| 
Romans
Historians have attempted to trace Madrid's
origins back to the Roman era, but no real significant evidence
exists. Although believed to have descended from a Roman town
named Mantua Carpetana, more archeological relics have been found
to support the fact that a continuous civilization has existed
in this area as long as any in Europe (though apparently with
no or little Roman ancestry). Many of these artifacts and other
prehistoric treasures can now be found at the Museo Nacional Arqueológico.
Moors
As obscure as Madrid's origins
may seem, however, it is probably safe to say they can be definitely
traced back to the Moors. By around the middle of the 9th century,
Mayrit, as Madrid was then called, served as an important military
outpost, positioned to keep a watchful eye as the Christians attempted
to reclaim Iberia. Perfect for this role, a castle was positioned
atop the rock where the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) now stands,
commanding a strategic view of the main pass leading down from
the Guadarrama mountains. A part of the original castle's foundation
has been recently excavated next to the palace. You can still
see, however, the last remaining bit of the old Moorish walls
that once surrounded the city, just below Almudena Cathedral.
Christians
Christian forces unsuccessfully
attacked Mayrit around 932 and then again in 1047, as it served
as a launching pad for expansion into the north. It wasn't until
1086, however, that Alfonso VI was able to capture Madrid along
with Toledo. For decades, the city (still a village) was constantly
besieged and under attack. Campo del Moro (Moor's Field), found
just beneath the Royal Palace, for example, was so-named after
one particular episode where the Moors camped out below in their
attempt to recapture Madrid.
By the late 13th century, it
was just another medieval village with a population of fewer than
4,000 inhabitants. What remains from this epoch are the San Nicolás
de los Servitas and San Pedro el Viejo churches, both found near
the Plaza de la Villa, along with a handful of other buildings
in Old Madrid.
The
Royal Court and a New Capital
Madrid's royal stock began
to rise by the 14th century, and the city would eventually become
the seat of the Royal Court. Although social unrest dogged the
monarchy, they looked to the growing city as a prestigious retreat.
By the 15th century, Madrid had become a center for trade and
finance, and it was around this time that the original sites for
the Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor began to take shape. At this
point, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by Isabel
and Fernando and a period of relative political stability began.
This was also the time of the 'discovery' of the New World by
Columbus and of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Madrid would
finally be declared capital of the Spanish Empire in 1561. Madrid's
population was then about 15,000-strong.
Bourbons
In the year 1700, Felipe V
was crowned king. The city had been completely forgotten about
and nothing had been reformed since the reign of Felipe IV, leaving
Madrid in a generally bad state. This made it even more comparable
with Versailles, from where Felipe V actually hailed. During his
rule many buildings and monuments were built, and impressive engineering
projects undertaken, such as walling off the Manzanares River
to make it look "grander". The Marquis de Vadillo together
with the architects Teodoro Ardeman and Pedro Ribera were in charge
of this last project. These three men are also responsible for
many of the baroque masterpieces built in Madrid under the Bourbons.
A few outstanding works include the Puente de Toledo Bridge, the
San Fernando Hospital and the Monte de Piedad building, amongst
others.
Even after all these changes,
the Bourbon monarchs remained dissatisfied and sought to create
even more. The now-destroyed Alcazar did not convince them, given
that it only reminded them of the previous dynasty. As a result,
they decided to move their residence to the Granja de San Ildefonso,
a new palace that was to be constructed according to Franciscan
canons.
In 1759, Carlos III was crowned.
He would later be considered the best mayor Madrid had ever had.
He not only completed La Granja, but also undertook to completely
remodel Madrid. This is how the Prado Salon was born. This area
stretches from Plaza de Cibeles to Atocha station. Other monuments
include Neptune's Fountain and the grand Puerta de Alcalá.
19th-century Decline and
Restoration
This period can be divided
into two parts, the first being one of general decadence. This
period began with the French invasion and Joseph Bonaparte's 'destructive'
policy. He commanded that the churches and buildings he regarded
to house a threat to France be demolished. This only gave Madrid
a more desolate air. However, when Fernando VII took over the
throne, everything was returned to the Church, and the reconstruction
of all that was lost during the Wars of Independence began.
Between this first period and
second era, Queen Isabel II was in power. This period doesn't
exactly fit into either of the other two. Nevertheless, two important
developments occurred at this time: the creation of the Isabel
II Canal and the arrival of the railway.
During the second period, Madrid
slowly regained its lost urban splendor. The growth of the bourgeoisie
resulted in the construction of some smaller palaces. Two beautiful
examples from this period are the Palacio de Linares and the Palacio
de Gaviria. An urbanization project, known as the Castro Plan,
was also undertaken. Madrid was growing and soon new neighborhoods
appeared outside the old town. Chamberí, Argüelles
and Salamanca are three. The latter had a particularly important
impact on life in the city, as only those of a certain status
were permitted to move here.
The
Republic
Madrid closed out the 19th
century with the same feeling of defeat felt by the rest of Spain
over the loss of the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico, the last
remaining colonies of the Spanish Empire. In 1902, Alfonso XIII
was crowned king and a new period of parliamentary monarchy began
which would have to deal with the economic and political crisis
inherited from that disastrous year, 1898. Meanwhile, the Modernist
movement barely penetrated deep down into the social-cultural
divides within the country. In Madrid in fact, the only building
representative of this movement is the Palacio de Longoria, currently
the headquarters of the Sociedad General de Autores, and a good
example of the changes taking place architecturally at the turn
of the century.
Only one urban redesigning
plan was under way in Madrid, adding excitement to the general
monotony of the times: the Ciudad Lineal (Linear City) as envisioned
by engineer Arturo Soria. It was a modern and unique concept,
breaking with tradition and which helped keep the city busy well
into the new century.
Besides Ciudad Lineal, which
was begun in the 1890s, the most distinguishing event in this
early part of the century was the construction of the Gran Vía,
from Alcalá street to the Red de San Luis, the network
of streets which end on Montera street. Architects from different
countries and architectural schools set up shop in Madrid and
got down to work, achieving the elegant result we can see today.
During General Primo de Rivera's
dictatorship (1923-1930), construction on the university campus,
Ciudad Universitaria, was begun. Plans for this campus dated originally
from Alfonso XIII time and were based on the prototypes being
built in Europe and the United States at the time.
In April, 1931, the people
of Madrid celebrated the victory of the Republicans in the elections
held after Primo de Rivera stepped down from power. The capital's
streets were overflowing with people, especially in the symbolic
and central Puerta del Sol, a gathering point for thousands of
Republicans celebrating the Declaration of the Second Republic.
The Civil War
Change, however, was not readily
accepted by the Spain of those days. This was a period when liberal
and conservative governments changed hands fast, without guaranteeing
the stability long sought after. Eventually, the enormous divide
separating one and the other side led to the bloody civil war,
which began on July 18, 1936 after Francisco Franco's coup d'état
against the Republic. The war dragged on until April 1, 1939,
when the area controlled by the Republican forces, after years
of agony, had been reduced to the center and southeast of the
peninsula. After Franco's forces seized Madrid at the end of March,
they knew they had won the war.
During the 3 long years of
the war, Madrid had been under constant siege. The streets were
battlefronts. One of the neighborhoods in the capital most punished
by the invading forces was the area leading from where Plaza de
España is today, along Princesa and Rosales streets up
to Parque del Oeste, then the outskirts of the city. In the city
center, the situation was very different. In 1937, the Republicans,
aware of the danger the city faced, had the symbol of the city,
the Cibeles statue, covered and protected against enemy guns.
Photographs from that period are incredible: the Puerta de Alcalá
without the Torre de Valencia behind it and Cibeles just a mound
as it was protected by bricks and sandbags against obus missile
attacks. The end would, in this case, justify the means. The Neptune
fountain on Paseo del Prado, in front of the Hotel Ritz, was also
'buried', while the Plaza Mayor and the façade of the municipal
museum were also protected. Unfortunately, the Republicans, cement
barricades and their cries of No pasarán (They shall not
pass) could not stop the advance of the Nationalist forces.
The
50s and 60s
After the war, reconstruction
of Madrid followed the guidelines set out in the General Plan
for the Organization of Madrid. The Gran Vía was finished
and the massive influx of immigrants from other areas of the country
-even poorer than Madrid- began to give shape to the immense city
which Madrid would become in little time.
In the 60s, entire new neighborhoods
were built on the outskirts (spreading out further and further
into the plains) and the economy began to grow as a result. All
the while, speculation became a habit within the construction
sector. One example of this was the terrible transformation taking
place along the Paseo de la Castellana. Many palatial mansions
were demolished to make way for taller and more modern buildings
in line with the times, the constructors choosing to ignore the
historical value of the buildings being destroyed.
Democracy
Madrid slowly woke up
from the post-war period and undertook an urban plan to try and
repair a lot of the buildings affected by the war. Since 1975,
Madrid's 'skyline' has been through many changes. The Gran Vía
is no longer the elegant avenue it once was, but a great commercial
and busy street. The Paseo de la Castellana, once the residence
of the wealthiest bourgeoisie in the city, has been taken over
largely by banks and embassies on both sides. However, areas like
Chueca, which had been completely neglected by the local authorities
and taken over by drug dealers and junkies, have now completely
changed. Thanks to the gay community, for example, Chueca is perhaps
one of the liveliest and vanguard neighborhoods in the city today.
Several other major construction projects have also been carried
out, including the Picasso and KIO Towers in more recent years.
As well as the fantastic expansion
of the Madrid metro system, numerous building façades have
been redone, and the number of green areas in the city has increased
(parks, trees on almost all streets, fountains). The KIO Towers,
however, are the true representative of modernity in Madrid and
its openness to new change (while not to everyone's aesthetic
liking). They represent the single most important event in Spain
in the last few years: Entering the European Union and the Euro
zone. That's why these leaning towers are also known as the Puerta
de Europa (Gateway to Europe), a medieval name for a modern outlook. |
