Twinning
* Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China (2005)
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
Official website of Community of Madrid
Official website of Community of Madrid on tourism and business
Official website of Madrid–Barajas International Airport
Official website of Community of Madrid's Transports System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madrid, Community
NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
States and territories established in 1983
Autonomous communities of Spain