Madrid
The beginning of Madrid was as fascinating as the city is itself. According to the chronicles of the Arabs, in AD 852 the Emir of Córdoba, named Mohamed I (AD 852-886), gave orders that a fortress be built on the left bank of the Manzanares River. This was the geographical centre of the Iberian Peninsula. The new establishment was called 'Mayrit' which in Arab means "a source of water".In 1561, the Spanish king Felipe II made Madrid the capital of the newly freed nation. By doing so, he wanted to establish a symbol of the centralization and unification of the country. Madrid is situated to the south of the mountains of Guadarrams at 2.100 metres above sea level, which makes it the highest capital in Europe. The population of Madrid is approximately five million. The climate is cool even when the summers are hot, because of the gentle breeze coming from the mountains. The city prides in the abundance of palaces, historical and architectural monuments and plenty of places for an active nightlife.
Madrid, being the capital, is Spain's financial and political core, here are housed the Cortes (Parliament), the Senate and even the Royal Family. In Madrid, there are three very special cultural places, also known as the Golden Triangle - the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza - those three art museums are world famous and well deserving of their reputation.
The outer streets of the city are busy as any metropolitan’s but the streets and corners in the heart of Madrid are a joy to the eye. Here one can charmingly wind around pockets of medieval architecture and narrow, atmospheric alleys, all dotted with the prettiest of shops and bars, suddenly leaving to an interspersion with eighteenth-century Bourbon squares. All this romantic old atmosphere is not clouded by the outstanding modern architecture, but improved by it. When compared with some of the others historic cities in Spain - Toledo, Salamanca, Sevilla, Granada - in Madrid seem to be fewer sights of great architectural interest, however, what’s truly remarkable about the city is what the monarchs have acquired - some outstanding paintings collections, which gave the basis of the Prado museum.
Madrid is a relatively young city in comparison to other great European capitals. However, the beauty in city lies not in its years of existence, but in its charismatic atmosphere and the beauty of its cultural inheritance, safely preserved in the streets, in the museum and in the character of the people who live there.
Madrid has gone through many changes and innovations during the time of the 19th and the 20th Century. Every decade or the different historic periods of time has left their influence and all of this can be seen in the great fusion of architectural patterns. It is the truth when people are saying that for as many as 100 years before the famous Spanish Civil War the population of Madrid was still living in their traditional way and that they were not influenced in a significant degree by the events that were happening outside the limits of their city. In spite of all this, since those years and mainly during the last five decades the outlook of the city has definitely changed and nowadays it is a part of the new 21st century to the fullest of this meaning. The architecture of the city has altered in its outward appearance and now there is an international sense of the look of Madrid which is brought by those new for it customs.
It doesn’t take too much of a time to realize that the main attraction of Madrid are definitely its citizens. You can see them hanging out in the popular cafes or spending their free hours at the summer terrazas, or enjoying their evenings at the many bars, clubs etc. No matter what is said Madrid is still one of the liveliest and joyous cities in Spain and in Europe.