Christian Walls of Madrid

The Christian Walls of Madrid, also known as the Medieval Walls, were built in Madrid, Spain, between the 11th and 12th centuries, once the city passed to the Crown of Castile. They were built as an extension of the original 9th-century Muslim Walls of Madrid to accommodate the new districts which emerged after the Reconquista (11th–13th centuries).

When Philip II moved his court to Madrid from Valladolid in 1561, the walls fell into disuse and were almost entirely demolished. Some of the remains are still standing, however, and are integrated into the structure of various buildings in El Madrid de los Austrias, a name designating the Habsburgs' historic center of the city.

The most important sections of the wall are in the calles (streets) of los Mancebos, Don Pedro, del Almendro, Escalinata, del Espejo, de Mesón de Paños, and Cava Baja; in Plaza de Isabel II; and in the underground parking garage of the Plaza de Oriente. The remains that are still standing were declared a Historical and Artistic Monument in 1954.

Text adapted from “Christian Walls of Madrid” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Christian Walls of Madrid ranks #253 of 6,412 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #57 of the 433 mapped in Spain. Founded c. 1100, it is older than 88% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 210 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.

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