Muslim Walls of Madrid

The Muslim Walls of Madrid (also known as the Arab Walls of Madrid), of which some vestiges remain, are located in the Spanish capital 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.

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.

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

Muslim Walls of Madrid ranks #98 of 6,412 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #22 of the 433 mapped in Spain. Founded 855, it is older than 96% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 35 atlas entries founded in the 9th century. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗