Madrid (city)

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Capital city of Spain and of Madrid province, on the Manzanares River; population (2001 est) 2,957,100, conurbation (2003 est) 5,130,000. Built on a vast elevated plateau in the centre of the country, at 655 m/2,183 ft it is the highest capital in Europe and experiences extremes of heat and cold. Industries include the production of food, electronics, pharmaceuticals, leather, chemicals, furniture, tobacco, and paper, and there is engineering and publishing. Madrid is the country's chief transportation and administrative centre, as well as an important commercial and financial centre.

History
Madrid began in the 10th century as the Moorish city of Magerit. It was captured in 1083 by King Alfonso VI of Castile. It remained a small provincial town until Philip II made it his capital in 1561 because of its position at the centre of the Iberian peninsula; it became the national capital in 1607. The city developed slowly at first, but expanded rapidly in the 18th century. In 1808 there was an uprising here against Napoleon's army of occupation. In reprisal, hundreds of citizens were shot at night along the Prado promenade; these events were immortalized by two of Francisco Goya's most celebrated paintings, now in the Prado museum. The city's commercial and industrial life developed very rapidly after the 1890s, subsequently rivalled only by that of Barcelona. Madrid was the centre of opposition to General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War, and was besieged by the Nationalists 1936–39. A series of bomb attacks on the city's railway network in 2004 killed over 200 people. The attacks were blamed on the Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group al-Qaeda.

Red stands for bloodshed. Orange symbolizes agriculture. Blue represents the sky and hope. Effective date: 24 August 1990. >>