Madrid

The origin of the name is unknown. There are various theories regarding the origin of the toponym "Madrid", all of them with problems when it comes to fully explaining the phonetic evolution of the toponym. The Latin theory (Madrid < Matrice < Matrix) has gained support in the past decades: A Celtic origin (Madrid < *Magetoritum; with the root "-ritu" meaning "ford"). From the Arabic maǧrà / majrā (meaning "water stream") or Arabic: ‏مجريط‎, romanized: majrīṭ, lit. '"spring", "fountain"'. A Mozarabic variant of the Latin matrix, matricis (also meaning "water stream"). Nicknames for Madrid include the plural Los Madriles and La Villa y Corte (lit. 'the town and court').

The site of modern-day Madrid has been occupied since prehistoric times. There are archaeological remains of the Celtic Carpetani settlement, Roman villas, a Visigoth basilica near the church of Santa María de la Almudena and three Visigoth necropolises near Casa de Campo, Tetuán and Vicálvaro. The first historical document about the existence of an established settlement in Madrid dates from the Muslim age.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, Umayyad Emir Muhammad I built a fortress on a headland near the river Manzanares as one of the many fortresses he ordered built on the border between Al-Andalus and the kingdoms of León and Castile, with the objective of protecting Toledo from Christian attacks from the North and as a starting point for Muslim offensives. …

Madrid lies in the centre of the Iberian peninsula on the southern Meseta Central, 60 kilometres south of the Guadarrama mountain range and straddling the Jarama and Manzanares river sub-drainage basins, in the wider Tagus River catchment area. With an average altitude of 650 metres (2,130 ft), Madrid is the second-highest capital of Europe, after Andorra la Vella. The difference in altitude within the city proper ranges from the 700 m (2,297 ft) around Plaza de Castilla in the north of city to the 570 m (1,870 ft) around La China wastewater treatment plant on the Manzanares' riverbanks, near the latter's confluence with the Fuente Castellana thalweg in the south of the city. …

Little medieval architecture is preserved in Madrid, mostly in the Almendra Central, including the San Nicolás and San Pedro el Viejo church towers, the church of San Jerónimo el Real, and the Bishop's Chapel. Nor has Madrid retained much Renaissance architecture, other than the Bridge of Segovia and the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales. Philip II moved his court to Madrid in 1561 and transformed the town into a capital city. During the Early Habsburg period, the import of European influences took place, underpinned by the monicker of Austrian style. The Austrian style features Austrian, Italian, Dutch and Spanish influences, reflecting on the international preeminence of the Habsburgs. During the second half of the 16th century, the use of pointy slate spires in order to top structures such as church towers was imported to Spain from Central Europe. …

After it became the capital of Spain in the 16th century, Madrid was more a centre of consumption than of production or trade. Economic activity was largely devoted to supplying the city's own rapidly growing population, including the royal household and national government, and to such trades as banking and publishing. A large industrial sector did not develop until the 20th century, but thereafter industry greatly expanded and diversified, making Madrid the second industrial city in Spain. However, the economy of the city is now becoming more and more dominated by the service sector. A major European financial centre, its stock market is the third largest stock market in Europe featuring both the IBEX 35 index and the attached Latibex stock market (with the second most important index for Latin American companies). …

In 2018, Madrid banned all non-resident vehicles from its downtown areas. Madrid is served by several roads and three modes of public surface transport, and two airports, one of them being almost two different airports. A great many important road, rail and air links converge on the capital, providing effective connections with other parts of the metropolitan region and with the rest of Spain and other parts of Europe. …