The Valley of the Fallen is the former name of a site in Spain now known officially by its geographical name Valle de Cuelgamuros in the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid. The valley contains a Catholic basilica and a monumental memorial in the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Dictator Francisco Franco ordered the construction of the monumental site in 1940; it was built from 1940 to 1958, and opened in 1959. Franco said that the monument was intended as a "national act of atonement" and reconciliation.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Arriba, is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located to the northwest of the region in the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama, at the foot of Mount Abantos and Las Machotas, 47 kilometres (29 mi) from Madrid. It is head of the eponymous judicial party. The settlement is popularly called El Escorial de Arriba, to differentiate it from the neighbouring village of El Escorial, also known as El Escorial de Abajo.
El Escorial is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, located 45 km (28 mi) northwest of the Spanish capital Madrid. It belongs to the comarca of Cuenca del Guadarrama. Its population in 2009 was 14,979.
Villanueva de la Cañada is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Located 30 km north-west from Madrid, the municipality covers an area of 34.92 km2. Geographically, it sits on a large plain, in which there are several promontories, on one of which is found the castle of Aulencia, its main landmark. The ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre lies close to the former, on the Guadarrama riverfront. Villafranca del Castillo, a well-off urban area detached from the main nucleus, is located within the municipal bounds. Villanueva de la Cañada hosts the main campus of the Alfonso X El Sabio University as well as the Aquópolis waterpark.
Juan Bautista de Toledo was a Spanish architect. He was educated in Italy, in the Italian High Renaissance. As many Italian renaissance architects, he had experience in both architecture and military and civil public works. Born, either in Toledo or in Madrid around 1515. He died on 19 May 1567 in Madrid, and was buried in Madrid in the choir of the primitive “Convento de Santo Tomás, Iglesia de la Santa Cruz”.
The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara.
Collado Villalba is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, in central Spain. It is located 40.3 kilometres north-west of the city of Madrid, at an altitude of 917 meters above sea level. It has a population of 63,679 (2019), with a population density of about 2,400 per km². Collado Villalba has a hot summer Mediterranean climate.
Sierra de Guadarrama National Park is a national park in Spain, covering nearly 34,000 hectares, the fifth largest in Spain's national parks system. The Guadarrama mountain range contains some ecologically valuable areas, located in the Community of Madrid and Castile and León. The law that regulates the recently approved national park was published in the BOE in June 26, 2013.
La Fresneda is a park in El Escorial, Community of Madrid, Spain. Built between 1561 and 1569, it was the prívate Royal Park of Philip II in the surroundings of the Monastery of El Escorial.
Angel Arroyo Lanchas is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. In the 1983 Tour de France, Arroyo won one stage and finished 2nd place in the general classification.
La Jarosa reservoir is located in the Jarosa valley and it belongs to the municipality of Guadarrama, Madrid, Spain. It is the smallest reservoir of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range. Its total capacity reaches 7’2 cubic hectometres and its total surface area is 55 hectares. La Jarosa, does not only include the main swamp but also the meadows surrounding the body of water, several recreational zones and vast pine forest areas. The Nuestra Señora de la Jarosa hermitage and the Altar Mayor hermitage are also found in this vast terrain. La Jarosa would be included in the proposed Guadarrama National Park project, once it is finally realized. The lower zone, which contains the marsh, would belong to the "pre-park" area for consideration for the Regional Park but the highest part of La Jarosa, adjacent to the Puerto de Guadarrama, would be included in the National Park itself.
Sierra de Gredos Regional Park is a protected natural area in Spain, covering 86,397 hectares. The estimated population within the socio-economic influence area is 21,182. The law that declared the status of the park was published in the BOE on July 22, 1996.
The 2003 Vuelta a España was the 58th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Gijón, with a team time trial on 6 September, and Stage 12 occurred on 18 September with a stage from Cuenca. The race finished in Madrid on 28 September.
The 1999 Vuelta a España was the 54th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Murcia, with a prologue individual time trial on 4 September, and Stage 11 occurred on 16 September with a stage from Huesca. The race finished in Madrid on 26 September.
The Cuenca Alta del Manzanares Regional Park, created in 1985, is the natural space protected area with the largest extension in the Community of Madrid (Spain) and one of the most ecologically and scenically valuable. It is located in the northwest of the region and extends around the upper course of the Manzanares River, along 42 583 ha. Its main municipalities of reference are Manzanares el Real and Hoyo de Manzanares. Unesco declared it a Biosphere Reserve in 1992.
The Sierra de Hoyo or Sierra de Hoyo de Manzanares is a mountain chain located in the northwest of the Community of Madrid (Spain), near the Sierra de Guadarrama. Geologically it belongs to this mountainous formation, but there is a flat separation of about ten kilometers between the two. Its main municipality of reference is Hoyo de Manzanares, located on its southern slope, from which it takes its name.
The Imperial Route of the Community of Madrid is the tourist itinerary promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of this Spanish region, which runs through several municipalities in the Sierra de Guadarrama. It partially follows the historical road that led to the Monastery of El Escorial, used in the 16th century by King Philip II in his travels from the city of Madrid to the Royal Site.
The Tagus Basin is the drainage basin of the Tagus River, which flows through the west of the Iberian Peninsula and empties into Lisbon. It covers an area of 78,467 km2, which is distributed 66% on Spanish territory and 34% on Portuguese land (22,822 km2).
Valsain Valley is a valley of the northern slope of the Guadarrama mountain range. It is located in the southeastern part of the province of Segovia, within the municipality of Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, and borders the Community of Madrid. The valley is covered by an extensive pine forest known as el Pinar, the largest in the mountains and one of the best preserved in Spain.
The Valsain Mountains are located in the Valsain Valley, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama and in the municipality of Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, belonging to the province of Segovia.
