Madrid, the capital of Spain and seat of the Spanish government, is situated in the department of the same name, in the ancient province of New Castile, on the left bank of the Manzanares, in 40° 24' N. lat. and 3° 25' W. long., 880 miles by rail from Paris. It is built on a treeless, ill-watered plateau, 2060 feet above the sea-level, and was created capital by the arbitrary will of a sovereign. The Manzanares is merely a mountain-torrent falling into the Jarama, a tributary of the Tagus, useless for communication, and not even to be depended upon to supply the city with water, which is brought from the Guadarrama Mountains by an aqueduct 42 miles in length. The sole recommendation of Madrid as capital is its central position in the Peninsula; it is nearly equidistant from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts and from the Pyrenean frontier. Swept, during the winter months, by the icy winds from the snow-capped mountains on the north, and exposed in summer to a burning sun, it has a climate which, though dry and bright, shows extreme variations of temperature (104° to 14°). The average of the eight warmer months (March to October) is 66° F., and that of the four remaining ones 44°, but the difference at the same time between sun and shade is sometimes as great as 20°. In spite of a death-rate of over 34 per thousand, caused by its treacherous climate and the insanitary habits of its citizens, the increase of Madrid has of late years been rapid. At the beginning of the 19th century the population was about 160,000; in 1860 it was 298,000; in 1870, 332,000, and in 1895, 500,000; less than 40 per cent., however, of the inhabitants are natives of the city. Madrid is nearly circular, unfortified, and about 10 miles in circumference.
Through the Latin and Arabic chroniclers Madrid can trace its existence as far back as the 10th century, when it was known as Medina Magerit, a fortified post of some importance on the frontier of the Moorish kingdom of Toledo. First retaken by the Christians under Ramiro II. of Castile (939), it was not finally conquered till the reign of
Alfonso VI. (1085). A list of its inhabitants, Castilian and Mozarab, appears in a charter of Toledo granted by Alfonso VIII. in 1117. After this time the mention of it in documents is frequent. The part first inhabited was the high ground where the royal palace now stands on the west of the city: here was the stronghold that first gave the place celebrity. As the Christian frontier was pushed farther southward, Madrid would probably have again sunk into obscurity had it not been a favourite place of meeting for expeditions against the Moors, and temporary residence of the kings, who were attracted by the game sheltered in the extensive forests, long since destroyed, to the great detriment of the climate. The city received its first charter in 1202, and the Cortes were first held in it by Ferdinand VI. (1309), and subsequently by Alfonso XI. and Henry III., the former of whom altered the constitution of the city, giving it twelve regidores and two alealdes in place of the Señor de Madrid, who had formerly been elected by nobles and commons. John II. and Henry IV. granted additional privileges to the city. Isabel the Catholic acquired the city after a sharp struggle with the partisans of her rival Doña Juana, and it now became a place of some importance owing to the more frequent presence of the court. After the death of the Catholic kings, the regent, Cardinal Cisneros, ruled Spain from Madrid, and, though the city embraced the popular cause in the war of the Comuneros, it received such privileges from the Emperor Charles V. that its population rose rapidly from 3000 to 6000 households; during this reign it furnished a prison for Francis I., king of France. When in 1561 Madrid was declared capital of Spain by Philip II. it contained about 30,000 inhabitants. With the court came the great nobles, who built palaces, and innumerable friars, who established convents; nevertheless till the middle of the 17th century the city presented a mean appearance, and most of the houses were only one story high, thus avoiding the obligation of lodging the numerous retinue of the kings. Philip IV. made some improvements, especially the laying out of the park of the Buen Retiro, and in his time Madrid, though still unpaved, filthy, and roamed over at will by the privileged pigs of St Anthony, was the seat of one of the most brilliant courts of Europe. The greatest benefactor of the city was King Charles III., many of whose splendid works still exist. Madrid took an active part in the revolution that wrested the power from Godoy, the Prince of the Peace, and during the domination of Napoleon (2d May 1808) made a gallant attempt to shake off the foreign yoke. Though taken by the allied force under the command of the Duke of Wellington in 1812, Madrid was not finally rid of the French till 1813. The next year marked the return of the Bourbon king. Although the scene of several of the revolutions that form so large a part of Spanish history during the 19th century, Madrid, aided by the suppression (1836) of the convents, the introduction of railways (1850), and an abundant supply of good water (1858), has been continually and rapidly advancing in importance and prosperity.
The general aspect of the city is clean and gay, whilst the older parts, the Calle de Toledo, Plaza Mayor, and district of Lavapiés are picturesque; no trace of the medieval city now remains. It is administered by a military and a civil governor, aided by the mayors of the ten districts into which it is divided. The police is good, and Madrid is as safe as any European capital, well lighted, but indifferently paved (wood pavements have lately been laid down in several streets). The new streets are generally fine, broad, and planted with trees; the houses well built, lofty, stuccoed and painted, and inhabited by several families living in flats, guarded at night by watchmen (serenos), to whom the key of the street door is entrusted. A great feature is the magnificent open spaces, chief of which is the Prado, running north and south through the eastern part of the city, and, with its continuations, three miles long: it contains four handsome fountains with groups of statuary, a fine obelisk to commemorate the gallant struggle of the citizens with the French (May 2, 1808), monuments to Columbus, the Marques del Duero, and Isabel the Catholic. The picture-gallery, founded by Charles III., and situated in the Prado, is one of the finest in Europe, and contains the principal works of Velasquez and Murillo, besides many of the masterpieces of Raphael, Tintoretto, Rubens, Teniers, and Van Dyck. Two other parks are the Buen Retiro, the fashionable promenade on the east of the city, and the Casa de Campo on the west. Midway between its extremities the Prado is crossed at right angles by the Calle de Alcala, the finest street in the city, about a mile in length, and leading from outside the fine triumphal arch rebuilt by Charles III. to the Puerta del Sol, a handsome though not very large square, with broad pavements, and a fountain in the centre. This square is the heart of Madrid; here converge the principal tramway lines which have so greatly aided the extension of the city, and in it and the streets branching off from it are situated the principal shops and places of business. The finest square is the Plaza Mayor, formerly the scene of bull-fights and autos da fé, and said to have held 50,000 spectators; it contains a gigantic equestrian statue of Philip III., its founder, and was formerly the centre of Madrid, but is now somewhat decayed as the city has moved farther eastward. On the west of the city is situated the royal palace; commenced in 1738 to replace the ancient Alcazar, which had been burned down, it was finished in 1764 at a cost of about £3,000,000. It is a fine stone building in the Tuscan style, forming a square of 479 feet, and enclosing a court of 140 feet; its architect was the Italian Sacchetti. Dependencies of the palace are the royal armoury, containing the finest collection in the world, and the royal stables, remarkable for their extent. Other fine buildings are the palace of justice, formerly a convent; the houses of parliament, Palacio de los Consejos; Buena Vista Palace, now the ministry of war; the new national bank; and the town hall. Besides a flourishing university, founded by Cardinal Cisneros, and two high schools, Madrid contains 118 municipal and 21 pauper schools, with an aggregate of 11,400 pupils. There are many charitable institutions, and the municipality maintains dispensaries in each of the ten districts; but hospital accommodation is deficient, and beggars abound in spite of the law. Madrid is well provided with newspapers (about six leading dailies and several periodical reviews) and public libraries, the chief being the National Library, with more than half a million volumes, and the library of the university; those of the palace and of the Academy of History contain many treasures. Amongst the many learned societies the principal are the Academies of History and the Spanish Language; the Ateneo is a flourishing literary club with a good collection of books. The opera-house is one of the finest in the world; all the theatres must by law be lit by electricity. The bull-ring, situated outside the gates on the east, is a solid structure seating 14,000, and owned by the provincial council. The churches are mostly small and insignificant; the handsomest is the recently-rebuilt church of San Francisco. The plain church of San Isidro, patron of Madrid, serves as cathedral. The old church of Atocha, containing a much-venerated image, the tombs of several celebrated men, and many banners that recalled the great days of Spain, has recently been pulled down. Madrid is rather a consuming than a producing centre; such manufactures as do exist contribute only in a small degree to supply the needs of the city. Ironfounding, the manufacture of furniture, carriages, and fancy articles are carried on on a small scale. The manufacture of tobacco, the monopoly of which is farmed by the government to a company, employs many hands, chiefly women. The publishing trade is important, and books are well printed and cheap. The old tapestry-factory still turns out beautiful work, and the potteries at Moncloa are now producing good imitations of many of the artistic kinds of earthenware for which Spain was formerly celebrated. The exchange and money-market, largely carried on by foreigners, is the most important in Spain.
See Ayala y Sastre, Madrid, Biblioteca de la Provincia (1889); Mesonero Romanos, El Antiguo Madrid (1881). For Madrid (Province), see SPAIN.