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In 1561, Madrid - with a population of 15,000 - became the capital of Spain by decree of King Felipe II. He chose Madrid because of its central location, his aim being to unify the disparate regions of the peninsula and his vast empire.
Some historians claim that Madrid stands on the site of a Roman town, Mantua Carpetana. Although there's no proof to support this theory, archaeological remains do confirm that there has been continuous human settlement in this area for as long as any other part of Europe. The Museo Nacional Arqueológico displays archaeological artifacts left by prehistoric settlers.
The Moorish invasion of the peninsula is clearly documented. During the 9th century, the Moors built a military outpost to guard against a Christian attack from the Guadarrama mountains to the north, on the rock where the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) now stands. They called this settlement Mayrit, and you can still see remains of the original defensive walls, below the Almudena Cathedral.
Christian forces unsuccessfully attacked Mayrit in 932, and again in 1047, in an attempt to regain the land they had lost. But it wasn't until 1086 that the Christian king, Alfonso VI, was able to capture Madrid (Mayrit) along with nearby Toledo. During the following decades, the city (which was still no more than a village) was constantly besieged. The Campo del Moro (Moor's Field), located just below the Royal Palace, was named after the Moorish siege encampment.
In the late 13th century, Madrid was an ordinary medieval village with less than 4000 inhabitants. Two churches still remain from that era, the San Nicolás de los Servitas and the San Pedro el Viejo, both located near the Plaza de la Villa.
The nobility began to gather in Madrid during the 14th century, and succeeding monarchs saw the growing settlement as a pleasant retreat from ongoing social unrest in other parts of the country. By the 15th century, Madrid had become a center of trade and finance, and areas like the Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor began to develop. The Catholic Monarchs (Isabel and Ferdinand) united the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon in 1479, and ruled over a period of relative political stability. During their reign, Christopher Columbus "discovered" the New World, and most of the Jewish population was expelled from Spain.
The French-born Felipe V was crowned king in 1700. By this time the capital had been in decline for many years and he set about regenerating it with the help of the Marquis de Vadillo and architects and engineers like Teodoro Ardeman and Pedro Ribera. They walled in the banks of the river Manzanares to make it look grander and built baroque masterpieces like the Puente de Toledo bridge, San Fernando Hospice (now the Museo Municipal), and Monte de Piedad.
Carlos III, who came to the throne in 1759, was known as the "mayor" because of all the building work and improvements to the city he commissioned. Not only did he finish the construction of a new royal palace, Granja de San Ildefonso, he also renovated the area around the Prado by building the Plaza de Cibeles, Neptune's Fountain, and the Puerta de Alcalá.
Historians divide this century into two periods: decline and recovery. The French invasion, which installed Napoleon’s brother on the Spanish throne, led to a period of decline in Madrid. King Joseph Bonaparte tore down a number of churches during his reign, leading to wider boulevards and generally broader streets as a result. When Fernando VII was returned to the throne, he restored the Church’s property and began rebuilding what had been destroyed during the war.
During the reign of Queen Isabel II, the construction of the Isabel II Canal and the arrival of the railway expanded the city’s transportation and communications network.
During Madrid’s period of recovery, the city slowly regained its lost urban splendor. The prospering bourgeoisie started to build small residential palaces like the Palacio de Linares and the Palacio de Gaviria. The demand for housing grew, and new neighborhoods like Chamberí, Argüelles, and Salamanca were built outside the old town.
Madrid suffered the same feeling of defeat as the rest of the country when Spain lost its last remaining colonies (the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico) in 1898. Alfonso XIII was crowned king in 1902 and brought in a new period of parliamentary monarchy, which had to cope with the economic and political crisis resulting from the losses of 1898.
The only example of Modernist architecture, popular at this time in Europe and North America, is the Palacio de Longoria, which now acts as headquarters to the Sociedad General de Autores. The urban development program, Ciudad Lineal (Linear City), designed by engineer Arturo Soria, was the only progressive project of its kind to be carried out in a stagnant late-19th-century Madrid.
The most exciting architectural event of the early 20th century in Madrid was a gathering of international architects to design the first stretch of the Gran Vía, from Calle Alcalá to San Luis.
The university campus (Ciudad Universitaria) was built during General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship (1923-1930) in a similar style to projects in the U.S. and other parts of Europe.
The Republican coalition won the elections of April 1931. Thousands of supporters celebrated the victory and the Declaration of the Second Republic in the Puerta del Sol.
Increasing social unrest and political instability led to a bloody civil war after a military uprising against the democratically elected Republican government. The civil war lasted from 1936-1939 and during this time the Republican-held city was under constant siege. The streets became war zones. The area between the Plaza de España, along Calle Princesa and Calle Rosales to the Parque del Oeste was most damaged by the constant bombings by the Nationalists. The park itself was the frontline. The Republicans cleverly managed to protect monuments like the Cibeles statue, the Puerta de Alcalá, and Neptune’s fountain on Paseo del Prado under mounds of bricks and sandbags. The Republican barricades and cries of No pasarán (They shall not pass) could not stop the advance of the Nationalist forces.
A reconstruction program began after the civil war, and the Gran Vía was eventually completed. A massive influx of immigrants from other parts of Spain - even poorer than Madrid — rapidly increased the city’s population.
During the 1960s, many new districts were built on the outskirts, spreading further and further out into the surrounding plains. The economy began to grow and speculative construction became common and damaging to districts like the Paseo de la Castellana where many historic palaces were demolished to make way for tall, modern apartment blocks.
There has been constant architectural change and renewal in Madrid since the end of the dictatorship in 1975. The Gran Vía is no longer the elegant avenue it once was. It’s now a busy commercial street full of shops and cinemas. The Paseo de la Castellana, once home to the wealthy upper-middle classes, has been taken over by banks and embassies. The once rundown and seedy Chueca district has been transformed by the gay community into a lively and stimulating place to live, work and have fun.
Since democracy returned to Spain, Madrid’s fantastic metro system has expanded, numerous historic buildings have been restored, parks and public squares have been properly maintained, trees have been planted all over the city and new fountains built. Major construction projects like the Picasso Tower demonstrate what a modern place the city has become, eager to contribute to the European Union and benefit from the euro zone economy.
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