This article is about the capital city of Spain. For the autonomous community, see Community of Madrid.

For other uses, see Madrid (disambiguation).

Madrid
Villa de Madrid

From upper left: Puerta de Alcal, Campo del Moro Gardens and Royal Palace, City Hall, Alcal and Gran Va street, Prado Museum, Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry tree (madroo) in Puerta del Sol Square, Cervantes Institute Foundation Headquarter, View of Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral.

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: Fui sobre agua edificada, mis muros de fuego son. Esta es mi insignia y blasn
("On water I was built, my walls are made of fire. This is my ensign and escutcheon")

Madrid
Location of Madrid within Spain

Madrid
Map of Madrid

Coordinates: 4023N 343W Country Spain Autonomous Madrid community Founded 9th century[1] Government Type Mayor-council Body Ayuntamiento de Madrid Mayor Ana Botella (PP) Area City 605.77 km2 (233.89 sq mi) Elevation 667 m (2,188 ft) Population (2011) City 3,265,038 Rank 1st Density 5,390/km2 (14,000/sq mi) Urban 6,087,000[3] Metro 6,369,162[2] Madrilenian, Madrilene Demonym madrileo, -a; matritense

Time zone Summer (DST) Postal code Area code(s) Patron Saints Website

(es) CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) 2800128080 +34 (ES) + 91 (M) Isidore the Laborer Virgin of Almudena www.madrid.es

Madrid (English /mdrd/, Spanish: [mai]) is the capital of Spain and its largest city. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million[4] and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be around 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-largest in the European Union after London and Paris.[5][6][7][8] The city spans a total of 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).[9] The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and Len and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic and cultural centre of Spain.[10] The current mayor is Ana Botella from the People's Party (PP). The Madrid urban agglomeration has the third-largest GDP[11] in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.[12][13] Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe[14][15] and the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, such as Telefnica, Iberia or Repsol. Madrid is the 10th most livable city in the world according to Monocle magazine, in its 2010 index.[16][17] Madrid also ranks among the 12 greenest European cities in 2010.[18] Madrid houses the headquarters of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), belonging to the United Nations Organization (UN), the SEGIB, the Organization of IberoAmerican States (OEI), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). It also hosts major international institutions regulators of Spanish: the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the Cervantes Institute and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish (Fundu BBVA). Madrid organizes fairs as FITUR,[19] ARCO,[20] SIMO TCI [21] and the Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week.[22] While Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century National Library building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; a large number of National museums,[23] and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three

art museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofa Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which completes the shortcomings of the other two museums.[24] Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become the monument symbol of the city.[25][26][27]

Contents

1 History o 1.1 Toponym

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1.2 Middle Ages 1.3 Modern Age 1.4 From the 19th century to present day

2 Government 3 Geography
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3.1 Climate 3.2 Location 3.3 Water supply

4 Demography 5 Districts 6 Metropolitan area 7 Cityscape

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7.1 Architecture 7.2 Urban sculpture 7.3 Environment

8 Economy
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8.1 Middle Ages to 20th century 8.2 1992 to present

9 Art and culture

o o o o

9.1 Museums and Art centres 9.2 Landmarks 9.3 Churches 9.4 Literature

o o o

9.5 Nightlife 9.6 Bohemian culture 9.7 Classical music and opera