Madrid (/məˈdrɪd/ mə-DRID, Spanish: [maˈðɾið])[n. 1] is the capital and most populous city of Spain.

The city has

almost 3.4 million[7] inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the
second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest
in the EU.[8][9][10] The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi) geographical area.[11] Madrid lies on the River
Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at about 650 metres above mean sea level. Capital
city of both Spain and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid (since 1983),[12] it is also the
political, economic and cultural centre of the country. [13] The climate of Madrid features hot summers and
cool winters.

The Madrid urban agglomeration has the second-largest GDP[14] in the European Union and its influence in
politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute
to its status as one of the world's major global cities.[15][16] Due to its economic output, high standard of living,
and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre [17] and the leading economic hub of the
Iberian Peninsula and of Southern Europe.[18][19] The metropolitan area hosts major Spanish companies such as
Telefónica, Iberia, BBVA and FCC.[20] It concentrates the bulk of banking operations in the country and it is the
Spanish-speaking city generating the largest amount of webpages. [20] For innovation, Madrid is ranked 19th in
the world and 7th in Europe from 500 cities, in the 2022-2023 annual analysts Innovation Cities Index,
published by 2ThinkNow.[21]

Madrid houses the headquarters of the UN's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ibero-American
General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Public Interest
Oversight Board (PIOB). It also hosts major international regulators and promoters of the Spanish language:
the Standing Committee of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, headquarters of the Royal
Spanish Academy (RAE), the Instituto Cervantes and the Foundation of Urgent Spanish (FundéuRAE). Madrid
organises fairs such as FITUR, [22] ARCO,[23] SIMO TCI[24] and the Madrid Fashion Week.[25] Madrid is home to two
world-famous football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.

While Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic
neighbourhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal
Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century
National Library building (founded in 1712) containing some of Spain's historical archives; many national
museums,[26] and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three art
museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza
Museum, which complements the holdings of the other two museums. [27] Cibeles Palace and Fountain has
become one of the monument symbols of the city. [28][29] The mayor is José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the
People's Party.[30]

Etymology[edit]
There are various theories regarding the origin of the toponym "Madrid" (all of them with problems when it
comes to fully explain the phonetic evolution of the toponym along history), namely: [31]

• A Celtic origin (Madrid < *Magetoritum;[32] with the root "-ritu" meaning "ford").
•
From the Arabic maǧrà (meaning "water stream")[32] or majrit (‫ مجريط‬meaning "spring", "fountain").[33]
The latter is the first documented name of the settlement. [33]
•
A Mozarabic variant of the Latin matrix, matricis (also meaning "water stream").[32]
History[edit]
Main article: History of Madrid

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Madrid.

The site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since prehistoric times, [34][35][36] and there are archaeological
remains of the Celtic Carpetani settlement, Roman villas,[37] a Visigoth basilica near the church of Santa María
de la Almudena[38] and three Visigoth necropolises near Casa de Campo, Tetuán and Vicálvaro. [39]

Middle Ages[edit]
The first historical document about the existence of an established settlement in Madrid dates from the
Muslim age. In the second half of the 9th century, [40] Umayyad Emir Muhammad I built a fortress on a
headland near the river Manzanares[41] as one of the many fortresses he ordered to be built on the border
between Al-Andalus and the kingdoms of León and Castile, with the objective of protecting Toledo from the
Christian invasions and also as a starting point for Muslim offensives. After the disintegration of the Caliphate
of Córdoba in the early 11th century, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo.

In the context of the wider campaign for the conquest of the taifa of Toledo initiated in 1079, Madrid was
seized in 1083 by Alfonso VI of León and Castile, who sought to use the town as an offensive outpost against
the city of Toledo,[42] in turn conquered in 1085. Following the conquest, Christians occupied the center of the
city, while Muslims and Jews were displaced to the suburbs. Madrid, located near Alcalá (under Muslim
control until 1118), remained a borderland for a while, suffering a number of razzias during the Almoravid
period, and its walls were destroyed in 1110. [42] The city was confirmed as villa de realengo [es] (linked to the
Crown) in 1123, during the reign of Alfonso VII.[43] The 1123 Charter of Otorgamiento established the first
explicit limits between Madrid and Segovia, namely the Puerto de El Berrueco and the Puerto de Lozoya. [44]
Beginning in 1188, Madrid had the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. [citation needed] In
1202, Alfonso VIII gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, [45] which was expanded in
1222 by Ferdinand III. The government system of the town was changed to a regimiento of 12 regidores by
Alfonso XI on 6 January 1346.[46]

Starting in the mid-13th century and up to the late 14th century, the concejo of Madrid vied for the control of
the Real de Manzanares territory against the concejo of Segovia, a powerful town north of the Sierra de
Guadarrama mountain range, characterised by its repopulating prowess and its husbandry-based economy,
contrasted by the agricultural and less competent in repopulation town of Madrid. [47] After the decline of
Sepúlveda, another concejo north of the mountain range, Segovia had become a major actor south of the
Guadarrama mountains, expanding across the Lozoya and Manzanares rivers to the north of Madrid and
along the Guadarrama river course to its west.[47]

In 1309, the Courts of Castile convened at Madrid for the first time under Ferdinand IV, and later in 1329,
1339, 1391, 1393, 1419 and twice in 1435.

Modern Age