Madrid It is one of the most beautiful and influential cities on the planet, in the capital of Spain we can find anything we need and also has a very rich history. In this Supercurioso article, we are going to discover some curiosities of Madrid, the capital of Spain , that will leave you speechless.
We are sure that at some point in your life you have spent a great time in the magical places that the city can offer you, so many of these curiosities of Madrid you may know them and some of them will have gone unnoticed for you. Uncover them all in this article!
35 amazing sights of Madrid | With Images
1. Its etymology has some controversy, but most experts agree that it comes from an Arabic word that means matrix as a confluence of the many rivers that flow around it.
2. Although you do not believe it, there are a piece of the Berlin Wall in the capital of Spain. You can see them in the Berlin park, it is possible because they are two twin cities.
3. In addition, we can also find a piece of Egypt with the famous Temple of Debod dating from 200 a. C.
4. In Madrid, the oldest restaurant in the world It dates from 1725 and whose name is "Restaurant Sobrino de Botín".
5. The bear and the madroño of the shield also have a curious origin, the animal was common in the area while with that type of tree they wanted to make it clear that the Villa de Madrid was left with all the trees in front of the clergy.
6. Despite what the famous song says, in Madrid, yes, there is a beach although it is artificial. It is very close to the Manzanares river.
7. Las Ventas was not the first bullring in Madrid. Before there was one in the location where the Palace of Sports nowadays.
8. One of the most macabre streets and in which there have been more murders in the city of Madrid, is that of Antonio Grilo. In portal number three, up to a dozen murders were produced in a few years.
9. One of the most unknown curiosities of Madrid is that there a crocodile in the cathedral of San Ginés . The history goes back to an expedition of the Catholic Kings to America when they were persecuted by one of these animals, according to them they were saved thanks to the virgin and they ordered to dissect it to place it in an altar.
10. The Puerta de Alcalá is not symmetrical because of Carlos III, since the king chose two projects and the architect made them real for not taking the opposite to the monarch.
11. The sculpture known as the fallen angel , is the only one in the world dedicated to Satan. It is also located exactly 666 meters above sea level.
12. The Gran Vía is not a straight street , because they could not tear down the churches that were in the middle, something they did with a lot of houses and streets.
13 La Cibeles is located on top of the Banco de España chamber , so it is the guardian of the money of most of the Spanish, besides being the statue that lives the celebrations of Real Madrid.
14. Beneath this famous fountain runs a subterranean river that also serves to protect the gold of the bank, since before any threat, the cameras would be flooded .
15. Now we are used to seeing many impressive buildings, but Telefónica's skyscraper was the tallest in the city and even from all of Europe in its time.
16. Another of the curiosities of Madrid that will surprise you is that The Royal Palace has a size of 135,000 square meters which is more than double that of another great palace as it is Buckingham's .
17. The name of the most famous street market in the city, the Rastro , comes that formerly in the area was the municipal slaughterhouse and all the pieces left a large trail of blood down the street.
18. There is a ghost station in the subway of Madrid, is that of Chamberí and was closed in the 60s until it was restored to become a museum.
19. Another of the curiosities of Madrid that you may not know, is that cemetery of Our Lady of the Almudena It is the largest in all of Western Europe.
20. Madrid has several haunted houses, one of which is known as the one of The Seven Chimneys who also enjoys the legend of the ghost of Lady Elena.
21. The name of the Street of Health comes from the time of the Catholic Monarchs in which there was a great epidemic of black plague . All the neighbors of this neighborhood, they managed to escape this terrible disease .
22. In the neighborhood of La Latina we can find an old motto of the city that prays "I went on water built, my walls of fire are" .
23. The motto of the previous paragraph has a curious meaning, Madrid originated on land where there was an abundance of groundwater In addition, its wall was built with materials that made sparks jump when it hit it.
24. The street Breaker is the smallest with only twenty meters in length, while Calle de Alcalá has some ten kilometers being the longest
25. The name of the Sun Gate It has always had controversy, it is believed that it has to do with the fact that it is oriented to the East, which is where the king star comes from.
26. In this Spanish city, was born the legend of the Tooth Fairy thanks to a story that Queen María Cristina commissioned to write to Luis Coloma.
27. Among some curious prohibitions, we can mention that they were forbidden piropos during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.
28. The largest clock in the capital of Spain is the one located in the Atocha station .
29. In the 30s, the city It was flooded with bins to which the people called "pedritos" in honor of the mayor of the time.
30. As you already know, at the Puerta del Sol there is the kilometer 0 from Spain.
31. Look closely at the lampposts of the Plaza Mayor , its reliefs tell the most curious stories of the square.
32. One of the typical products of Madrid is the calamari sandwich , this product that comes from the sea triumphed in the capital due to the massive influx of Andalusians to the city.
33. The Malasaña neighborhood it owes its name to a seamstress who was executed by the French at the time of the Uprising.
34. Calderón de la Barca lived in the narrowest building in Madrid and you can find a plaque that shows it.
35. In the Parque del Capricho, you will find the oldest iron bridge in Spain .
We are sure that these curiosities of Madrid, will have surprised you a lot and have increased your desire to visit this wonderful city. Tell us your experience in it!