El Pardo is a ward (''
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
'') of
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
belonging to the district of
Fuencarral-El Pardo
Fuencarral-El Pardo is one of the 21 Districts of Madrid, districts that form the city of Madrid, Spain.
Overview
Fuencarral-El Pardo is the district number 8 and consists of the following neighborhoods: El Pardo (81), Fuentelarreina (82), Peñagr ...
. 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 (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...
. One of the most notable buildings is the "
Royal Palace of El Pardo", 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 bor ...
. It was the first large edifice built in the area.
The Palace of El Pardo was the residence of dictator
General Francisco Franco 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''
References
External links
Bibliography about El Pardo
{{Coord, 40, 31, N, 3, 46, W, type:city, display=title
Wards of Madrid
Fuencarral-El Pardo