Madrid, originally called Mayrit, was founded by the emir Muhammad at the end of the IX century. It was under the Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, that the city gained importance, since initially the main city in the Spanish plain had been Toledo.
During the Reconquest of Spain by the Christians, Madrid passed from Muslim to Christian hands several times, it was the origin of the mixture of cultures which characterizes the city still today.
The present location of Madrid, in the centre of Spain, was established by the king Alfonso I in 1083. Under Christian control, all symbols of the Muslim world were removed from the city and part of the cultural heritage of Madrid was lost.
During the following centuries the city developed reaching its current aspect. The Main Square (Plaza Mayor) was built under the auspice of John II on the 13th century. Later on, Enrique III ordered the building of El Pardo Palace as a place of residence for royal visits, the city kept on growing in size, and finally in 1561 the Spanish Court was transferred from its location in Toledo to Madrid. The seat of the Spanish Court moved again to Valladolid in 1601, but it returned definitively to Madrid 5 years later.
The 19th century was a sad time for Madrid with bloody historical events such as the rising of the city against French occupation on May 2nd 1808, and the beginning of the Spanish war of Independence.
In the 20th century after the dead of General Franco, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 confirmed Madrid as capital city of Spain. In 1979, the first democratic local elections were held in Madrid to choose the first city mayor; the first governor of the city was Enrique Tierno Galván.
By this time Madrid had grown in size and population reaching the figure of 3 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area and nearly 7 million people in the whole province of Madrid.
During the following centuries the city developed reaching its current aspect. The Main Square (Plaza Mayor) was built under the auspice of John II on the 13th century. Later on, Enrique III ordered the building of El Pardo Palace as a place of residence for royal visits, the city kept on growing in size, and finally in 1561 the Spanish Court was transferred from its location in Toledo to Madrid. The seat of the Spanish Court moved again to Valladolid in 1601, but it returned definitively to Madrid 5 years later.
The 19th century was a sad time for Madrid with bloody historical events such as the rising of the city against French occupation on May 2nd 1808, and the beginning of the Spanish war of Independence.
In the 20th century after the dead of General Franco, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 confirmed Madrid as capital city of Spain. In 1979, the first democratic local elections were held in Madrid to choose the first city mayor; the first governor of the city was Enrique Tierno Galván.
By this time Madrid had grown in size and population reaching the figure of 3 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area and nearly 6 million people in the whole province of Madrid.
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Madrid enters History by the hand of the Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba (850-866), when he orders the construction of a defensive bastion on the heights of a hill on the left bank of the river Manzanares.
This castle-fortress will form part of a defensive belt, stretching between the Massif Central and the city of Toledo, which had been capital of the ancient Visigothic kingdom.
The purpose of this network of watch-towers, look-outs and castles was to establish an impenetrable wall that would let the Moors know enough beforehand of possible advances of Christian troops, and which would serve also to block these attacks. The various garrisons would communicate with each other by smoke signals during day and by bonfires at night.
It is known that the fortress at Madrid was an important piece in the functions of this system. Castles and watch-towers were placed near the natural lines of penetration, from north to south, descending from Gredos and the Guadarrama mountains. Many of these place-names have come down to our days, either for their ruins or by their topographic names, as La Alameda, Torrelodones, Valdetorres, Buitrago, El Berrueco, Mirabel, Torrelaguna, Venturada or El Vellón, and the list could be longer. That bastion at Madrid was constructed as a leading fortress, with solid walls and other fortifications. The very word in Castilian,"almudena" which originated in Arabic and continued to be used, indicates clearly what type of fortress was made.
Furthermore, the fact that the castle-fort at Madrid should be located midway on the road between the Guadarrama mountains and the city of Toledo, told its character as a key-point, or linking-point, in a security system for the Arabs.
In this first "almudena" of the 9th century, there were regular inhabitants as well as soldiers living there. What seems to show this is the very great amount of space that, coming from the castle, was included within the walls, thus permitting a considerable interior area.
