History of Madrid

The early period

The Arab town, or medina, grew around the alcazar (castle) on a promontory overlooking the Manzanares River. The name Majerit first appears in ad 932, when the Christian king Ramiro II of León razed the town’s walls, but there are traces of earlier (even prehistoric) habitation. The Christian king Alfonso VI of Castile and León captured the town from the Muslims in 1083, and thereafter a number of kings of Castile spent time there. The parliament (Cortes) was called there as early as 1309. The alcazar was damaged in an earthquake in 1466 and the subsequent medieval palace was extended by various monarchs, notably Charles I and Philip II. During this period the town grew to the east up both sides of what are now the Calle Mayor and the Calle de Segovia, with the Moors (who continued to live there until after the Christian reconquest of Spain was completed in 1492) jammed into the southwest corner, which is still called the Moreria. The whole of the city at this time was only about 500 by 900 yards (450 by 825 metres) in area. Some of the street patterns of the pre-16th-century city remain, but few buildings; one that still stands is the much-restored Casa de los Lujanes, where it is believed the French king Francis I was once held prisoner. Charles I enjoyed hunting near Madrid, and it is said that the widening of the city gates to accommodate his carriages opened the cramped streets to heavier traffic, a process that was to increase when the court was properly established in the city. By 1598 the population of Madrid had reached 60,000, and by the time of the first extant plan of Madrid (Pedro Teixeira’s in 1656) it had grown to be an imposing city of 100,000 people and 11,000 buildings.

Under the Habsburg monarchs (known in Spain as the house of the Austrias), Madrid expanded even more rapidly. The foreign ministry (1634), the Casa de Cisneros, and the Segovia Bridge date from this time, as does the church of San Isidro el Real. Architects such as Juan de Herrera and Francisco de Mora contributed to the monumental quality of the city. But the most striking contribution of this period is generally considered to be the Plaza Mayor, designed by Juan Gómez de Mora and built between 1617 and 1619; it was modified after the great fire of 1790. Graceful in concept, it is surrounded by five-story houses with balconies and topped with steeples. Nine archways open onto the plaza at oblique angles from surrounding streets, and the continuous arcade at street level contains shops and restaurants. Bullfights (in those days conducted by noblemen on horseback), fireworks displays, and plays all took place there, as did the grim ceremonies of the Inquisition. Until 1765 public garrotings were also carried out there. The last bullfight to take place in the Plaza Mayor was in honour of the wedding of Isabella II in 1846.

Development under the Bourbon kings

An equally impressive landmark dates from the next great phase of the city’s growth, under the Bourbons, whose side Madrid took against the Habsburgs in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), although the city was briefly occupied by pro-Habsburg troops. The Royal Palace was begun by Philip V after the disastrous fire that destroyed the Alcazár on Christmas night, 1734. His grandiose plan, with 23 inner courts, was never realized, although the finished work did have 500 rooms. It was a fitting addition to the other major city features created under his patronage—the Royal Spanish Academy, the National Library, and the Royal Academy of History. The Royal Palace, with its elegant granite and limestone walls, contains a ceiling by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in the throne room and, in the Armeria, one of the world’s finest collections of armour, including the swords of the conquistadores Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. The last king of Spain actually to live there was Alfonso XIII, whose apartments have been preserved just as he left them when he abdicated in 1931. The royal family now resides in the more private and less ostentatious La Zarzuela Palace, set in its own grounds to the northwest of Madrid. A less important palace, Buen Retiro, was also favoured by the Bourbon kings; its gardens, which were much admired for their French style, are still a much frequented open space.

The greatest Bourbon builder was Charles III (1759–88), who is known as the mayor-king for his interest in the growth and development of the city and his many contributions to its skyline. This was the age of Enlightenment, and Charles tried to establish a harmony between leisure and science, culture and industry. His style was cosmopolitan, reflecting the tastes of the Europe of his time. With his concern for the appearance of the city, its gates, avenues, and trees, he anticipated the designs of modern city planners. He relied heavily in his schemes on the works of three Neoclassical architects, Francisco Sabatini, Ventura Rodríguez, and Juan de Villanueva. During this period the city continued to grow eastward to the present Plaza de la Independencia, which is the site of a monumental arch, the Puerta de Alcalá, built in 1778 and still a key landmark.

One of Madrid’s most popular and busiest squares is Puerta del Sol (“Sun Gate”). The original post office building (1768) is located there (the building is now the seat of the Madrid community). All distances in the country are measured from the zero-kilometre stone beneath its wall. Aside from being a basis for numbering Spain’s roads, the zero-kilometre stone is the symbolic centre of Spain, and it is where many rallies, protests, and other gatherings have taken place. Puerta del Sol is particularly popular on New Year’s Eve, when Madrileños go to hear the clock strike midnight and to eat the 12 grapes that supposedly ensure good luck in the following months. In earlier times the square was significant because of the stagecoaches that left from there to all parts of the peninsula. Its appeal made it the site of various innovations in urban amenities, from the first gas lamps in 1830 through the first mule trams and first public urinal to the first electric streetlights and electric streetcars. Charles III set up the Botanic Garden (which still exists), with a “physic” garden from which anybody could (and still can) collect medicinal herbs. He planned a natural history and science museum next to it but died before it could be completed.

Madrid was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars, and Napoleon’s brother Joseph was installed on the throne. On May 2, 1808, there was a mass uprising against Joseph, leading to what the Spaniards term the Guerra de la Independencia (“War of Independence”). Ferdinand VII, on his return in 1814 from imprisonment by Napoleon, bestowed the title of “heroic” upon the city. In 1819 the building intended by Charles III to house a natural history and science museum was completed. Into it Ferdinand moved artworks of the royal collection, until then scattered among various palaces. This was the start of what was to become one of the world’s major art galleries, the Prado. The Madrid of this period can still be studied in close detail, thanks to the remarkable model constructed by León Gil Palacios in 1830. It was during this period that the city expanded to the north, under the direction of Joaquín Vizcaíno, a nobleman who was also mayor (as was customary at the time). He is also known as the man who introduced such innovations as street numbers for buildings, street lighting, and municipal refuse collection. The Paseo del Prado was extended by a new boulevard, called the Paseo de los Recoletos. This area, for years presenting an almost rural atmosphere, being bordered by imposing town houses with great gardens, is now the site of tall office blocks, apartment buildings, luxury hotels, and embassies, as well as the National Library, the National Archaeological Museum, the Queen Sofia Arts Centre, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. One of the area’s mansions, now converted into a bank, belonged to the marqués de Salamanca, who in 1872 also contributed to the drive northward by building 28 streets on a grid plan, starting from the Calle de Alcalá and parallel to the Paseo. Still bearing his name, this area remains one of the most elegant barrios in Madrid.

Somewhat earlier, in 1860, the Plan Castro—also referred to as the Ensanche (“Widening”)—had further expanded and modernized the city, adding convenience and meeting the economic and commercial needs of the time. It was the first comprehensive, forward-looking modern plan for Madrid. However, it was to be frustrated by population growth, land speculation, and the poor areas that sprang up outside the planned zones.