El Pardo is a ward (''
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...
'') of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) 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), and ...
belonging to the district of
Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656.
History
The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the
Community of Madrid
The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munic ...
. One of the most notable buildings is the "
Royal Palace of El Pardo
The Royal Palace of El Pardo ( es, Palacio Real de El Pardo, ) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family and one of the oldest, being used by the Spanish monarchs since Enrique III in the 15th century. It is administered by t ...
", built in 1406 by the order of King
Henry III of Castile
Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390.
Birth and education
Henry was bo ...
. It was the first large edifice built in the area.
The Palace of El Pardo was the residence of dictator
General Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
when he was head of the Spanish State.
Geography
El Pardo is located in the northern suburb of Madrid, close to the
Manzanares river. Part of its area is covered by a forest named ''
Monte de El Pardo''. The ward contains a neighbourhood called
Mingorrubio.
It has nearly 16,000 hectares and El Pardo's Mount is the most representative Mediterranean forest in the whole region. Also, the enclosure of this Mount is due to Philip VI and took place at the XVIII. Its function was to prevent wild animals from escaping from the royal hunting grounds and to avoid poaching. In fact, much of the enclosure has been maintained to this day.
Photogallery
File:Rio Manzanares en el Monte de El Pardo.jpg, The Manzanares at ''Monte de El Pardo''
File:Monte del Pardo2.jpg, Panoramic view of the ''Monte de El Pardo''
File:Jardines_Quinta_del_Pardo.jpg, The gardens of the ''Quinta del Duque del Arco Quinta may refer to:
* Quinta (estate) in Portugal
* Quinta (musician), British multi-instrumentalist
* In medieval music theory, alternative term for diapente (perfect fifth)
* ''Quinta'' (skipper), genus of butterflies
* Claudia Quinta, Roman ma ...
''
References
External links
Bibliography about El Pardo
{{Coord, 40, 31, N, 3, 46, W, type:city, display=title
Wards of Madrid
Fuencarral-El Pardo