M A D R I D
| A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY OF MADRID: | |
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The origins of the city go back to the Paleolithic age, Between the rivers Jarama and Orchards we can find archaeological remains. Toward the year 1000 B.C., Madrid was inhabited by Iberian tribes that ended up mixing with the Celtic ones, and in this way its population's heterogeneous character began. In 218 B.C. the Roman colonization begins, and Madrid became pass of the Roman roads, leaving numerous archaeological vestiges and among those prints, in the riverside lands of the Orchards (a river that crosses Madrid ) we find: Roman mosaics, tablets, brasses and ceramic. During the decadence of the Roman empire, which started in the fifth century , the city becomes a Visigothic establishment, although its splendor is ephemeral. Advancing in the changes of the history, we have to go until the times of the stay of the Muslim in this town to be able to seriously speak about Madrid as a city. During the Arab invasion in 711, Madrid is kept in the hands of the
Muslims, cohabiting these last ones with the Roman Hispanic and Visigoths.
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 Almudena`s Cathedral |
At this time they also date the legends around the encounter of the
Virgin's image in the external wall on November 9 1085. This image is
the Virgin of the Almudena, patron saint of Madrid. San Isidro was also
born in 1082 and he died on November 30 1172. He is the patron saint
of the Villa and he had a special devotion to the Virgin of the Almudena.
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| ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF MADRID, MAYRIT: | |
| Some say that the city could have been called originally" Ursa" (" bear" in Latin), due to the great number of these animals that were found in the surroundings of the adjacent mountains, and that, together with the tree of the" arbutus", they have been the symbol of the city from medieval times. But the name of" Ursa" has been associated by other authors like Juan López de Hoyos (illustrious predecessor of Cervantes), in his" Declaration of the Weapons of Madrid" of the year 1548, to the constellation of the Ursa Minor or the" Cart", which we can find, symbolically, in the flag of Madrid and in its coat of arms : seven stars of five points, red background, divided in two horizontal blocks of four (the car) and three respectively. Other authors have associated these seven stars to the seven hills on which the city of Madrid is settled. The yam of Madrid, Mayrit, according to Oliver Asin, you eat from the linguistic crossing of to Mozarabic toponym, formed on matrice, in the sense of bed of water, and the suffix-it, and another compound for the Arab on mayrá, also referred to the conduits of water and the same suffix - it. |
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To sum up, it means" abundant, rich in waters", and Madrid is rich in underground currents, which has guaranteed the supply of drinkable water from the Muslim time; the presence of an important aquifer under the city motivated the construction of a dense net of reception galleries (or" journeys of water") for its use, which remained effective until the 19th century. When those "journeys" were not enough to supply the population, it was necessary to bring distant superficial waters (The Lozoya and later on the Jarama), since the river Orchards (that crosses Madrid crosses) could not assure the necessary flows. Therefore, the waters, underground and superficial ones, have played a different role through time, from the appearance and consolidation of the urban fact until Madrid became a great metropolis and still today the water of Madrid is famous for its quality. |
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| GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE: | |
| Madrid is the capital of Spain, it is located in the center of the peninsula, between the mountain of Guadarrama and the Valley of Tajo and it is surrounded by five cities which are worth visiting: Toledo, Segovia, Ávila, Cuenca and Guadalajara. The climate is continental: cold and dry in winter and hot in summer (30 - 35 ºC). |
 The Royal Palace |
WHAT TO VISIT? Cheat there is left us to great number of wide buildings that beautify the city ace: the House of Mail, the House of the Unions, the General Hospital, the Royal Customs, the Royal Palace, the Count Duke Barracks, the Botanical Garden, the Astronomical Observatory, etc.; and palaces such ace the palaces Infantado, Puñonrostro, Goyeneche, Liria, Buenavista or Villahermosa; Also churches such as San Marcos, San Martin, or the saints Joust and Shepherd. In short, that you can go for a walk in the old Madrid and the rest can be a pleasure and interest. |
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You cannot leave Madrid without visiting one of the most important
museums of Art (painting and sculpture) in the world: Museum
of the Prado, the Big house of the Good Retiro located in front
of this wonderful park of the Retiro (surprisingly there is a monument
to the fallen angel) also worth visiting and if one wants to go for
a walk by boat in its pond or to visit the glass palace. A museum of
important Art is also the Center
of Art Queen Sofía . |
 Cristal Palace (Retiro) |
 Puerta de Alcalá by night |
 Cibeles and Correos |
 Torres Kio and Plaza de Castilla |
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THE OUTSKIRTS OF MADRID:
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Leaving the city you can visit The Monastery of the Escorial (with a lot of occult tradition), Aranjuez, Toledo (trip of the congress), Segovia, Ávila etc.:
OTHER LINKS :
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