Tower of the Bones

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid is one of Spain's fourteen Metropolitan Archbishoprics. Incumbent Archbishop of Madrid since 28 August 2014 is Carlos Osoro Sierra, until then Archbishop of Valencia. Despite Madrid having been the seat of the Spanish Crown since 1561, the diocese was only created in the late 19th century and gained archbishopric status in 1991. Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena, in Spanish national capital Madrid. The metropolitan city area also has several Minor Basilicas: the Basílica Ex-Catedral de San Isidro (former Pro-cathedral), the Basílica de San Lorenzo (World Heritage Site, in El Escorial), the Basílica de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora (dedicated to the Assumption, in Colmenar Viejo), the Basílica de la Concepción de Nuestra Señora the Basílica de Nuestro Padre Jesús de Medinaceli, the Basílica de San Vicente de Paul (Milagrosa), the Basílica de Santa Cruz (dedicated to the Holy Cross, in El Valle de los Caídos), the Basílica Pontificia de San Miguel, the Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Atocha (royal, a National Shrine), the Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande (also royal).

Almudena Cathedral (Santa María la Real de La Almudena) is a Catholic church in Madrid, Spain. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

Madrid ( mə-DRID, Spanish: [maˈðɾið]) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), surpassed only by Berlin in its administrative limits, and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU, surpassed only by Paris. The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi) geographical area.Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. Capital city of both Spain (almost without interruption since 1561) and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid (since 1983), it is also the political, economic and cultural centre of the country. The city is situated on an elevated plain about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the closest seaside location. Seasonal differences are large by Iberian standards with hot summers and cool winters. The mayor is José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the People's Party. The Madrid urban agglomeration has the second-largest GDP 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. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre and the leading economic hub of the Iberian Peninsula and of Southern Europe. The metropolitan area hosts major Spanish companies such as Telefónica, Iberia, BBVA and FCC. It concentrates the bulk of banking operations in the country and it is the Spanish-speaking city generating the largest amount of webpages.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 Emerging Spanish (FundéuRAE). Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI and the Madrid Fashion Week. 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, 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. Cibeles Palace and Fountain has become one of the monument symbols of the city.

The Walls of Madrid (Spanish: cerca de Madrid, tapia de Madrid) are the five successive sets of walls that surrounded the city of Madrid from the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century. Some of the walls had a defensive or military function, while others made it easy to tax goods entering the city. Towards the end of the 19th century the demographic explosion that came with the Industrial Revolution prompted urban expansion throughout Spain. Older walls were torn down to enable the expansion of the city under the grid plan of Carlos María de Castro.

The Muslim Walls of Madrid (also known as the Arab Walls of Madrid), of which some vestiges remain, are located in the Spanish city of Madrid. They are probably the oldest construction extant in the city. They were built in the 9th century, during the Muslim domination of the Iberian Peninsula, on a promontory next to Manzanares river. They were part of a fortress around which developed the urban nucleus of Madrid. They were declared an Artistic-Historic Monument in 1954.The remains of utmost importance, with more archaeological than artistic interest, are in the Cuesta de la Vega, next to the crypt of the Almudena Cathedral. They were built in the park of Mohamed I, named in reference to Muhammad I of Córdoba, considered the founder of the city. Along the Calle Mayor street, at number 83, next to the Viaduct that serves the Calle de Segovia, are still standing the ruins of the Tower of Narigües, which probably would have been an albarrana tower, with a separate location from the main wall itself, but connected thereto by a minor wall. Its function was to serve as a viewpoint. In the 20th century, some remains were destroyed. The rest once existing near number 12 Calle de Bailén were lost with the construction of an apartment block, although some walls were integrated into the building structure as its foundation. The remodeling of the Plaza de Oriente, completed in 1996 during the mayoral term of José María Álvarez del Manzano, meant the discovery and subsequent disappearance of numerous remains. This was not the case with the watchtower known as Tower of the Bones, whose base is on display in the underground car park of the same plaza.Between 1999 and 2000, another section was uncovered, about 70 metres (230 ft) long, under the Plaza de la Armería, formed by the main façades of the Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral. It was excavated during the construction work of the Museum of Royal Collections (unfinished) and may correspond to the Puerta de la Sagra, one of the gates to the walled enclosure.

The Royal Alcázar of Madrid (Spanish: Real Alcázar de Madrid) was a fortress located at the site of today's Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The structure was originally built in the second half of the ninth century by the Muslims, then extended and enlarged over the centuries, particularly after 1560. It was at this time that the fortress was converted into a royal palace, and Madrid became the capital of the Spanish Empire. Despite being a palace, the great building kept its original arabic title of Alcázar (English: "castle"). The first extension to the building was commissioned by King Charles I (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) and completed in 1537. Its exterior was constructed by the architect Juan Gómez de Mora in 1636 on a commission from King Philip IV. As famous for its artistic treasures as it is for its unusual architecture, it was the residence of the Spanish Royal Family and home of the Court, until its destruction by fire during the reign of King Philip V (the first Bourbon king), on Christmas Eve 1734. Many artistic treasures were lost, including over 500 paintings. Other works, such as the painting Las Meninas by Velázquez, were saved.

The Royal Palace of Madrid (Spanish: Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 m2 (1,450,000 sq ft) of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest functioning royal palace and the largest by floor area in Europe.The palace is now open to the public, except during state functions, although it is so large that only a selection of rooms are on the visitor route at any one time, the route being changed every few months. An admission fee of €13 is charged; however, at some times it is free. The palace is owned by the Spanish state and administered by the Patrimonio Nacional, a public agency of the Ministry of the Presidency. The palace is on Calle de Bailén ("Bailén Street") in the western part of downtown Madrid, east of the Manzanares River, and is accessible from the Ópera metro station. Felipe VI and the royal family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the Palace of Zarzuela in El Pardo. The palace is on the site of a bygone Muslim-era fortress constructed by Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba in the 9th century. The imposing Alcázar of Madrid provided both a safe for the royal treasure and a habitual residence to the Trastámara monarchs in the late middle ages. Having endured substantial expansion works during the 16th century, the royal alcázar remained on the site until it burned down on 24 December 1734. A new palace was thereafter built from scratch on the same site on behalf of the Bourbon dynasty. Construction spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and followed a Berniniesque design by Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti in cooperation with Ventura Rodríguez, Francesco Sabatini, and Martín Sarmiento. During the Second Spanish Republic the building was known as "Palacio Nacional". The interior of the palace is notable for its wealth of art and the use of many types of fine materials in the construction and the decoration of its rooms. It includes paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Juan de Flandes, Francisco de Goya, and Velázquez, and frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Corrado Giaquinto, and Anton Raphael Mengs. Other collections of great historical and artistic importance preserved in the building include the Royal Armoury of Madrid, porcelain, watches, furniture, silverware, and the world's only complete Stradivarius string quintet.

Palacio is an administrative ward (barrio) of Madrid, Spain belonging to the district of Centro. It contains the historic neighborhoods of La Latina and El Madrid de los Austrias.

The Palace of the Councils or Palace of the Duke of Uceda (in Spanish, Palacio de los Consejos or Palacio del duque de Uceda) is a building from the 17th century located in central Madrid, Spain. It is located on the Calle Mayor, corner of calle Bailén Street. The palace is representative of Spanish baroque architecture, and was commissioned by Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval-Rojas, first Duke of Uceda, and powerful prime minister or valido of King Philip III of Spain. It was designed by Francisco de Mora, although works was directed by Juan Gómez de Mora and executed by Captain Alonso Turrillo from 1608 to 1613. The palace stands before the Church of Santa María de la Almudena. When it was built, decorated with the heraldic arms of the Sandoval family flanked by lions, it was judged too ostentatious for a nobleman. After the Duke's fall from grace, it became property of the Royal family, and housed the mother of Charles II of Spain, the queen mother, Mariana of Austria. She died there on the night of May 16, 1696. Upon his arrival to Madrid in 1701, the Bourbon king Philip V of Spain transferred many of the royal offices or councils from the then extant Real Alcázar of Madrid to the Palacio de Uceda, and since then, it has been known as the Palacio de los Consejos. The main council, however, remained in the palace. In the 19th century, the council of state and the Capitanía General were moved here.

The Council of State (Spanish: Consejo de Estado), is the supreme consultative council of the Spanish Government. The current Council of State was established in 1980 according to the article 107 of the Constitution of 1978. The institution of the Council of State, understood as supreme consultative council of the Government, has existed intermittently since 1812. During the Ancien Régime, the Council of State advised the King about foreign policy.

The Reina Sofía School of Music (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Spanish) is a private music school founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1991 by Paloma O'Shea. It belongs to the Albéniz Foundation, and it bears the name of its Honorary President, Queen Sofía of Spain.

The Plaza de Oriente is a square in the historic center of Madrid, Spain. Rectangular in shape and monumental in character, it was designed in 1844 by Narciso Pascual y Colomer. The square was propagated by King Joseph I, who ordered the demolition of the medieval houses on the site. It is located between some important landmarks in Madrid: To the west is the Royal Palace, the Teatro Real ("Royal Theater") to the east, and the Royal Monastery of the Incarnation to the north.