A History of Madrid

Medieval Madrid

Madrid's origins are probably as an Islamic garrison. Convention has it that the emir of Córdoba established a fortress on the future site of Madrid in AD 854. Known as Magerit, it was one of a string of forts guarding the frontier land between Al-Andalus in the south and the Christian kingdoms to the north.

Madrid's Muslim era ended in 1085 when the region fell to King Alfonso VI of Castile. Although its population is thought to have numbered around 12,000 at this time, the town's status remained only marginal. Municipal power was concentrated in the hands of a small number of local families, who managed to hold on to their position when royally appointed governors attempted to wrest control in 1348.

While Madrid remained on the fringe of things, Isabel and Ferdinand united the crowns of Castile and Aragon in 1474. Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the peninsula, fell in 1492, and in the same year, Columbus set sail on the journey that would bring Spain untold wealth. Isabel and Ferdinand's grandson, Carlos I, succeeded not only to the throne of Spain but also to that of the Hapsburgs, becoming Holy Roman Emperor over territories stretching from Austria to Holland and from Spain to the American colonies.

Madrid as Capital of Spain

Carlos' son and successor, Felipe II, made Madrid the permanent seat of the royal court in 1561. Underdeveloped Madrid offered plenty of room for expansion, as befitted the capital of an empire. Concerned with the business of empire, Felipe neglected his new capital, and it remained a chaotic medieval nightmare for its 25,000 inhabitants. Over the next century, Spain began to decline, bled dry by a succession of wars and massive inflation caused by its looted colonial treasures. The country's rulers retreated to their capital, creating a fantasy land of sumptuous palaces and churches. The squalor in which the bulk of the people lived contrasted with then splendor in which their rulers lived. Madrid became a city of immigrants, with the population blowing out to 150,000 by 1656, because of the presence of the court.

Hapsburg Spain came to a sad end in 1700 with the death of the sickly Carlos II. A succession of reformist rulers worked to make Madrid finally lose its reputation as Europe's filthiest city, but attempts at land reform failed, with Spain continuing to be an essentially poor country ruled by a big-spending royal court. Spain suffered a series of heavy reversals, including the crushing of the Spanish Navy by Britain in the epic Battle of Trafalgar of 1805, the loss of its American colonies, and Napoleon's occupation of Spain. The ensuing Peninsula War for independence was sparked by the people of Madrid and left the city exhausted and facing starvation.

Madrid in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Society in 19th-century Madrid remained dominated by the landed aristocracy, with the poorer classes still living in single-story slum housing and a full quarter of the working population employed as servants in aristocratic households. A burgeoning middle class emerged from 1837, when Church property was expropriated by the government. Historians estimate that some 1600 Church properties were destroyed in Madrid in the first four decades of the 19th century alone, leaving the new bourgeois to pick up the pieces, and later art historians to gnash their teeth and weep. Thanks to an injection of foreign, mostly French, capital, living conditions were improved with the construction of street paving, gas lighting, sewage and garbage collection systems.

Politics featured alternating coups between conservative and liberal wings of the army followed by the short-lived republic of 1873 and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1875. Spain ended the century ignominiously, losing its navy at the Battle of Manila and her remaining colonies, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, to the United States.

The first decades of the 20th century saw improvements in Madrid such as the electrification of the tramlines, the creation of the Gran Vía and the inaugural metro line. Inward migration caused the city's population to double from a 1900 figure of half a million to almost one million by 1931. With housing shortages chronic, Madrid's politics became increasingly radicalized. Opposition to the monarchy and calls for constitutional reform grew louder, with socialists leading the way under the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and General Workers' Union (UGT).

The Spanish Civil War

A repressive six-year military dictatorship was finally ended by Alfonso XIII in 1930, and the ensuing municipal elections saw a coalition of republicans and socialists carry the day. Three days later, the second republic was proclaimed. Universal suffrage was introduced, Alfonso XIII fled the country and Madrid was officially recognized as the capital of the Spanish state. The joyful celebration was sadly short-lived, however, as party infighting, calls for revolution, a series of crippling strikes and the bloody suppression of a miners' revolt by troops led by General Francisco Franco saw the country in constant turmoil. The situation reached boiling point when the Frente Nacional or National Front was beaten by the left-wing Frente Popular or Popular Front in the elections of February 1936. Three years of bloody civil war began in July 1936 by rebellious North African garrisons, led by Franco. Madrid held the nationalists at bay until the surrender of March 1939, with fighting heaviest in the northwest of the city.

Franco and the Restoration of Democracy

The victorious Franco made Madrid his headquarters, ushering in decades of poverty, political repression and chronic overcrowding. Economic woes lessened in the 1960s due to increased foreign investment but discontent continued to rise. Franco died in 1975, having earlier named Juan Carlos, the grandson of Alfonso XIII, his successor. With King Juan Carlos on the throne, Spain made the transition from dictatorship to democracy with the appointment of a moderate conservative government. Opposition parties and trade unions were legalized, and a new constitution was written. Madrid's first free municipal elections were held in 1979, and power has since been shuffled between left-wing and right-of-center councils. In March of 2004, Madrid was rocked with a series of terrorist bombings that killed many people on the city’s transit system.

Museo del Prado

Prado’s exhibits the art gathered by the Spanish royal family since the time of Ferdinand and Isabella. The centerpiece of Prado's collection are its works by Spain's three great masters: Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez, and El Greco. The museum also holds masterpieces by Flemish, Dutch, German, French, and Italian artists, collected when those lands were part of the Spanish Empire. Better known pieces include Velazquez's "Las Meninas", Fra Angelico's "The Annunciation" and "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Bosch. Goya’s very dark work from his "black paintings" is also well represented.

Palacio Real

The Palacio Real is the official residence of the Spanish royal family, though King Juan Carlos uses it for ceremonial occasions, preferring to live in a slightly smaller palace on the outskirts of the city. The origin of the palace goes back to the 9th Century when the Muslim kingdom of Toledo constructed a fortress later used the kings of Castile, where in the 16th Century, the Old Palace was constructed. When this palace was destroyed in a fire in the 18th Century, the New Palace was constructed entirely of stone so that it could not be destroyed in a like manner. Rich materials, such as Spanish marble, stuccos, and mahogany were used for the interior decorations. The palace is richly decorated by works by such artists as Velazquez, Tiepolo, Mengs, Gasparini, Caravaggio, and Goya. The Royal Armory contains weapons dating back from the 13th Century. The palace also contains the largest collection of Stradivarius musical instuments in the world, including the only complete Stradivarius string quartet.

Catedral de la Almudena

Madrid's cathedral took over a century to build, due to political wrangling, wars and a lack of financial resources. According to legend, it's named after the Virgin de la Almudena, whose icon was found during the Reconquest hidden in a house that the Arabs called al mudena. The building's exterior is an example of eclectic, neogothic 19th-century design. The doors are bronze and there's an image of the Virgin, now Madrid's patron saint, on the facade. The interior is full of light, benefiting from the stained-glass windows and multi-colored ceiling. The crypt, filled with interesting tombs, some of them recent, is also worth a visit.

Visiting Madrid

Madrid is serviced by an international airport. There is also rail and bus service to the city available. Madrid’s metro system is quick and efficient, with the bus system a close second. The city center is small enough that it can be explored on foot. Taxis are readily available and cheap.