Madrid tourist information

Although the site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since prehistoric times, in Roman age his territory belonged the diocese of Complutum (present Alcalá de Henares). But the first historical data on the city comes from the 9th century, when Mehmed I ordered the construction of a small palace in the same place that is today occupied by the Palacio Real.

Citadel
Around this palace a small citadel, al-Mudaina, was built. Near that palace was the Manzanares, which the Muslims called al-Majri, "source of water"). From this came the naming of the site as Majerit, which was later rendered to the modern-day spelling of Madrid). The citadel was conquered in 1085 by Alfonso VI of Castile in his advance towards Toledo. He reconsecrated the mosque as the church of the Virgin of Almudena (almudin, the garrison's granary). In 1329, the Cortes Generales first assembled in the city to advise Ferdinand IV of Castile. Sephardic Jews and Moors continued to live in the city until they were expelled at the end of the 15th century.

Kingdom of Castilla
The kingdoms of Castilla, with its capital at Toledo, and Aragón, with its capital at Saragossa, were welded into modern Spain by Charles I of Spain. Though Charles favored Madrid, it was his son, Philip II (1527-1598) who moved the court to Madrid in 1561. Although he made no official declaration, the seat of the court was the de facto capital. Seville continued to control the Spanish Indies, but Madrid controlled Seville. Aside from a brief period, 1601-1606, when Felipe III installed his court in Valladolid, Madrid's fortunes have closely mirrored those of Spain. During the Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), in the 16th/17th century, Madrid had no resemblance with other European capitals: the population of the city was economically dependent on the business of the court itself.

Palacio Real de Madrid
Felipe V decided that a European capital could not stay in such a state, and new palaces (including the Palacio Real de Madrid) were built during his reign. However, it would not be until Carlos III (1716-1788) that Madrid would become a modern city. Carlos III was one of the most popular kings in the history of Madrid, and the saying "the best mayor, the king" became popular during those times. When Carlos IV (1748-1819) became king the people of Madrid revolted. After the Mutiny of Aranjuez, which was led by his own son Fernando VII against him, Carlos IV resigned, but Fernando VII's reign would be short: in May of 1808 Napoleon's troops entered the city. On May 2, 1808 (Spanish: Dos de Mayo) the Madrilenes revolted against the French forces, whose brute reaction would have a lasting impact on French rule in Spain and France's image in Europe in general.

First and Second Spanish Republic
Isabel II could not calm down the political tension that would lead to yet another revolt, the First Spanish Republic, and the comeback of the monarchs, which eventually led to the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War. During this war (1936-1939) Madrid was one of the most affected cities and its streets were battlezones. Madrid was a stronghold of the Republicans from July 1936. Its western suburbs were the scene of an all out battle in November 1936, when the Nationalist forces tried to take the city. Thereafter, the city was besieged for almost three years, until it surrendered in March 1939. It was during the Civil War that Madrid became the first city to be bombed by airplanes specifically targeting civilians.

During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, especially after the sixties, the south of Madrid became very industrialized and there were massive migrations from rural environments into the city. Madrid's south-eastern periphery became an extensive slum settlement, which was the base for an active cultural and political frame.

Airport
Madrid is served by Barajas International Airport. Barajas is the main hub of Iberia Airlines. It consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe, America and the rest of the world. Current passenger volumes range upwards of 40 million passengers per year, putting it in the top 20 busiest airports in the world. Given annual increases of 10%, a new fourth terminal has been constructed. The new Terminal 4 is the biggest European airport terminal. It has significantly reduced delays and doubled the capacity of the airport to more than 70 million passengers per year. Two additional runways have also been constructed, making Barajas a fully operational four-runway airport.

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National Rail
Spain's railway system, the Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles (Renfe) operates the vast majority of Spain's railways. In Madrid, the main rail terminals are Atocha and Chamartín.

The crown jewel of Spain's next decade of infrastructure construction is the Spanish high speed rail network, Alta Velocidad Española AVE. Currently, an ambitious plan includes the construction of a 7,000 km network, centered on Madrid. The overall goal is to have all important provincial cities be no more than 4 hours away from Madrid, and no more than 6 hours away from Barcelona. As of 2005, AVE high-speed trains link Atocha station to Seville (to be extended to Malaga in 2007) and Toledo in the south and to Zaragoza and Lleida in the east (to be extended to Barcelona at the end of 2007).

Metro
Serving the city's population of some six million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most extensive and fastest-growing metro networks in the world. With the addition of a loop serving suburbs to Madrid's south-west "Metrosur", it is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe, second only to London's Underground. The province of Madrid is also served by an extensive commuter rail network called Cercanías.

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