The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Madrid, Spain.
Prior to 17th century
Prehistory: Quaternary period or Lower Paleolithic – First archaeological signs of human occupation Roman period: mansion or staging-post (Miacum) established 5th century AD – archaeological remains reported in 2007 indicate Visigoth occupation 9th century – Muhammad I of Córdoba ordered the construction of an Alcazar 1085 – Alfonso VI of León and Castile takes the city in the Reconquista. 1339 – Treaty of Madrid secures collaboration between Aragon and Castile 1499 Cardinal Cisneros founded the Complutense University. Fernando de Rojas publishes La Celestina in Madrid 1500 – Printing press in operation. 1505 – San Jerónimo el Real built. 1526 – Treaty of Madrid signed. 1537 – Casa de Cisneros built. 1547 – Birth of Miguel de Cervantes, later a Spanish writer. 1559 – Convent of Las Descalzas Reales founded. 1561 Court of Philip II moves from Toledo to Madrid. Population: 20,000. 1562 – Anton van den Wyngaerde draws a . 1584 – Bridge of Segovia built.
17th century
1601 – Court of Philip III moves from Madrid to Valladolid. 1605 – Cervantes' novel Don Quixote published. 1606 – Court of Philip III returns to Madrid. 1613 – Palace of the Councils built. 1616 – Real Monasterio de la Encarnación inaugurated. 1619 – Plaza Mayor laid out; Casa de la Panadería built. 1633 – Church of San Antonio de los Alemanes built. 1636 – Royal Alcazar built. 1637 – Buen Retiro Palace built. 1643 – Palacio de Santa Cruz built. 1644 – Funeral of Isabel de Borbón. 1661 – Gazeta de Madrid begins publication. 1664 – San Isidro Church built. 1672 – Premiere of Guevara–Hidalgo's zarzuela Celos Hacen Estrellas.
18th century
1706 – City occupied by Portuguese. 1713 – Royal Spanish Academy founded. 1714 – Real Biblioteca del Palacio formed. 1734 – Royal Alcazar burns down. 1737 – Real Colegio de Profesores Boticarios established. 1738 – Real Academia de la Historia founded. 1743 – Teatro de la Cruz renovated. 1751 – Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas headquartered in Madrid. 1752 – Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando founded. 1755 – Real Jardín Botánico founded. 1756 – built. 1766 – Esquilache Riots. 1767 – Buen Retiro Park opens. 1774 – (zoo) opens. 1778 – Puerta de Alcalá inaugurated. 1782 – built on Plaza de Cibeles. 1784 – San Francisco el Grande Basilica built. 1790 – Plaza Mayor reconstructed. 1798 – Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida built. Population: 170,000
19th century
1808 – Dos de Mayo Uprising. 1812 – Wellington takes city from the French. 1817 – Moncloa Porcelain Factory in operation. 1819 – Museo del Prado established. 1830 Royal Conservatory of Music founded. creates a scale model of the city. 1831 – Bolsa de Madrid founded. 1832 – Lhardy patisserie in business. 1835 – Ateneo de Madrid founded. 1836 Biblioteca Nacional established. Literary University relocates to Madrid. 1840 – Monumento a los Caidos por España inaugurated. 1843 – Museo Naval de Madrid inaugurated. 1850 – Teatro Real opera house opens. 1851 – Estación de Mediodía inaugurated. 1856 Teatro de la Zarzuela opens. (school) founded. 1864 – Hotel Paris opens. 1866 – Sociedad de Conciertos de Madrid founded. 1867 – National Archaeological Museum of Spain established. 1868 – City walls dismantled. 1869 – Jardín Zoológico established. 1874 – Bull ring constructed on Plaza de Toros. 1875 – Museo Nacional de Antropología inaugurated. 1877 – Population: 397,816. 1884 – Cementerio de la Almudena established. 1885 Roman Catholic diocese of Madrid established. Theatre of María Guerrero built. 1887 Café Comercial in business. Palacio de Cristal built. Population: 472,228. 1888 – Café Gijón opens. 1891 – Bank of Spain Building completed. 1892 – Historical American Exposition held. 1893 – Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre formed. 1900 – Population: 539,835.
20th century
1902 – Real Madrid C.F. (football club) founded. 1903 Madrid Symphony Orchestra formed. Atlético de Madrid football club founded. 1905 – Parque del Oeste inaugurated. 1909 – Cibeles Palace built. 1910 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales established. Residencia de Estudiantes founded. 1911 Cuatro Vientos Airport opens. Metropolis Building inaugurated. 1912 – Hotel Palace opens. 1916 – Market of San Miguel constructed. 1919 – Metro begins operating. 1920 – Population: 750,896. 1922 – Monument to Alfonso XII inaugurated. 1923 – Teatro Monumental (theatre) built. 1924 Line 2 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. Hotel Florida opens. National Museum of Romanticism inaugurated. 1925 – Teatro Pavón (theatre) opens. 1928 – Catholic Opus Dei founded. 1929 Gran Vía constructed. opens. 1930 Teatro Munoz Seca (theatre) opens. built. 1931 City designated capital of Spanish Republic. Madrid-Barajas Airport begins operating. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Spain) headquartered in Madrid. 1932 – Museo Sorolla and Cine Proyecciones (cinema) inaugurated. 1934 – Museum of the Spanish Village formed. 1935 – House-Museum of Lope de Vega and Cine Madrid-Paris (cinema) open. 1936 November: Siege of Madrid begins. Line 3 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. 1939 March: Siege of Madrid ends; Nationalists in power. Capital of Spanish State relocated to Madrid from Burgos. 1940 Spanish National Orchestra founded. Population: 1,088,647. 1941 – Museum of the Americas founded. 1944 Carabanchel Prison built. Museum Cerralbo opens. Line 4 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. 1946 – Estadio Santiago Bernabéu opens. 1947 – Municipal bus company EMT Madrid founded. 1949 – Cine Pompeya (cinema) opens. 1950 – Lope de Vega Theater opens. 1951 – Museum of Lázaro Galdiano opens. 1953 – Cavalcade of Magi is officially celebrated in Madrid for the first time (unofficial Cavalcades had been celebrated since 1910). 1954 – Cine Benlliure (cinema) opens. 1956 – Real Madrid wins first European Cup. 1960 – Population: 2,259,931. 1965 – RTVE Symphony Orchestra formed. 1966 – Estadio Vicente Calderón opens. 1967 – City flag design adopted. 1968 Autonomous University of Madrid established. Line 5 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. 1969 Comillas Pontifical University relocates to Madrid. Eurovision Song Contest 1969 held. 1970 – Population: 3,146,071. 1971 – Technical University of Madrid formed. 1972 Zoo Aquarium built. Temple of Debod installed. 1973 – Operación Ogro. 1974 – Line 7 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. 1975 – Dictator Francisco Franco dies in Madrid. Spanish transition to democracy begins. 1976 – Torres de Colón built. 1977 – Massacre of Atocha. 1978 Sabatini Gardens open. Centro Dramático Nacional created. 1979 Enrique Tierno Galván becomes the first mayor of Madrid elected after the restoration of democracy in Spain. Line 6 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. Windsor Tower built. 1980 La Movida Madrileña begins. Line 9 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. 1981 An attempted coup d'état takes place in the Congress of Deputies on 23 February. Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica founded. 1982 City hosts part of the matches of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, including the final, won by Italy. Torrespaña, TVE broadcasting tower, inaugurated. 1983 November: Avianca Flight 011 accident. December: Alcalá 20 nightclub fire. 1984 – Queen Sofía Chamber Orchestra formed. 1987 – Community of Madrid Orchestra founded. 1988 – National Auditorium of Music inaugurated. 1989 – El Mundo begins publication. 1990 – in business. 1991 City hosts Israeli–Palestinian peace conference. Population: 2,984,576. 1992 Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum open. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and Juan Carlos I Park established. 1993 – Almudena Cathedral consecrated. 1994 – Festimad music festival begins. 1996 – Gate of Europe and Islamic Cultural Center of Madrid built. 1997 – Teatro Real reopens. 1998 – Line 8 (Madrid Metro) and Line 11 (Madrid Metro) begin operating.
21st century
2001 – City named World Book Capital by UNESCO. 2002 – Madrid Arena opens. 2003 Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón becomes the new mayor, succeeding José María Álvarez del Manzano. Manzanares Park inaugurated. Line 12 (Madrid Metro) begins operating. 2004 March: Train bombings. Museo del Traje established. 2005 Windsor Tower suffers a major fire and becomes demolished afterwards. June: Demonstration against ETA. Madrid–Toledo high-speed rail line begins operating. Forest of Remembrance dedicated. Madrid Ballet established. 2006 Art Madrid contemporary art fair begins. Teatro Valle-Inclán opens. December: Madrid-Barajas Airport bombing. 2007 – Metro Ligero begins operating. 2008 Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line begins operating. Spanair Flight 5022 crash. Caixa Forum opens. Torre PwC, Torre Caja Madrid, Torre de Cristal, and Torre Espacio built. Saturday Night Fiber music festival held. 2009 – Population: 3,264,497. 2011 15-M Movement protests. inaugurated. Ana Botella becomes the new City Mayor after Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón resigns. 2012 May: Economic protest. November: Anti-austerity protests. 2013 – September: 4th bid for the Summer Olympic Games fails. 2014 – After the death of former prime minister Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas Airport is renamed to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas. 2015 March: inaugurated. May: City Council election held; Manuela Carmena elected mayor. 2019 June: José Luis Martínez-Almeida elected mayor. 2021 January: Storm Filomena covers Madrid with snow, in a historic snowfall. January: an explosion in a building kills 4 people and wounds 10 other. 2024 November: Madrid hosts the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024, won by Andria Putkaradze from Georgia with the song To My Mom. 2026 June 6-9: Pope Leo XIV visits Madrid. The events held include a mass at Plaza de Cibeles with nearly one million attendees. September 11-13: Spanish Grand Prix is held at Madring for the first time, with Formula One returning to Madrid for the first time since 1981, when the race was held at Circuito del Jarama for the last time. September 23: Maricarmen, a 87-year-old woman, is evicted from the rented home where she had lived since 1956. On September 26, more than 25,000 people protested at Puerta del Sol against evictions, with 1,000 of them camping there the following night, resulting in a scene similar to the 15-M protests at the same place fifteen years earlier. The protests against speculation and rent hikes were also replicated in other Spanish cities. Evolution of the Madrid map 17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
21st century
See also List of mayors of Madrid History of Madrid Madrid capital
References
Bibliography in English Published in the 18th-19th century
Published in the 20th century
Published in the 21st century
in other languages
v.4
External links
(Map of Madrid) Map of Madrid, 1943 Europeana. Items related to Madrid, various dates. Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Madrid, various dates