Madrid

ma-drid', the capital and largest city of Spain. It stands on a plateau of sandy hills, 2,450 feet above sea level, near the geographical center of the kingdom. It lies on a small stream, whose waters finally reach the Tagus. The place was taken from the Moors in 1083 and was for centuries a hunting seat of the Spanish monarchs. Charles V, deriving benefit from the keen air, made it an occasional place of residence. Philip II made it his capital in 1560. The city has over seventy public squares. The architecture of Madrid does not compare favorably with that of other European capitals, nor, indeed, do the public buildings equal those erected elsewhere by the Moors, whom the Spaniards drove out. The city has no cathedral. The royal palace is by all odds the most imposing building. It is 470 feet square and 100 feet in height. The material is a white granite, resembling marble. It was built, it is said, to rival the palace of Versailles. The armory near by contains the best known collection of military antiquities in Europe. The royal gallery contains many paintings by Titian, Raphael, Vandyke, Rubens, and other artists. It ranks among the half dozen great picture galleries of the world. A bull ring, dating from 1674, is situated near the east side of the city. It is large enough to accommodate 12,000 spectators. A university of 5,000 students is the leading educational institution. There are also schools of agriculture, architecture, engineering, and music. The national library contains half a million volumes. During the last twenty years Madrid has shown signs of an industrial revival. Manufactures of tobacco, chocolate, leather, boots and shoes, plated ware, gloves and fans, carpets, and tapestry are prosperous. The city is the center of the railroad system of the country but has no natural advantages. It is remote from the sea and is situated in the midst of a waterless, barren region. During the winter, blasts from the Sierras on the north are piercing and keen. During the summer hot winds from the south parch the plateau, giving rise to a popular Spanish proverb that the climate consists of "three months of winter and nine of hell." "An ice house and a furnace" is the way a recent writer puts it. During the Napoleonic wars the French army occupied Madrid twice. It was also entered by the Duke of Wellington, who restored it to the Spaniards. Many of the edifices, statues, and decorations of the public squares suffered during the uprisings of the Carlists and Socialists during the period of anarchy following 1873. The population of the city in 1900 was 540,109. See Spain