Vicálvaro
| Vicálvaro | |
|---|---|
| District of Madrid | |
 | |
| Country |
 Spain |
| Aut. community |
 Madrid |
| Municipality |
 Madrid |
| Government | |
| • Concejal | Carmen Torralba González |
| Area | |
| • Total | 32.71 km2 (12.63 sq mi) |
| Population | 66,439 |
| • Density | 2,032/km2 (5,260/sq mi) |
| Madrid district number | 19 |
| Address of council | Plaza Don Antonio de Andrés |
| Website | Munimadrid Vicálvaro |
Vicálvaro is a former village in its own right of the province of Madrid. Nowadays is a district in the southeast of Madrid, Spain.
History
When Spain's Civil Guard (Spanish: Guardia Civil) was established in 1844, the first headquarters of its cavalry was in Vicálvaro. Franco converted it into an artillery barracks for the Brunete Armored Division, Regiment No. 11. The building is now part of the Rey Juan Carlos University.
Vicálvaro was the site of Leopoldo O'Donnell's 1854 coup known as La Vicalvarada,[1] which began Spain's Bienio progresista.
In 2011, a Visigothic necropolis was uncovered in Vicálvaro.[2]
Geography
Position
It is bordered on the west by the district of Moratalaz (across the Autopista de Circunvalación M-40), on the north by San Blas (across the M-40, the Avenida de Canillejas a Vicálvaro, the Autopista Radial 3 and the Vicálvaro-Coslada Highway), on the south by the Puente de Vallecas and the Villa de Vallecas (across Autovía A-3) and on the east by the municipalities of Coslada, San Fernando de Henares and Rivas-Vaciamadrid.
Subdivision
The district is administratively divided into two wards (Barrios):
- Ambroz
- Casco Histórico de Vicálvaro (historic Vicálvaro)
In fact, however, it effectively has three districts: Vicálvaro, Valdebernardo, and Valderrivas.
The former municipality of Vicálvaro was absorbed into Madrid in 1951. Around its historic center are the nearby neighborhoods (known locally as poblados, colonias or barrios) of San Juan, Mil Viviendas, Las Cruces y Anillo Verde. Several of these cross the boundary between the two official barrios. West of the historic center of Vicálvaro, but entirely within the official barrio of Vicálvaro, is a second center at Valdebernardo, developed in the 1990s. On 1 December 1998, the metro line 9 was extended from Pavones to Puerta de Arganda. This part of the way was decorated each station with just one colour walls, with the useful idea of knowing the station by one look, so the people that live in this area have less probability of passing the station because of sleepy mood after long way home. As the innovation worked it was used in many of the new stations on the suburbs all over Madrid metro net. The colours can be useful for tourists but is not symbolized by it in the map yet. After Pavones old style of stone walls you can see Valdebernardo (plastic yellow), Vicálvaro (plastic soft green), San Cipriano (plastic orange) and Puerta de Arganda (plastic pink). This área is known as the Vicálvaro district, and it is common also the outsiders' mistake to think that Vicálvaro metro station is somehow connected to Vicálvaro railway station, but it isn't true. Vicálvaro railway station is connected to Puerta de Arganda station. The reason is obvious for the locals: Vicálvaro railway station is the historical railway for the town of Vicálvaro when it was not yet part of the city of Madrid. As town the railway station is ubicated far from downtown. When the city of Madrid grew and "covered" Vicálvaro, it was necessary to extend the Metro line, so Vicálvaro was the name chosen for the oldtown, and Puerta de Arganda (Door of Arganda) to the railway station,with the symbolic meaning of the beginning of the historical way of road-connection(ex-pedestrian way) between the ancestors of Vicálvaro and Arganda del Rey to give a symbolic legitimization to the logic extension of the line.
Finally, since 1998, Valderrivas has been developed on the land of a former cement factory operated 1923–1995 by Cementos Portland Valderrivas. This also falls within the official barrio of Vicálvaro. Portland moved their cement production to Morata de Tajuña because municipal ordinances raised increasing environmental issues. They sold their land, 40 percent of which was granted permits as being suitable for urban development; Portland also took charge of the ensuing construction. In the process, they tore down the chimney that had for decades been emblematic of Vicálvaro. Also in the Valderrivas area is a new neighborhood called La Catalana, near the border with of the Coslada district. La Catalana is mainly commercial.
Notes
- ↑ Introducción a la Historia de Vicálvaro, vicusalbus.org. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ↑ Fraguas, Rafael (7 July 2011). "Hallada en Vicálvaro una necrópolis visigoda con 900 enterramientos" [Visigoth necropolis with 900 tombs found in Vicálvaro]. El País. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
References
- This article incorporates information from the revision as of 2010-02-26 of the equivalent article on the Spanish Wikipedia.
External links
Media related to Vicálvaro at Wikimedia Commons
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Coordinates: 40°24′15″N 3°36′29″W / 40.4042°N 3.60806°W